Escape from L.A. – Collector’s Edition

Summary

“Land of the free.”

It should come as no surprise to anybody who visits the site that I am a huge fan of John Carpenter. If you look through the reviews on the site, I have reviewed almost all of his films that have been released on Blu-ray. That is because I enjoy watching and rewatching his movies on a regular basis. It does not get much better than experiencing a John Carpenter film to me. Carpenter remains one of the most original voices in American film. He was a true maverick with wild approaches towards filmmaking that was influential to directors including Robert Rodriguez and David Robert Mitchell. It should come as no surprise that some of the director’s few films that objectively miss the mark are celebrated by some faction of his fans. He has as strong a fan base as any single director, and I count myself amongst those fans.

I was excited to see that Shout!Factory was releasing a brand new Collector’s Edition of Escape from L.A. sourced from a new 4K scan of the film. Escape from L.A. finds John Carpenter in a position where he was given an even larger budget than on his previous films. The film was given a fifty million dollar budget and heralded the return of Carpenter’s most iconic collaborator Kurt Russell. The script was penned by Carpenter, Russell, and Debra Hill. Debra Hill had collaborated with Carpenter on the screenplays for Halloween, The Fog, and Halloween II. She had also served as a producer on Escape from New York, so it seemed like the three of them would easily be able to bring some real magic to the screen with Escape from L.A.

Unfortunately, upon its release Escape from L.A. only managed to do $25.5 million at the box office. The film received mixed reviews and divided the fan base on whether or not the film was a successful sequel. I had not revisited this film in a long long time, because I had always considered it to be less appealing than the classic Escape from New York. I am happy to report that upon revisiting the film, I found a lot more that I liked than I recalled. I was so pleased with the film, that I ended up watching it twice in the last week.

In 1998, the city of Los Angeles has become so crime ridden that it has been turned into a police state. In 2000, massive earthquakes cause the city to become an island as the San Fernando Valley floods. A new President (Cliff Robertson) is elected to the presidency for life and moves the capitol of the nation to Lynchburg, Virginia. He designates Los Angeles as a prison and containment area for those who do not follow his moralistic laws. Walls are erected around the island to keep everyone inside. In 2013, the President’s daughter Utopia (A.J. Langer) steals a weapon capable of releasing targeted EMP pulses which can disable anything in the world. She releases herself in an escape pod into Los Angeles to meet up with the revolutionary underworld leader Cuervo Jones (George Corraface.) He has used some hologram transmissions to convince her to help him. Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) arrives outside Los Angeles and is greeted by Commander Malloy (Stacy Keach.) Malloy takes him to meet with the President, and they explain that Snake has been given a deadly designer disease that will kill him in ten hours if he does not retrieve the dangerous weapon termed the Sword of Damocles. When the President is not present, Malloy also tells Snake that he will need to terminate Utopia before he returns. Snake begrudgingly agrees to his mission and takes a submarine into Los Angeles passing through the submerged streets. He will need to navigate a world of surgery addicted Beverly Hills denizens, Korean gangster children, acid rain, and the occasional tsunami tidal wave in order to reach Cuervo Jones and the weapon that could turn out the lights for all of civilization.

Let’s just get this out of the way: Escape from L.A. is ridiculous. Fans that were expecting the film to have a similar hard sci-fi feel as the original could not have foreseen that the film would veer so hard into the realm of the unbelievable. I can understand why people were so turned off to the film when it was released, because Escape from New York had the benefit of taking its premise seriously even if the likelihood of the world turning New York City into a prison was highly unlikely. L.A. feels no need to sustain the mood of the prior film, allowing itself to be frequently silly and much more of a satire than the prior film. For example – two scenes stand out as scenes that make or wreck the film for viewers. One scene involves Snake playing basketball to save his life, another involves Snake surfing a tidal wave with Peter Fonda. If these sequences are meant to be taken seriously, this film would be the equivalent of watching the Fonz jumping the shark. It would be impossible to take either of these sequences seriously. For myself, these sequences are just fun and funny, but I get why it upset some of the masses. I mean – the film utilizes paragliding for the big finale. Paragliding. 

So – let’s just call Escape from L.A. what it is – John Carpenter’s Waterworld. I personally mean that as the highest compliment. Like Waterworld, the film features some truly unique world building. The first forty five minutes of the film harken back a lot to the world building present in Escape from New York, then the movie veers towards a far more unrealistic approach. Like Waterworld, the sequences that rely on practical effects are still very impressive, and the computer generated effects never really worked for either film. Both films fell under the weight of their ambitions and could not be understood fully at the box office, but both have remained cult staples since their release.

I think in order to enjoy Escape from L.A. you need to completely accept that it is pure escapism. The plot is ridiculous, but the satirical elements are funny and enjoyable. Carpenter obviously hated the Hollywood machine and he uses the film’s world to parody Hollywood – the street gangs, the agents, the basketball fans, the elective surgeries – but he also uses the world of the film to skewer the outside world and its fascistic sense of order under Bible-clutching cowardly politicians who cling to power through their leanings on militaristic approaches towards corralling civilians. It does not get much more on the nose than when the film shows people electing to repent and be electrocuted rather than enter Los Angeles. While not all of it works, it is a lot of fun to experience. My personal favorite segment in the film involves an encounter with the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills who has continued to operate on surgery addicted mutants that collect outsiders from the streets above in order to harvest body parts from them. Cult icon Bruce Campbell cameos in the role and it is hilarious. Rick Baker’s makeup effects in this sequence are fantastic.

The film benefits from some great casting. Kurt Russell is Snake Plissken and it was great to see him reprise the role. I can’t understate my fandom for this actor. Steve Buscemi is perfectly cast as the weasel Map to the Stars Eddie. George Corraface is well cast as Cuervo Jones, but for some reason the villain of the film is not as intimidating as Isaac Hayes’ classic villain from the first film. Stacy Keach is perfectly cast as Malloy. Cliff Robertson also delivers the goods as the cowardly President. Pam Grier has a standout role as Hershey. I wont spoil anything here, but it is definitely an abstract role for her. The brief cameos by Peter Fonda, Valeria Golino, and Peter Jason are all enjoyable.

The cinematography by frequent Carpenter collaborator Gary B. Kibbe can not compete with the dark blue cinematography of the prior film, but it still visually delivers a lot. Kibbe sadly passed away last year and his presence in cinema will be sorely missed. The compositions in the film by Carpenter and Shirley Walker sound great – hardening back to the original score but also adding in some harder rock elements. The film’s compositions are mixed with a grunge soundtrack that features bands like Tool and Gravity Kills which definitely  ages the film, but also adds to the nostalgic effect of watching the film.

All said and done, Escape from L.A. can not live up to the lofty heights of the original film, and that’s okay. If enjoyed as its own separate ridiculous film, instead of as a true sequel to the superior Escape from New York, a lot of entertainment value can be found. 

Video

Shout!Factory have provided a fantastic looking transfer that is based on a new 4K scan of the film. The cinematography by Garry B. Kibbe looks great with a wide aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Visually, there is so much to enjoy about the film. The matte paintings look great and the large set pieces hold up well. The obvious shortcomings of the CGI remain obvious, but that is just part of what the film offers for the nostalgists that are buying it. This is another great looking presentation from Shout!

Audio

Shout!Factory has provided a great sounding DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. This track has excellent clarity of dialogue and it uses the surrounds frequently for the bursts of gunfire and violence in the film. The score by John Carpenter and Shirley Walker harkens back to the original film’s score while adding in some rock elements. The film also features songs from bands like Tool, Sugar Ray, Gravity Kills, and more that dates the film as occurring during the grunge explosion. This track delivers exactly what the fans would expect. 

Supplements:

• “Beverly Hills Workshed” – in this audio only interview beloved cult film actor Bruce Campbell discusses his brief experience working on the film in the memorable cameo role as the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills. He discusses his process of being made up by Rick Baker and his fond memories of both Kurt Russell and John Carpenter. Bruce Campbell is one of my favorite actors so I loved this special feature.
• “Part of the Family” – the excellent character actor Peter Jason gives a long and comprehensive interview regarding his long career as an actor and how he came to be part of the John Carpenter family of familiar faces in the films by the director. This is a really funny and enjoyable piece.
• “A Little Bit Offbeat” – actor Stacy Keach discusses working with John Carpenter and his wife Sandy along with some brief anecdotes about filming. This is a short but entertaining piece.
• “Miss a Shot, You Get Shot”- actor Georges Corraface, who played Cuervo Jones in the film, discusses how he landed the role in the film and recollections from the set. Also discussed is how he landed a role as Christopher Columbus in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery.
• “One Eye is Better Than None” – makeup artist James McPherson discusses how he managed to win over Rick Baker and become part of the effects crew of the film.
• “The Renderman” – in what might be my favorite interview on the disc, CG supervisor David Jones discusses how he managed to land a job at Disney/Buena Vista to help with their computer generated effects team that had just been established. He also discusses how some of the effects that they attempted were more advanced than they could achieve – including the tidal wave surfing. This is great stuff.
• Still Gallery
• T.V. Spots
• And a Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Escape from L.A. is definitely going to divide Carpenter’s fan base. It is as excessive and ridiculous a film as can be found in the Nineties. That said, I really enjoyed revisiting the film. As a nostalgic blast from the past, it took me right back to my days as a child marveling at the new effects they were conjuring using computers. Kurt Russell and the other actors involved all hit their stride, even if the script is a bit of a mess. I loved the cameo from Bruce Campbell in the film. Shout!Factory has provided a great looking transfer of the film from a new 4K scan of the film. It really pops visually thanks to the uptick in detail. The special features included on the disc are also top-notch. Fans should not hesitate to add this to their collection, but first time viewers may want to make sure that the film appeals to them prior to a purchase. For those that enjoy the film, it is awesome to have a label like Shout!Factory give it this much attention.