Escape from New York - Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray [4K UHD]

This was a favorite for me since it ran on cable in the 80s. I would watch it many times. For some reason I find it to be a perfect film. The cast, production, the soundtrack, locations and story are a perfect underground adventure. These kinds of films always felt like my favorite in the 80s. They couldn't recreate it either. It's a time capsule of one of the best film making decades. I guess it's my favorite John Carpenter movie and made me a fan of Kurt Russell and the character. When I watch it now I feel it's a masterpiece. I try not to watch it because I don't want to overdue it. Although sometimes I tell myself I should watch it everyday. LoL 😂. The only cast member I met is Adrienne Barbeau and I was starstruck. She's a warm and friendly person from meeting at the convection circuit. She always shines in 80s flicks. Captured her beauty on film.

So, at first this movie made me feel old. I love John Carpenter and had seen most of his films (including the sequel to this and my step-father simply told me the plot of this film while we watched that,) but I had not yet seen this all the way through.So, here's the plot, around a year before I'm born (I'm 40) crime is getting really out of hand in America. By the time I'm in Kindergarten (the future when this was made,) crime is out of control and they turn New York into a giant, walled off prison unit for the whole country. This film's narrative opens in the far future (my freshman year of high school) where Kurt Russell is the only person that can save the president of the United States (Dr. Loomis from the original Halloween pictures,) from the Prison of New York City and also deliver to him a valuable recording that could end an ongoing war for the United States.As always, Carpenter and Hill had incredible attention to detail adding stuff you'll never forget like the voice speaker during the opening scene telling criminals they can simply elect to be immediately murdered and cremated and their cremains will be transferred to family and etc...4k Blu-ray is really a format where little things like this stand out in a home theater setting and you catch everything that John snuck in there.This is my third John Carpenter 4k disc (I also own The Thing and They Live) and I cherish it like I do the Blue Underground Italian discs. I met him one time at a convention, and it was a good time. He kept teasing Nick Castle trying to get a rise out of him. He definitely commanded a presence like he could run the show effectively FOR SURE. That must be why he's so successful.That impressed me and I always remembered it. It was nothing he said specifically but just him in general, he set the tone subtly with his presence and you know this guy runs the show, lol. I'm the boss at work, so I respect things like that. It was the first time I got to meet a hero and they were exactly what I hoped they'd be in my wildest dreams.Great movie, great film maker, buy this damn thing and watch it already! Watch Kurt Russel kick ass and know that I'm sitting in a dimly lit room experiencing sex ed during this same time period! 1997 forever! Carpenter forever! Russell forever! Pleasance forever! Also, the dude that played the angel Gabriel in Disney's One Magic Christmas is in this movie. You're welcome. If you watch it every year, you'd be trying to figure out like hell who that guy is. I know I was until I remembered during the second act!

This review concerns the 4K Collector's Edition. The set includes 1 4K UHD bluray and 2 standard bluray discs - one for the film and one for special features. The 4K disc offers both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision (Atmos is not mentioned on the case and Dolby Vision is mistakenly listed in the audio specs.) The video was created from a 16-bit/4K scan of the original film negative, rather than the typical upscaled 2K scan that Disney uses for its Marvel movies, including the new Spiderman. While not as sharp or detailed as some other 4k discs like 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Lord Of The Rings, this is certainly the best this film has ever looked and is on par with other 4K releases such as The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection and The Sting. The Dolby Vision HDR helps improve shadow detail, but there aren't many highlights in this mostly dark picture. Film grain is noticeable in several scenes but is never objectionable or distracting. The Atmos soundtrack isn't the most immersive with the possible exception of the helicopter flyovers, nor will it give your subwoofer a good workout. Still, it's a big improvement over the DTS 5.1 on the bluray. The only extras on the 4K disc are a choice of three audio commentaries. The one thing missing from this collection is a digital code for the film, a feature apparently not supported by Studiocanal/shoutfactory. Overall, I doubt anyone will be disappointed with the 4K presentation. Remember, this wasn't a big-budget film to begin with. The fact that it looks and sounds as good as it does here is truly amazing.