The Two Dark Cinematic Pillars of Escape From New York

The seminal science fiction film made by John Carpenter has two particular pillars that hold up his arch of a dark near-future story. The first is in the film techniques used to portray a Manhattan in the shadows of anarchy and tribal violence. The way the film was shot serves as one of Carpenter’s most powerful tools. The second pillar comes in the way the production design for both the exteriors and interiors of a destroyed New York.

Carpenter uses widescreen shots to get an entire view of his New York. It is apparent in the first shot of the bus pulling into Liberty State Control Center, where the audience is introduced to Snake Plissken. As the man is escorted to the detention center, the audience is shown the large shot of a heavily militarized area. The choice of sound and widescreen in that case truly encompasses the sound and image of a militarized zone. The same thing applies to the shots when the police commander Hauk comes down onto Manhattan. In that case, the additional use of Steadicam enhances the widescreen when he and his squadron walk through the darkness. The strongest combination of Steadicam and widescreen is seen in Snake’s introductory walk through Manhattan.

That is when the second pillar of Escape from New York comes into play. The blight endemic in all the shots within Manhattan, from the World Trade Center to Grand Central, is powerfully demonstrated. There are upturned vehicles and fire throughout and debris is strewn about the streets and there is broken-down infrastructure in almost all the scenes in the film. The battle between Snake and the spiked club-wielding brute shows a great juxtaposition of the famous train station with extreme barbarism.

Escape from New York takes its power from the combination of effective cinematic shots and set designs in a way only Carpenter could conceive. Those two pillars support the film in a way that encapsulates the darkness of a Big Apple rotting at its core. That strength continues in the works created by many directors in the 33 years since its release.

Bibliography

Carpenter, John. "Escape from New York." Santa Monica, CA: MGM Studios, 1981.