Episode 47: A-Number-One (Escape From New York)
Post-Apodaclypse hosts Tim Watts and Michael O'Connell have been saving this one up, but they're finally breaking down the classic 1981 John Carpenter film Escape from New York. Relive the action. Relive the testosterone. Relive the Duke. Relive Adrienne Barbeau's boobs. Find out what happens when one of the greatest antiheroes in cinema history breaks into the biggest prison in the history of mankind to save the President, to save himself, and to save the whole world.
I put up a blog post a while back about the exact question of whether or not EFNY should be considered post-apocalyptic. The novelization of the script gives a lot of backstory that really helps to explain what you see in the movie. (Quoting from my post below)
ReplyDeleteIt turns out that the war that's only briefly mentioned in the movie is actually a full-fledged World War 3 being fought between the United States, Russia and China. Early on, they decided to keep nuclear weapons out of the fight to protect the non-combatant countries, and instead agreed on the use of chemical weapons on a large scale. Of course, things don't go as planned, and clouds of gas circle the planet killing brain cells and causing those affected to go crazy.
The war is still actively being fought in the US West, resulting in a large portion of the country being described as badlands, and it's those that go crazy from the gas that account for the 400% rise in crime in the United States that we hear about in the film, not just some sort of societal breakdown. And the book explains that as the first North American target in the war, New York is subjected to a three week bombardment by fire bombs and gas, resulting in literally millions of cannibalistic crazies running the streets.
So what do you do if you have a country full of people driven to crime, and an island already populated with more crazy people than you know what to do with? Thrown them all together and wall the whole place up. See, it's all starting to make a lot more sense now right?
And the special message on that cassette tape that the President is trying to get to the Summit? To say it's about nuclear fusion is a bit of an understatement. I think it adds a lot to the movie to know that the United States has developed what's described as radiation-free thermonuclear bombs, and the President intends to demand an immediate surrender or he'll use those new bombs on our enemies.
So if you're already a fan of the movie (and how could you not be?) I'd definitely recommend you trying to get your hands on the book. You'll feel right at home with the parts that are included in the film, but the extras definitely expand the universe and will make you enjoy the movie even more the next time you watch it.