Retronauts Episode 432: Escape From New York
Call him SNAAAAAAAAKE!
1981: Rising filmmaker John Carpenter, fresh from successful horror creations Halloween and The Fog, directs & co-writes Escape From New York, a science-fiction action thriller about a 1997 convict sent into the massive prison island of Manhattan to rescue the President of the United States.
2022: NOW we're podcasting about this somewhat underseen hit movie that has left an indelible mark on both cinema and video games. We cover Carpenter's earlier work which brought him to this story, discuss the film's many merits and charms, and go over how the story of Snake Plissken influenced interactive entertainment, both in the licensed and unlicensed sense.
Joining host Bob Mackey on this episode is his regular Talking Simpsons co-host Henry Gilbert and special guest Chris Cabin from We Hate Movies. Despite that inflammatory podcast title, by the way, our special guest loves this movie and happily recounts his reasons for our edification. Please note that Chris' audio is a little shaky at the start of the show but that gets smoothed out after 20 minutes or so.
Description: At the dawn of the '80s, director John Carpenter released Escape from New York, an action thriller that went on to be a modest hit. Sometime after this, and halfway around the globe, a man named Hideo Kojima saw this movie, and it lit his brain on fire. What do these two seemingly unrelated facts have to do with each other? Well, if you even touched the Metal Gear video game series, you may have some idea. On this episode of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Chris Cabin from We Hate Movies as the crew examines this fantastic action flick and its massive influence on video games.
Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon.
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As with all of the episodes Bob produces, this week’s cover art is by Nick Daniel. Check out his Twitter, or patronize his Patreon!
