Escape from New York

"In 1988, the crime rate in the United States rises four hundred percent. The once great city of New York becomes the one maximum security prison for the entire country. A 50-foot containment wall is erected along the New Jersey shoreline, across the Harlem River, and down along the Brooklyn shoreline. It completely surrounds Manhattan Island. All bridges and waterways are mined. The United States Police Force, like an army, is encamped around the island. There are no guards inside the prison, only prisoners and the worlds they have made. The rules are simple: once you go in, you don't come out."

"[addressing his followers] They sent in their best man, and when we roll across the 69th Street bridge tomorrow, on our way to freedom, we're going to have their best man leading the way - from the neck up! [cheering erupts] On the hood of my car! [more cheering]"

"St. Louis - unbelievable! We went there because, well, there were certain sequences we just couldn't do in New York; they would have tied up the whole city too much. And St. Louis, due to a major fire they had there in 1977, now has just the right amount of emptiness in the downtown area. Also the right architecture. So much of the city looks vacant and dead; perfect for our needs since we couldn't use anything looking new or fresh. The city officials literally turned over the city to us. They'd shut down 10 blocks at a time to help us. I was told they hadn't hosted a major film for 15 years; they don't even have a real film commission, just a Department of Tourism. They let us trash it up, and do anything we needed. A major coup was finding, in St Louis, an exact replica - deserted, desolate, unused - of New York's Grand Central Station, complete with a train engine. Says Carpenter, "I was told it's the biggest roofed-in area in the world. We walked in and said, 'My Lord! We don't even have to dress it!'""

"The city officials not only gave permission, but were very helpful. We were the first film company in history allowed to shoot on Liberty Island, at the Statue of Liberty, at night. They let us have the whole island to ourselves. We were lucky. It wasn't easy to get that initial permission."

"So it's entirely fair to say, and I've said it before, that the way Neuromancer-the-novel "looks" was influenced in large part by some of the artwork I saw in 'Heavy Metal'. I assume that this must also be true of John Carpenter's 'Escape from New York', Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner'", and all other artefacts of the style sometimes dubbed 'cyberpunk'. Those French guys, they got their end in early."

"The world's greatest leader is a hostage in the most dangerous place on Earth. Now only the deadliest man alive can save him."

"1997. New York City is now a maximum security prison. Breaking out is impossible. Breaking in is insane."

"New York City has become the only maximum security prison for the entire country. Once you go in, you don't come out... until today."

"Kurt Russell - Snake Plissken"

"Lee Van Cleef - Bob Hauk"

"Ernest Borgnine - Cabbie"

"Donald Pleasence - US President John Harker"

"Isaac Hayes - The Duke of New York City"

"Harry Dean Stanton - Harold "Brain" Hellman"

"Adrienne Barbeau - Maggie"

"Tom Atkins - Rehme"

"Charles Cyphers - United States Secretary of State"

"Frank Doubleday - Romero"

"Ox Baker - Slag"

"Jamie Lee Curtis - computer voice and film narrator"