"John Carpenter's “Escape From L.A.” is a go-for-broke action extravaganza that satirizes the genre at the same time it's exploiting it. It's a dark vision of a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles—leveled by a massive earthquake, cut off from the mainland by a flooded San Fernando Valley, and converted into a prison camp for the nation's undesirables."

"Most of what John Carpenter made was gloriously weird, dark, B-movies, genre movies or movies that felt like comic-books. Escape From L.A. really isn't all that different in that regard. Maybe it's lighter, maybe it's a bit sillier, maybe it's more far fetched but if these are the reasons you dislike it, I would suggest you majorly lighten up. Don't you all love Big Trouble in Little China?"

"So, I agree, the effects aren't always charming and sometimes a little, bizarrely awful. The other thing I would level at Escape from L.A. is that it doesn't really justify its 1996 $50 million budget. The aforementioned Jurassic Park had a budget of only $65 million and look what that accomplished. However, a little in its defense, every single shot in Escape from L.A. has some form of effect, whacked out costume, matte painting, set dressing etc. It's a bonkers, punk, grindhouse, fucked up, grungy, comic book, B-Movie writ large."

"Escape from L.A. is better than the first movie. Ten times better. It’s got more to it. It’s more mature. It’s got a lot more to it. I think some people didn’t like it because they felt it was a remake, not a sequel... I suppose it’s the old question of whether you like Rio Bravo or El Dorado better? They’re essentially the same movie. They both had their strengths and weaknesses."

"Snake is Back."

"[addressing the crowd at the LA Olympic Auditorium] I promised you tonight was gonna be special. I also promised you one last great spectacle of death in this historic arena. Now you will see that death. I give you, the death of SNAKE PLISSKEN!!! [cheers as Snake is forced into a basketball court; to Snake] Some people think you're already dead, Snake. Some say you never will be. 'Cause you may have survived Cleveland. You may have escaped from New York. But this is LA, vato. And you're about to find out that this fucking city can kill anybody! [more cheers] Game time!! [explains the basketball rules to Snake] Basketball. Two hoops, full court. Ten-second shot clock. Miss a shot, you get shot. Shot clock buzzer goes off before you shoot, you get shot. Two points for a basket, no three-point bullshit. All you gotta do is make ten points. That's it... By the way, nobody's ever walked off that court alive. Nobody."

"[facing four gunmen at once] I'm gonna give you assholes a chance. What do you say we play a little Bangkok rules? [picks up a tin can] Nobody draws until this hits the ground. You ready? [throws can up, draws, kills all four before it lands] Draw."

"Call me Snake."

"In the late 20th century, hostile forces inside the United States grow strong. The city of Los Angeles is ravaged by crime and immorality. To protect and defend its citizens, the United States Police Force is formed. A presidential candidate predicts a millennium earthquake will destroy LA in divine retribution. An earthquake measuring 9.6 on the Richter scale hits at 12:59 p.m., August 23rd in the year 2000. After the devastation, the Constitution is amended, and the newly-elected President accepts a lifetime term of office. The country's capital is relocated from Washington, D.C. to the President's hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia. Los Angeles Island is declared no longer part of the United States and becomes the deportation point for all people found undesirable or unfit to live in the new "moral" America. The United States Police Force, like an army, is encamped along the shoreline, making any escape from LA impossible. From the south-eastern hills of Orange County to the north-western shore of Malibu, the Great Wall excludes LA from the mainland. The President's first act as permanent commander-in-chief is Directive 17: once an American loses his or her citizenship, they are deported to this island of the damned and they never come back."

"I'm sorry, if you were right, I would agree with you."

"Awkward turtles make weird babies."

"I'm not very good with people. I like them. I wish I could say I had more than a rudimentary understanding of them. Maybe if they were less unpredictable..."

"Julianne Moore — Marlene Craven"

"Ernie Hudson — Solomon"

"Matt McCoy — Michael Bartel"

"Rebecca DeMornay — Mrs. Mott"

"Annabella Sciorra — Claire Bartel"

"Get Rocked January 10th!"

"Behind a beautiful face, beneath a dangerous smile, lies a revenge that can't be stopped."

"Trust is her weapon. Innocence her opportunity. Revenge her only desire."

"..is the hand that rules the world."

"You've got a Harvard education, make something up!"

"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."

"When your husband makes love to you, it's my face he sees! When your baby is hungry, it's my breast that feeds him. Look at you. When push comes to shove, you can't even breathe."

"I got a message for you, Roth! LEAVE EMMA ALONE! Look at me - if you don't, I'm gonna rip your fucking head off!"

"(punches out Mrs. Mott) She's Dr. Mott's widow, Michael."

"Dexter Gordon - Rolando"

"Bradley Whitford - Dr. Tyler"

"Peter Stormare - Neurochemist"

"Keith Diamond - Anthony"

"Richard Libertini - Sidney"

"Anne Meara - Mirriam"

"Judith Malina - Rose"

"Alice Drummond - Lucy"

"Ruth Nelson - Mrs. Lowe"

"Max von Sydow - Dr. Peter Ingham"

"Penelope Ann Miller - Paula"

"John Heard - Dr. Kaufman"

"Julie Kavner - Eleanor Costello"

"Robin Williams - Dr. Malcolm Sayer"

"Robert De Niro - Leonard Lowe"

"I can't imagine being older than 22. I've no experience at it. I know it's not 1926. I just need it to be."

"When my son was born healthy, I never asked why. Why was I so lucky? What did I do to deserve this perfect child, this perfect life? But when he got sick, you can bet I asked why! I demanded to know why! Why was this happening?"

"Read the newspaper. What does it say? All bad. It's all bad. People have forgotten what life is all about. They've forgotten what it is to be alive. They need to be reminded. They need to be reminded of what they have and what they can lose. What I feel is the joy of life, the gift of life, the freedom of life, the wonderment of life!"

"Hello. My name is Leonard Lowe. It has been explained to me that I've been away for quite some time. I'm back."

"His gaze is from the passing of bars so exhausted, that it doesn't hold a thing anymore. For him, it's as if there were thousands of bars and behind the thousands of bars no world. The sure stride of lithe, powerful steps, that around the smallest of circles turns, is like a dance of pure energy about a center, in which a great will stands numbed. Only occasionally, without a sound, do the covers of the eyes slide open-. An image rushes in, goes through the tensed silence of the frame- only to vanish, forever, in the heart."

"What we do know is that, as the chemical window closed, another awakening took place; that the human spirit is more powerful than any drug and that is what needs to be nourished: with work, play, friendship, family. These are the things that matter. This is what we'd forgotten. The simplest things."

"Harry Carey Jr. - Father Kanavan"

"Barbara Baxley - Shirley"

"Tracy Thorne - Nurse Amy Keating"