Key facts
- John Carpenter's 'Escape from L.A.' has been released in a new 4K UHD SteelBook edition.
- The film, a sequel to 'Escape from New York', was released 30 years ago.
- Upon its release, 'Escape from L.A.' was a box office flop and received mixed critical reviews.
- Roger Ebert was a notable defender of the film, praising its satirical and action-packed nature.
- The movie is set in a dystopian 2013 Los Angeles, a prison colony separated from the mainland by an earthquake.
- The new edition is aimed at collectors and fans celebrating the film's 30th anniversary.
Thirty years after its initial release, John Carpenter's cult film 'Escape from L.A.' has been given a new life with a 4K UHD SteelBook edition. The 1996 sequel, starring Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken, was a departure from its predecessor 'Escape from New York' in tone, embracing satire and camp. Upon its release, the film was a commercial failure and met with confused critical reception, with Variety calling it 'a cartoonish, cheesy, and surprisingly campy apocalyptic actioner.' However, some critics, like Roger Ebert, recognized its unique blend of action and satire, awarding it 3.5 out of 4 stars. The film is set in a dystopian 2013 Los Angeles, which has become a penal colony after a massive earthquake, populated by individuals exiled for violating new morality laws enacted by a televangelist president. The movie is noted for its outlandish scenes, including Snake Plissken surfing on a tsunami and paragliding into a Disneyland-like theme park. While a previous Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory in 2020 offered extensive special features, the new Paramount 4K UHD SteelBook focuses on the visual upgrade for collectors.