Escape from L.A. (1996)

[mwynn]

Escape from L.A. Blu-ray

Escape from L.A. Blu-ray Review

Are they going to skip over a US release of Escape From New York?

[DetroitSportsFan]

Escape from New York is MGM (different studio).

[benricci]

EFNY will most likely be out in the next 12 months (note - this is MGM not Paramount, which controls EFLA). It's a big catalog title for MGM, so I'm sure they've got it slated...

[mredman]

gotta love snake plissken. would be cool if they made a 3rd

[raskal66]

Oops. I thought this was about To Live and Die in LA. I can't wait for that one to be released.

[Daredevil666]

The movie was released in europe in 2001 in an anamorphic enhanced version that was obviously sourced from an HD remaster.

http://www.amazon.fr/Los-Angeles-201...dp/B00005JS3L/

Expect much improved PQ, but not state of the art HD remastering. I assume they are issuing this old master (why would they bother redoing it today, the movie was a huge flop).

[benricci]

Originally Posted by dvdvision

I assume they are issuing this old master (why would they bother redoing it today, the movie was a huge flop).

I wouldn't make that assumption - this is a very popular catalog title for them, despite its theatrical box office earnings. I'd be willing to bet they're using a newer HD transfer that is not 9 years old at this point...

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by dvdvision

Expect much improved PQ, but not state of the art HD remastering. I assume they are issuing this old master (why would they bother redoing it today, the movie was a huge flop).

HDNet Movies US has been airing Escape From New York lately and it looks spectacular. Since it did air on MGM HD before, I'm assuming HDNet Movie is using the same new high-definition master.

[JBL4645]

Originally Posted by mredman

gotta love snake plissken. would be cool if they made a 3rd

Only this time its bows and arrows because Snake shut down the world with an (EMP) Electro Magnetic Pulse in Escape From L.A.

[Filmmaker]

Coming in May now!

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by mredman

gotta love snake plissken. would be cool if they made a 3rd

I am a HUGE fan of both Escape From New York and L.A. (and Carpenter in general), and have always said he should have attempted a third one -- my thought was for perhaps an "Escape From Vegas" where Las Vegas becomes the shithole prison, after, perhaps California completely breaks off from the rest of the country from another mega-quake, and Snake comes in to wander through the abandoned hotels, casinos and icons on the famed Vegas Strip...this was dabbled in a bit, if you can recall, in Resident Evil: Extinction, where Vegas was "reclaimed by the desert"...I always thought that would make for an AWESOME "Escape From..." film.

I remember reading a story, to this point, about how Carpenter and Russell wanted to make another Escape film, but call it Escape From Earth or something like that, where the action would shift to Snake in space -- after we saw the results of Jason X, I'm glad they didn't go down that route, but I believe those elements are what became Ghost of Mars...

As for L.A. on Blu, I never got around to picking this up but I should because the non-anamorphic Paramount DVD looks pretty atrocious in many scenes (aliasing and shimmering like you've never seen it before ). I remember seeing Escape From L.A. theatrically back in '96 or '95 and asking people that were coming out of the theater what they thought of it -- the mostly older crowd, who obviously never saw the first one, was like "I don't know what the HELL I just watched..."

LOL...

[Bates_Motel]

I wish they would put a few more dollars into it and fix the absolutely horrible CGI of the sub going to LA. That's really the only low pint in a $50 mil movie that should've looked way better than it did.

[mdonovan]

Originally Posted by zeze

I have to admit I love this movie. The campiness of it along with everything else makes this a fun watch everytime. I will dare to admit that I like this more than Escape to New York.

Wrong ... Just wrong. Lee Van Cleef !! ;-)

[Blu-21]

Are all the DVD releases non-anamorphic?

[Scoot79]

Originally Posted by Blu-21

Are all the DVD releases non-anamorphic?

I believe so.

...which means the Blu-ray is the only way to go. Romy and Michele's High School Reunion falls in the same category. Breakdown (1997, Kurt Russell) needs a Blu-ray release as it, too, never got a 16x9 enhanced anamorphic DVD release.

[Blu-21]

Originally Posted by Scoot79

I believe so.

...which means the Blu-ray is the only way to go. Romy and Michele's High School Reunion falls in the same category. Breakdown (1997, Kurt Russell) needs a Blu-ray release as it, too, never got a 16x9 enhanced anamorphic DVD release.

Thanks for the confirmation. I was actuelly going to settle for the DVD because its dirt cheap but knowing its not anamorphic just makes me want to buy the Blu-Ray despite it being more pricey.

It's strange that the DVD of EFNY was 16x9 enhanced yet the DVD of EFLA isn't.

[tylergfoster]

Originally Posted by Blu-21

It's strange that the DVD of EFNY was 16x9 enhanced yet the DVD of EFLA isn't.

As they were released by different studios, it's not that surprising.

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Just wait for the blu to go to the bargain bin. This is one of those movies that has to hover around the $5 mark for me to even think about it. I care about it only because of the lead character, as the movie itself is a joke. It's one of a group of films that was singling the decline of my all-time favorite director.

[Scoot79]

Originally Posted by Blu-21

Thanks for the confirmation. I was actuelly going to settle for the DVD because its dirt cheap but knowing its not anamorphic just makes me want to buy the Blu-Ray despite it being more pricey.

It's strange that the DVD of EFNY was 16x9 enhanced yet the DVD of EFLA isn't.

Well, L.A. was an early DVD release for Paramount, at which time they weren't putting out many (if any) 16x9 enhanced anamorphic transfers for catalog titles. During the first two years of DVD (1997-1999) Paramount was recycling a lot of 4x3 letterbox LaserDisc transfers for DVD, probably to save money on a new format they were uncertain of. It wasn't until mid-to-late 1999 that Paramount really embraced 16x9 anamorphic DVDs.

[Blu Myers]

I picked this up recently since I'm a Snake fan. The special effects look like pre-viz in the beginning. Its still a fun flick though. I love the basketball scene.