Ep 35: Escape From New York

We’ve done a lot of good episodes, but this might be “A #1”! That’s right, this week takes on John Carpenter’s (not Ritchie Blackmore’s!) post apocalyptic 1981 film Escape From New York.  We dive into the details on the making of and do a complete walk-through of the film, extolling the virtues of practical effects, “economical” storytelling, first-rate film-making and a brilliant cast. Does this film stand the test of time? Spoiler alert: Of course it does! At any rate, we evaluate it anyway and along the way we learn… How this film is great preparation for the real life upcoming apocalypse we all know is imminent  Why you might have experienced frequent power outages if you were a resident of East St. Louis in 1981 What were the last two words that Walt Disney ever wrote down Why cardboard and black light make better special effects than 50 million dollars with of CGI How a character called Brain can make incredible leaps in logic, gasoline from steam, but somehow can’t read a map About the two twin bust-out stars of the film… What not to say to Snake Plisken if you want to live And finally, an unwanted and unnecessary lesson about fusion from Dr. Science Check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/culturalfutures/) for links and additional content related to this and other episodes as well as clues to upcoming shows or write to us at [email protected] All audio clips are used under the "Fair Use" Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.