Escape from L.A.

"Snake is back."

1996 1h 41m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 1,683

ActionThrillerScience Fiction

Synopsis

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Into the 9.6-quaked Los Angeles of 2013 comes Snake Plissken. His job: wade through L.A.'s ruined landmarks to retrieve a doomsday device.

“Snake is back.”

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Cast

Kurt Russell
Snake Plissken
Stacy Keach
Malloy
Steve Buscemi
Eddie
A. J. Langer
Utopia
Cliff Robertson
President
Bruce Campbell
Surgeon General of Beverly Hills
Pam Grier
Hershe Las Palamas
Peter Fonda
Pipeline

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Carpenter
Writers: John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Kurt Russell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 85% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Escape From ... Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Carpenter, shot by Gary B. Kibbe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Carpenter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Edward A. Warschilka shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kurt Russell and Stacy Keach and Steve Buscemi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Carpenter directs. Gary B. Kibbe behind the camera. John Carpenter scores. Edward A. Warschilka cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 85% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
330 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Escape From ... Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by John Carpenter, shot by Gary B. Kibbe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by John Carpenter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Edward A. Warschilka shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Kurt Russell and Stacy Keach and Steve Buscemi carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Snake is back.".
10IMDB entry: tt0116225 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 13 themes, including "prison", "martial arts", "showdown", "usa president".
12Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gary B. Kibbe
Original score: John Carpenter
Editing: Edward A. Warschilka
Production design: Lawrence G. Paull
Costume design: Robin Michel Bush
Makeup / hair: Joseph Yuss Simon
Stunt coordinator: Jeff Imada
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $50,000,000
Box office: $42,277,365
Return: 85% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Escape from L.A. (1996)

Part of

Escape From ... Collection

A John Carpenter action film series following the main protagonist Snake Plissken, a former Special Forces operative turned criminal who is called upon to breach dangerous environments for search-and-rescue missions of the utmost priority.

Also by

John Carpenter

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522020-05-28
★ 6/10
90s cheese not quite as good as 80s cheese, but still an entertaining enough action-thriller, though some moments were laughable and not in a good way (Snake riding surfing a wave isn't all that bad ass), plus the effects work was rather poor. I don't have a great fondness for Escape from New York, however it was far superior. 3.0/5
CinemaSerf2022-07-06
★ 5/10
So Los Angeles has become a glorified open-air prison (who'd have thought?) and "Snake" (Kurt Russell) is invited to do his "Mad Max" thing and go in, at considerable peril to himself, and fetch a gadget that could enable the US President (Cliff Robertson) - or anyone else with the codes, for that matter - to use a satellite in the best traditions of "Diamonds are Forever" (1971) and destroy parts or all of the world. The twist, well it turns out that it's "Utopia" (A.J. Langer), who just happens to be the president's disgruntled daughter, who is the one who took the device into the lawless wasteland in the first place and enforcer "Malloy" (Stacey Keach) is determined to get it back, regardless of whether or not she comes back with it. It's a derivative mess, this film. It's rooted in so many other stories that are much better executed; there is simply no menace or jeopardy at all, and John Carpenter seems unsure whether he wants an all-out action film or a semi-comedy. Russell is always at his more entertaining with the latter, here he just comes across as a man with a mission who is no more interested in the plot than I was. Steve Buscemi doesn't really add much either as the duplicitous "Eddie" and I am sure I spotted Peter Fonda in here too - a payday for a few actors who ought to have known better. The effects and pyrotechnics are adequate but the nadir in a basketball court surrounded by gun-toting assassins who could't hit a cow on the tit with a tin cup just put the icing on this really undercooked muffin.
AlfaVitaY2K2026-06-02
★ 10/10
John Carpenter’s anarchic sequel Escape from LA to conservative Escape from NY swaps grim dystopia for gleeful, sleazy chaos, and it’s all the better for it. Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell, still the ultimate anti-hero) is back, this time sent into a crumbling, post-earthquake Los Angeles turned into an island prison. Same gritty premise, but now dripping with dark humor, wild satire, and Carpenter’s signature punk energy. While Escape from NY is colder and meaner, Escape from LA leans into the absurdity and has way more fun with it. The action is inventive, the supporting cast is perfectly bizarre, and the whole thing feels like Carpenter winking at the audience while flipping off Hollywood. But don't worry, Snake Plissken is still the same laid back, cool alpha anti-hero. Both films are classics from a master. Ignore the formulaic nerds who only want the first one. Watch them both back-to-back and enjoy two of the coolest cult action movies ever made. Highly recommended.