[00:00:06] Speaker A: Welcome to five Minute Film Finder, brought to you by Pioneer Library System.
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Five Minute Film Finder. I'm Ben, and today with me is Darren. Hey, Darren. How's it going?
[00:00:21] Speaker B: I'm doing well. How are you?
[00:00:22] Speaker A: Good.
So today we have some Kurt Russell movies.
[00:00:28] Speaker B: Kurt Russell sci fi action movies.
[00:00:31] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. A nice cross section of a lot of his career.
He seems to return to these kinds of roles a lot.
Do you have a favorite Kurt Russell movie?
[00:00:43] Speaker B: Ooh, that's a tough one.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Or even a favorite flavor of Kurt Russell?
[00:00:47] Speaker B: Well, I mean, like, early on the podcast, I talked about how much I love a Kurt Russell sci fi action movie. Of course, I don't know if anybody remembers that specific episode.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: What was it?
Stargate.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Yeah, there you go. Perfect. Yes. Stargate is one of my favorite movies. I love that movie. And Kurt Russell's not the star exactly of that one, co star with James Spader. But yeah, if I had to pick one, that one's pretty good. I like Backdraft, too. Backdraft's pretty good.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: Oh, I don't know if I've seen that one.
Cool.
So is this your preferred flavor? Because these are kind of similar to that flavor of Kurt Russell. That's the more serious. Well, we'll get into that.
The serious ish version of him. Like, definitely. Like, kind of the backlash to the Disney days.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: Yeah, like, very much a. I want to.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: I don't want to be that.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: I want to be somebody very different.
[00:01:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
So today we've got two different ones from. When did Escape from New York come out?
[00:01:57] Speaker B: I believe that's 81.
[00:01:59] Speaker A: 81. Okay.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Escape from New York.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: Wow. Almost two decades apart.
[00:02:02] Speaker B: Yes. And 98 for the other movie, Soldier.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: All right, so today we will start with Escape from New York. I'm gonna get Wilhelm ready and get my notes up, and we'll start now. So Escape from New York, as we just said, came out in 1981. It is rated R. It is a classic, classic John Carpenter film.
[00:02:26] Speaker B: Cult classic.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Do you love this movie or do you feel any ways about this movie?
[00:02:31] Speaker B: I don't love this movie.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:02:34] Speaker B: We can get into it right now if you'd like.
[00:02:37] Speaker A: Yeah, go ahead.
[00:02:39] Speaker B: I kind of hate it.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[00:02:40] Speaker B: To be honest with you, strong feelings. Yeah. So 30 minutes before he's actually doing anything in New York.
[00:02:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: It's a long run in.
And. And, you know, like, sure, there's parts that are good and why. I understand why it's, you know, viewed that way by people yeah, it has.
[00:03:03] Speaker A: A lot of, like, pacing from a John Carpenter horror movie where, like, I understand where this pacing is coming from, but it's a little out of place for an action movie, ostensibly an action movie.
[00:03:17] Speaker B: Right. Like, you know, he's. It's. It's meant to be an action movie and his sequel is much more of an action movie.
[00:03:25] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: Though I don't think it's a good movie either for as.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: Right.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Yeah. Different reasons, but yeah, it's. It's just a little. A little slow in parts and when the action is there, it's just kind of.
[00:03:37] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:37] Speaker B: Not much there.
[00:03:38] Speaker A: Yeah, it's an interesting one.
I really like it for. I think, the abstracts. Like, I. I think in my brain, like, I'm like, I enjoy all the elements of this thing. But then when I was watching it, I was like, this is. I'm kind of sleepy. I'm kind of tired. Which is weird for like. Like, John Carpenter for one, Kurt Russell for two, and an action movie for three. So, like, it's definitely of a different time and, like, kind of like missing certain typical tropes.
But, like, I do love, like, the weird snake Plissken. Snake Plissken is his character's name.
[00:04:19] Speaker B: And Kurt Russell basically created the whole thing. Like the look, the eye patch, which is great. Yes, very.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: Eye contact tattoo on the belly disappearing.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: Once he gets half naked. Right.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
But, like, like, the hints of, like, John Carpenter crazy in this movie are so fun. Like, the design elements, the, like, the world building that he does within it is really interesting that, like, that he, like, has the confidence to, like, not explain a ton. Just like the crazies just erupting from the ground. They're like, oh, yeah, they ran out of food.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: This is what's going to happen.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: They're going to.
[00:04:58] Speaker B: They're going to eat me now.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: All right. It's like, say no more.
But, like, I really love.
So it's such a contrast from your movie. Both very, quote, unquote, serious depictions of a action star. But like this one, it's clear he's doing like, a mishmash of, like, several different, like, big characters. Like, it's Clint Eastwood.
[00:05:23] Speaker B: Right.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: It's like, it's a little bit like Stallone. It's a little bit. A couple other things. But, like, it's such a big, but, like, steely eyed and intense. His voice. Yeah.
[00:05:36] Speaker B: Call me Snake.
[00:05:38] Speaker A: It's so over the top and, like, it was very interesting watching in contrast with the other movie where he is so reserved.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: Very much. Yes, completely different role.
[00:05:50] Speaker A: Yeah, but like.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: So, yeah, I thought it was interesting. I read that John Carpenter had his script and wanted it to be funnier and so he hired the actor who played Michael Myers, the shape in Halloween. Nick Castle is co writer of this movie and he's. Who added the cabbie character, the Ernest Borgnine character.
[00:06:15] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:16] Speaker B: Who's very weird throughout the whole thing.
[00:06:18] Speaker A: Such a delightful but strange addition when you just see his big grinning. Right.
[00:06:24] Speaker B: Just pop it up out of nowhere.
Why are you even here?
[00:06:28] Speaker A: Just cheesing and feeling totally juxtaposed to everything else in this world.
We're getting close on time.
[00:06:37] Speaker B: But why did everybody think he was dead? Why did everybody know who he was? And why did everybody think Snake was dead? I don't. I don't. It was. It's so strange. I love that part of the movie. That's one of the parts I really like.
[00:06:49] Speaker A: It's just. Yeah. Another like, typical John Carpenter, just like confidence to be like, yeah, they'll figure it out. It's like straight, like he's. He's famous. We're not gonna tell you why John Carpenter did the music.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: Yeah. And it feels like a weird score for an action and we're out of time.
[00:07:08] Speaker A: But let's finish this thought. It is, absolutely. Because, like, it's again, John Carpenter doing a John Carpenter thing in what you don't expect to be a John Carpenter place. Like, it's okay. This makes sense for his other, like horror movies or science fiction. This is vaguely science fiction, but more like dystopic future.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Yeah, rather. You know, there's a very few actual science sci fi elements. You know, the weapons and equipment and vehicles they all have are pretty much, you know, absolutely, you know, standard for the day.
[00:07:48] Speaker A: But I, I enjoy this movie just as a. Like a piece of a time. Like it feels like early mid-80s weirdness.
Like excess and like, ah, we can do whatever we want.
[00:08:09] Speaker B: Big trouble in Little Tokyo is so much better though.
[00:08:12] Speaker A: Little China.
[00:08:13] Speaker B: Yes. Sorry, China. Sorry. I always mess that one up. Yeah, Big trouble. Little China. Always mess that up.
[00:08:19] Speaker A: Yeah, but it's like.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: It's so much figured out. The funnier the action.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Everything that's later, right?
[00:08:24] Speaker B: Right? Yeah, like 87.
[00:08:26] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, so is. You almost wonder if he's just like, okay, I think I got it now. And it's like, this is what I wanted that to be.
But yeah, absolutely.
[00:08:37] Speaker B: Super weird, but funny throughout.
[00:08:39] Speaker A: And also letting Kurt Russell have the twinkle in his eye rather than just be like, oh.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: And maybe that was partly Kurt's fault because Snake was so.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: Once he had relaxed, I don't have to be so dour the whole time. I can still charm. Which is. You love Kurt Russell for his charm.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: Sure, of course.
[00:09:02] Speaker A: But anyway, so that is Escape from New York.
We will take a quick break and then we'll be back with our next movie.
All right, and we are back. So we just talked about Escape from New York and now we are going to go almost 20 years in the future. So Darren, what are we talking about from 1998?
[00:09:28] Speaker B: We're going to be talking about Soldier, like we said, also starring Kurt Russell.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: All right, Wilhelm, start your timer.
[00:09:36] Speaker B: All right, soldier from 1998, like we talked about, starring Kurt Russell. Directed early movie by Paul W.S. anderson. You might know Paul W.S. anderson from the Resident Evil movies. He directed most of them, wrote all of them, produced all of them, married the star, the whole thing.
He did a few early sci fi action movies before the Resident Evil. This was one of those.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: Clearly a dystopian guy. He has a feeling for it.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: That kind of dirty. He's good with dirty. That kind of thing.
Interesting. Written by one of the co writers of Blade Runner, David Peoples. It's kind of a weird thing where he's like said that it's like a side sequel but then denied later that it's a side. Like two different interviews. Interesting. But if you look, some of the battles that the main character, Todd 4, 5, 6, whatever it is, some of the battles he's in are some of the same battles listed by Batty in Blade Runner.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:10:48] Speaker B: So like there is a connection a little bit.
[00:10:51] Speaker A: It's weird. Like the Wisconsin Insurrection.
[00:10:53] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, those, that, that list of battles. Yeah, some of them are the same. So like. But yeah, it's just a weird, you know, thing with the writer. But yeah, like you we were talking about earlier, very much a 90s movie.
[00:11:05] Speaker A: So 90s.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: Yeah, the, the, the, the little bit of CG, you know, computer graphic stuff that they did is very 90s, very noticeable.
Not awesome. Yeah, but you know there was, but.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: Made up for by like you're saying good with dirty. Like a lot. There's a lot of dystopian movies where there's just junk everywhere. And like some people do it well, some people don't like the junk.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: The junk village where these people lived felt like a good fallout type junk village. Like you know, like something that you wanted, want, really want to see. So I like said so. Kurt Russell stars as Sergeant Todd 3465. And he says 104 words throughout the entire movie.
[00:11:49] Speaker A: And you feel it.
[00:11:51] Speaker B: Like there's scenes where he's standing there and people are talking and talking to him and he just doesn't say anything and the scene's over.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: Yeah, and it's an interesting one because like in a lot of these cases, like you'd feel like a lot of emoting on the actor's part, but like it's almost like an intentional lack of that.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: His face is totally, almost neutral. And there's like, when he does show those little bits of emotion, it's just little sparks in his eyes and stuff like that. It's very interesting for the first 2/3 of the movie.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: And it's weirdly like not even like tough guy face either. It's just like really like neutral.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: Very kind of dead inside, you know. A little bit, A little bit of that. He's born and taken as an infant to be a soldier. Raised as a soldier, knows nothing but soldiering and was the strongest of the pack, so to speak. The weakest had been shot as they were growing up and stuff like that.
[00:12:52] Speaker A: That was like the first like shocking part. I was like, oh, they just murdered.
[00:12:56] Speaker B: That 10 year old or whatever in that scene. Interesting in that scene, his son, Wyatt Russell. The first movie where they have played the same character. Wyatt Russell is playing like the 12 year old version of Todd. And in this one scene when they're running, they've recently done that in the Monarch Show. I don't know if you watched that one. But yeah, interesting bit there with, with his son. But yeah, it's. It's very, like I said, very much 90s. You got some good character actors in there. Jason Isaac playing the evil Colonel.
He's good at evil colonel. He does that sometimes. Also, you know Malfoy from the Harry Potter movies. Lucius Malfoy, There he is. You know, you always gotta hate him. Gotta hate him some. Like I said, Connie Nielsen, you got.
Of Gladiator fame. Got a sequel coming out soon.
[00:13:44] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:13:45] Speaker B: She's in that.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: I was trying to.
[00:13:46] Speaker B: She does, she does a lot of the. Lot of the dialogue that we're talking about where she's saying things to this character like trying to figure him out.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:53] Speaker B: And be nice and stuff. And he just stands there.
[00:13:56] Speaker A: That energy of the movie. Yeah.
[00:13:58] Speaker B: You know, the kid is also silent and so like there's a lot of interactions between them because of that, I think. But like I said, interesting sci fi action movie. Gary Busey being very restrained. A restrained, oddly restrained Gary Busey.
[00:14:15] Speaker A: It was an interesting use of him because he didn't ever get big and he wasn't in that much. So it's just like usually if you're going to use him for a bit part, it's to be big and it's just like, okay.
[00:14:26] Speaker B: Right. And then he just, you know, kind of done. And there's not. There's not much done already, man.
[00:14:32] Speaker A: Yeah, today's just been flying by. Is there any, like, final notes that you want to hit on this or special?
[00:14:39] Speaker B: I mean, honestly, I like this movie better than the previous.
[00:14:42] Speaker A: It was more engaging, I think, pace wise.
And I don't know. Who would you suggest this for? If you. For fans of other things.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: If you like, you know, science fiction, ish action, you know, movies. This is good. It's.
[00:15:00] Speaker A: It's not Heavy Mad Max just cause the dystopian ness, but not like the craziness of that. More like a Terminator in terms of like the like emotional. Cause it's mostly like coldness with humanity interacting with it.
[00:15:17] Speaker B: Yeah. And you know, his very short emotional journey that he takes, but, you know, you see it on his face and. Yeah, I thought it was interesting. Great role for you.
[00:15:27] Speaker A: Like a story about ptsd.
[00:15:29] Speaker B: Yeah. Right. Like he has the flashbacks and he's learning to be a human being kind of thing and. Yeah.
[00:15:34] Speaker A: Kind of before that was as much of a cultural conversation as it has been in the last 20 years. Because it's been more than 20 years.
[00:15:42] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:15:43] Speaker A: Right?
[00:15:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:44] Speaker B: The 90s are way gone.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
So, yeah, I would suggest that movie. It's a fun one.
Well, if any of you guys have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for the podcast, you can email
[email protected] that's systemsingular.org and until next time, thanks for listening. Bye.
[00:16:11] Speaker B: Bye. Thanks for having me on.
