No Escape (1994) Retrospective / Review
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- No Escape (1994) Retrospective / Review
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Probably too late to post a comment but I remember being on the set back when I was six or so in Australia. I'm impressed by how much you were able to piece together, given that it's a somewhat obscure film. And the village set was indeed full sized. What you saw was what was there.
Great underrated movie. Stuart Wilson gives a great charismatic performance and steals the scenes
Stuart is one of the great English character actors of our time. I wish he'd been cast more. Ever since Lethal Weapon 3, I've been watching him and have been in awe of his talent.
A very underrated movie.
I remember the villain leader more than anything else in this movie
Just watched the film for the first time recently underrated classic. Rest In Power, Ray Liotta.
Ahh shit, I forgot he passed. Now I’m sad all over again.
This and starship Troopers are my most watched movie. Must have watched both more than 50 times.
My dad and I used to rent this all the time when I was a kid. Thank you so much for reviewing it!
Saw this in the theatre when it came out, loved it.
Love this film, a forgotten classic 90’s action film, music is good too.
Yeeeaaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzz! This is an underrated, not so well known, GEM! Ray Liotta is so captivating on screen, and he was great in this. Thanks, and Happy Christmas mates!
This movie is such an underrated gem and I'm so happy to see a respectable review for it. One of my favorite films.
Luckily, I have a DVD copy of this unsung gem. Worthy of praise, and I am not surprised to see someone of your exceptional taste extolling the virtues of this action packed treasure.
As of 2023 it's finally got the BluRay release it finally deserves. Enjoy it.
I remember this film from seeing it on cable constantly in the 90's. It was great fun.
I condemn you for not waiting 2 more years and doing this in 2022, the same year the movie takes place. For shame
2 and a half to 3 years you mean
20, 21, 21 that's 3 years.....lolz
You: I'll get you next time math....next time yaaahhhahahahahaaa!!!!!
^sorry lolz
@@darthXreven annnnnnddddd someone can't math. 2020 is 1 year, 2021 is 1 year, video comes out in 2022 and that's during the year not counting that entire year, that's 2 years of waiting not 3.
@@DirtyFNsocks I have a longstanding feud with math.......math is my mortal enemy....
all my plans get foiled by math...
I'll get you next time math....next time mwahahahaaaaa!!!!
I’m watching this review in 2022
Easy fella.
I've never actually heard of this film, it looks pretty good
You can find it on a certain site you may be seeing this on. No ads full screen good audio and quality
@@thomasc.5219 i love the internet
This movie came out in a quiet spring dominated by family movies and comedies. I remember the marketing for this being solid, but the lack of a big action star made it an easy pass (even though it came out the week of my birthday). Speed, True Lies and Stargate came along in the next few months and this movie was totally forgotten until it showed up endlessly on cable.
You mentioned Speed, True Lies, and Stargate I think we had Forest Gump, Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption that year also. What a great year for films.
1994 opened with some of the worst box office records in film history, with Ace Ventura and Four Weddings and a Funeral being the only hits that I know of at the year's opening. Then came the summer, all of the blockbusters have come out, so people got the notion that 1994 was one of the best years for movies, when I don't think it is. I think it's a decent year, just not a great one.
I remember loving the trailer and concept of the movie. Did not regret buying the tickets, even if it wasn't class A tier flick.
It was released 6 days after my 3rd birthday.
I love Ray Liotta, Lance Henriksen and of course I am a sucker for a Martin Campbell movie so I am down to see this.
Thanks Oliver yet an another good retrospective
This movie has a special place in my heart. My sister got me a box of vhs tapes from Columbia House for my birthday when I was 15. Watched it many, many times. It has its flaws, but, I still love it. I heard there were supposed to be a couple other groups on the island that aren't shown. In all seriousness, it's a great premise, just could have been pulled of better.
Amen! brother. I love this movie too. I've got a couple of scenes from the movie on my RUclips channel.
Indeed. Decent movie but conflicts could have been more imaginative. I think I half-expected to see some alien monsters there in the jungle.
2:40, it's MAD MAX meets Lord of the Flies.
It's like a good Waterworld/Postman
@@RichV20 oh geez. Those two movies try so hard to be something. I think in another time, they would have been popular. They're purely a product of Hollywood. All fantasy, all escapism. Everything Hollywood stands for as far as creating a fantastical reality the audience has never seen before are what those movies are.
This movie is impossible to find in the US. Very annoying but I'm glad to see you mention it.
You can find it on a certain site that you may be seeing this on...
@@thomasc.5219 I know about the pirated options but I'm a bit of a film collector and wanted my own copy.
I had no trouble buying my DVD copy... I had it on VHS before that... Finally, I viewed it three times at the cinema. It's available on eBay for less than $10.00.
I have nothing but fond memories of this one. A bit stock but the performances were good and overall enjoyable.
One funny detail. The Film from 1994 predicts a military campaign in Libya in the year 2011 , which then actually took place in reality when Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, lol.
Escape from absolom for me
Me too.
same
Yep. Along with the terrible VHS cover it just screamed b-movie.
One of my faves from the 90s too bad it was received so badly but then most movies I like are underrated
So happy you took the time to review NO ESCAPE. Well made sci-fi action film. Good visual storytelling, especially in the first act. Fun. Entertaining. :)
Thanks, George!
@@OliverHarper Cool. Keep up the great work.
A seriously underrated film. I remember seeing in the cinema.
Loved this movie back in high school but never understood why it was so hard to find/obscure until now.
I had no idea Martin Campbell directed this.
I remember watching it on NBC 2 years after it's theatrical release. My parents and I saw this and thought it was pretty good! It's one if those Sci-fi action cult classics that no one talks about.
A wonderful Festivus gift this year
“As far back as I can remember I always wanted to escape from the island.”
I've never heard of this movie in my entire life, and yet it actually looks pretty neat. I can't believe it isn't more of a talked about cult classic.
I remember walking past this movie in video rental places my whole life. The back of the box REALLY didn't do the movie any favours. It placed all the emphasis on (the powerful weapon) which you can see on the front is a rocket launcher. Not exactly excalibur.
The emphasis should have been on building up Liota as a ruthless tactician.
This is one of the vert few retrospectives you have done on a movie I had never even heard of. I might need to find this one. Looks like a good sci-fi prison double-feature with Fortressa.
Perfect double bill with Fortress!
No Chantix on the island. That’s why the Outsiders were so cranky.
I literally just woke up, having watched this last night, and the moment I open RUclips I see this video had been uploaded 6 seconds ago...
This is one of these "sunday afternoon" movies that were all the time on TV back in the 90s, I watched it like a million times back then. Saw it for the last time on the year 2000 I think, and then completely forgot about it until now.
I first watched it in 1997 when I was 13.
It has that vibe to it.
There are plenty of movies that fit that.
This movie looks amazing!! I didn't even knew about it!
Totally missed this movie growing up but watched it for the first time last night and man this movie checked all the boxes for me. What a treat to watch this at 38YO and feel like a kid again experiencing my new favorite movie for the first time. Thanks to all the amazing talent that put this movie together.
“Don’t ever turn your back on me again.”
I saw this as Escape from Absolom. And preferred that title. Was a good little action movie.
Same here! Also prefer that title and remember it foremost.
I thought it was a GREAT FILM. An island version of Escape from Alcatraz. HBO first debuted in U.S. as Escape from Absalom.
I love this movie. It’s got the feel like you want to be there but don’t at the same time. I think we watched it on HBO back in the day on a Saturday night when the new movies would come out.
we're getting a Blu Ray special edition this fall in the USA. Finally!
It's Totally💯Worth It!
I was addicted to this movie when it first came out and still am, not only because it’s just a great movie, but also because I like the idea of throwing criminals on a island to fend for themselves.
I remember when we got Sky back in the 90's this was heavily advertised. I always got it mixed up with Fortress over the years, because that was on Sky Movies a lot too at the same time.
I worked in theaters at the time. This came from a new start up called Savoy. They also released Serial Mom and Last of the Dogman. Their size and ability to get theaters to show it also played a part in its failure.
Man..I REMEMBER this trailer..it was on a VHS of..TMNT or something ..and i used to watch this trailer and the trailer for "Outbreak"..ah days before YT or Streaming
A movie with all men and not a woman in sight? Ahh the good ole days lol. This would never be made today.
this is one of those movies that I grew up seeing on the shelf at the video rental store but didn't end up watching until many many years later. underrated, fun action flick! my only complaint is how I wish Lance Henriksen had played the bad guy. An over the top villainous Lance a la Hard Target or Stone Cold (another underrated gem!) is always such a pleasure to behold.
I worked on this film as an extra in a control room scene, i was a prison guard at a computer monitor. The wardrobe dept had a hard time keeping up with Michael Lerners expanding weight
Extremely underrated movie 🍿.
I love how consistently thoughtful your reviews are - 10/10 as always.
Cheers Dan!
I used to always get this movie confused with Surviving the Game. Unfortunate really, this is a far superior film. I love Martin Campbell and wish he had more work. It's a shame I think he shoulda directed more Bond films. He directed 2 of the best, and revitalized the stagnation the series gets. Great job as always Oliver, still one of the best talents on this platform.
Sure beats the hell outta Rise of Skywalker!
This was shot around where I live. I think the reason for it's poor release was that it was delayed about a year and there was almost no marketing. I remember seeing maybe 2 ads for it on late night tv.
R.I.P Ray Liotta
We came across this movie as Escape from Absolom in the video library and it totally appealed to us as a must rent. We were not disappointed.
Thank you sooooooooooo much. I am a huge Sci fi fan. For some strange reason this movie struck a major chord with me. Seen about 50 times. I always gravitate towards this movie, and probably will watch again after this review.
That beginning sound bite is the start to a Hatebreed song I think so although this movie kind of flew under the radar, they know how awesome it is ✊
I loved this film when it came out at age 13. I watched it many many times on PPV via my folks black
box and scrambler
It is now 2022 i loved this movie watching it as a kid on HBO. Ray Liotta did a great job.
A damn good movie. And a damn good retrospective, Oliver. 👍🖒
Cheers mate!
RIP John Robbins.
One of those “bad” movies you watch ten times.
Watching this retrospective I’d never even heard of this movie before. Anyway this is really great so far.
In Australia the movie was released under the title "Escape from Absolom" Also the Swedish title on TV used this name.
My Laserdisc copy of this film was pressed by Pioneer. No rot fortunantley! Watched it last week and really enjoyed it.
Great movie. Good acting by Ray Liotta. Escape from Absolom aka No Escape is one of my favorite movies. I've got a couple of scenes from the movie on my RUclips channel. Feel free to come on my RUclips channel and watch them and leave a comment.
@MizerisMoney Gross?
The band "Front Line Assembly" made good use of sampling this movie🎹🎸🎧💫😵💀👍
I love this film! My only qualms with it is it needed a little bit more action but apart from that it's a solid flick
good movies RIP Ray lLiota
My Stepdad liked this movie when it came out, but I forgot about it until TBS showed it about a decade later. I watched it again a couple years ago. The movie was kind of prescient with its depiction of private prisons and a Western military intervention into Libya- even if it jumps into "Most Dangerous Game meets Mad Max" a little too quickly.
I remember seeing the trailer for this movie when it first came out. Didn't get a chance to see it at the movies, but rented it when it was released and loved it.
Oliver- I've watched ALL of your retrospectives and personally have seen these films when I was younger: but I have NEVER heard of this one! Appreciate ya!
There you go I found a hidden gem for you!
this is my favorite movie of all time especially with ray liotta in it he is so handsome and very talented
Also, Kevin Dillon will always be the VHS guy from Remote Control. If you don't know about this classic 1988 B-movie alien invasion SF satire, do check it out.
Wow I haven't thought about this film in years. Great choice! I miss the snes game as well.
I remember watching this a few times as a kid. I rather enjoyed it. Rest In Peace, Ray.
I keep seeing Gale Anne Hurd mentioned in so many retrospectives here. Seems like she produced A LOT during the 80's/90's.
Once of those rare movies that deep down you know it's not good but that you enjoy anyway, a guilty pleasure I guess.
i actually enjoyed this movie back when it came out. I need to see it again!
I loved that movie. I need to seek out that bluray
Umbrella Entertainment (Australia) released a region free Blu-Ray on 2018, but I think it's sold out. Email them and tell them to re-run another batch!!! :)
Wow. Well, I know what I’ll try to watch now. Thank you!
Oh fudge yeah! This was a lot of fun. Severely underrated film.
Stewart definatley has the Rick Mail look going on.
On behalf of all your followers, Happy Christmas and Happy New Year, Oliver!
Im surprised it flopped even on VHS, here it was quite a hit on VHS and it is being shown on TV all the time, definitely a classic. I believe that Liotta can be the case, he is not a typical action lead and has some "bad guy" aura around him..
Such and underrated movie. I still remember the day I bought it on VHS😀
I saw this when I was 9 months pregnant hubby rented the video it was a amazing film my 26 year old son would love this film 😂❤
Speaking of big explosions, a retrospective of Another Stakeout would be cool. Underrated sequel and guilty pleasure of the 90s buddy action-comedy film.
I LOVE this movie! The way Campbell shoots action, the way the camera moves, and the timing of the edits are so perfect! I think it was neither good enough or bad enough to stand out so it ended up being forgotten, but It's a very well made flick. Personally, I think it failed because we spend too much time with the good guys and their camp. I wanted more Stuart Wilson . I wish it was just Ray Liotta and Wilson, "The Most Dangerous Game" type of thing. Might have done better.
Perhaps it failed because it wasn’t properly advertised, I didn’t see it until it was released on VHS because I didn’t actually know it had been in the cinema, it came and went so rapidly.These days a film like this (which I owned and watched a lot ) would be dumped on Netflix.
@@jimd385 I actually got to see it in the theater. The 90s in Dallas, Texas were big on movies. We got everything. I feel pretty lucky. So many great movies like this in the 90s.
Kelsey Shannon .......yep, movies were better in my youth. Occasionally there’s a really good one (I watch Jack Reacher far too often) but the Disney takeover of modern blockbuster cinema has had a rather cookie-cutter effect on content, don’t get me wrong, Iron Man and Thor are awesome but I miss the big budget action movie made for grown ups like The Rock, True Lies and The Matrix, perhaps this explains the success of newer films like the ‘John Wick’ trilogy and the ‘Olympus has Fallen’ trilogy, they really do cater to the 90’s action fan....like me.
I thought I hadn't seen this movie but as soon as I saw the film clips in this video I realised I have. I dont think I've seen it all the way through but definitely remember it being on Sky movies in the 90s. Not one I remember seeing any advertisements for at all though in the day, so I see why it might have passed people by.
Rented this gem from my local video store down the street from me. Loved it!
Very cool! This one absolutely flew under my radar over the years, but after seeing your retrospective I will look into checking it out, it looks pretty solid. The only time I had heard the name was in Funco Land's price paper back in the day where there was a listing for a No Escape/Cliffhanger double pack for Sega CD (Sony had done this two-for-one deal with some of their other shoddy games, like Bram Stoker's Dracula and Frankenstein). Searching for it now it looks like that pack was never released. Probably for the best. Seems like it's a Genesis/Megadrive cart exclusive.
20:07 The scene which Robbins PTSD gets triggered and he remembers the women and children his commanding officer ordered him to kill was really good acting by Ray Liotta.
It's called "Escape From Absalom" here in Australia.
pretty sure I first saw this on ITV back in the day. as far as I remember saturday night they would show all your fave shlock action movies. it was great.
I saw this movie a loooong time ago when young, and accidently read the novel it was based on many years later. It was like, "Hang on, I know this story...." ;) Book and film still hold up pretty well :)
Great review, Oliver! It has been years since I saw this film under the title of Escape from Absolom.
Thank you Oliver from an old fan of this movie!!! I just saw Lance Henrikson in "Stone Cold" (another great performance, bad movie), with Brian Bozworth the other day.
I'd argue the biggest problem this movie had is poor marketing. I'm not a movie buff, but in 1994 I was 18 years old, going out all the time and often went to the movies. I would have lapped this up back then but it's the first time I've ever heard of it.