I
wanna run, I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside.
I wanna reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name.
I wanna feel sunlight on my face.
I see the dust-cloud
Disappear without a trace.
I wanna take shelter
From the poison rain
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name.
We're still building and burning down love
Burning down love.
And when I go there
I go there with you
(It's all I can do).
The city's a flood, and our love turns to rust.
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust.
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name.
We're still building and burning down love
Burning down love.
And when I go there
I go there with you
(It's all I can do).
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside.
I wanna reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name.
I wanna feel sunlight on my face.
I see the dust-cloud
Disappear without a trace.
I wanna take shelter
From the poison rain
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name.
We're still building and burning down love
Burning down love.
And when I go there
I go there with you
(It's all I can do).
The city's a flood, and our love turns to rust.
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust.
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name.
We're still building and burning down love
Burning down love.
And when I go there
I go there with you
(It's all I can do).
This is one of those U2 songs I don't much care about. Also, for the purposes of this blog, the post-apocalyptic lyrics depicting a New York in disarray come in handy.. But objectively speaking, it feels like they are added to a perfectly fine romantic song, in order to imbue it with ostensibly deep meaning.
The Movie: Escape from New York (John Carpenter, 1981)
Since the financial crisis in 2008 many blockbusters share a post-apocalyptic theme. It's one reason why I am not very infatuated with modern blockbuster cinema. It is annoying, mostly because the majority of these films only employ these themes as a shortcut to poignancy, without really having an idea what they are talking about. Also I do not believe that any time soon our world will turn into an apocalyptic wasteland, but the problems that have people fearing such scenarios are very real. Yet these movies do not care about these problems, for these movies these problems are simply McGuffins, existing only to justify a post-apocalyptic aesthetic, It's not a surprise why Hollywood producers like to finance these films. It makes them look relevant and politically concerned, without threatening their position. The worst offender of this is perhaps Elysium, which makes it seem as if Neill Blomkamp cannot wait for the apocalypse, because it'll involve very cool robots.This is all kind of offensive, but I must admit I would be far less indignant about all this, if I didn't just find it so damn boring. These are ugly looking movies, shot as drably as possible, and filled with joyless, deeply serious 'gritty' heroes, who fight even duller villains. Because they lack the courage of their convictions they are afraid to allow for light entertainment, and thus every entertaining moment is ruined, because the filmmakers never want us to forget they are serious men dealing with serious stuff.
Escape from New York is better than most of these movies, if only because John Carpenter does know what he is talking about. This is the first movie of his I've seen, but from the moment that a bunch of communists hijack the Air Force One and fly into New York protesting the police state America has become, it is clear that Carpenter very much understands what he is criticizing in this film, and who has to be the target of his critique. This did not surprise me very much, because while I haven't seen it I am familiar with Carpenter's They Live, and the famous clips from that movie. Because of that I expected much more from Escape from New York. There is not a scene here that is nearly as fun as the 'Chew Bubblegum' scene. Apart from that, I don't really understand how this Kurt Russell role became so iconic. He is a great actor who revels in chewing the scenery while uttering colorful dialogue. Here he gets to give a rather one-note performance full of dull one-liners.
My main problem with Escape from New York may be that Carpenter controls the pace of this movie a bit too well. After 10 minutes I thought I was gonna be in for a treat. Carpenter set up his movie perfectly, while including a truly wonderful dolly shot. Yet after those 10 minutes it felt like he continued to set up his movie. It never felt like the film shifted into another gear. The movie simply never really grabbed me. I did not expect to like Wuthering Heights (considerably) more than Escape from New York, but here we are, Still, this is not without its pleasures. Carpenter has a lot of fun experimenting with light, colors and shadows. Especially during the night scenes (it is funny how Carpenter contrives his narrative in such a way that despite the fact that the film takes place over a period of 24 hours, more than 3/4 of the scenes take place at night) it seems as if no shot is lit in the same way. A nice highlight was Kurt Russel's flight into Manhattan when he is seemingly surrounded by a red glow. Furthermore there are some nice absurdist touches such as Isaac Hayes car which is decorated with bizarre chandeliers. Ultimately though the film is saved, as many are, by Harry Dean Stanton's performance. He enjoys enormously playing Brain, a cowardly, but intelligent pragmatist who constantly changes sides based on what's best for him.
The Movie: Escape from New York (John Carpenter, 1981)
Since the financial crisis in 2008 many blockbusters share a post-apocalyptic theme. It's one reason why I am not very infatuated with modern blockbuster cinema. It is annoying, mostly because the majority of these films only employ these themes as a shortcut to poignancy, without really having an idea what they are talking about. Also I do not believe that any time soon our world will turn into an apocalyptic wasteland, but the problems that have people fearing such scenarios are very real. Yet these movies do not care about these problems, for these movies these problems are simply McGuffins, existing only to justify a post-apocalyptic aesthetic, It's not a surprise why Hollywood producers like to finance these films. It makes them look relevant and politically concerned, without threatening their position. The worst offender of this is perhaps Elysium, which makes it seem as if Neill Blomkamp cannot wait for the apocalypse, because it'll involve very cool robots.This is all kind of offensive, but I must admit I would be far less indignant about all this, if I didn't just find it so damn boring. These are ugly looking movies, shot as drably as possible, and filled with joyless, deeply serious 'gritty' heroes, who fight even duller villains. Because they lack the courage of their convictions they are afraid to allow for light entertainment, and thus every entertaining moment is ruined, because the filmmakers never want us to forget they are serious men dealing with serious stuff.
Escape from New York is better than most of these movies, if only because John Carpenter does know what he is talking about. This is the first movie of his I've seen, but from the moment that a bunch of communists hijack the Air Force One and fly into New York protesting the police state America has become, it is clear that Carpenter very much understands what he is criticizing in this film, and who has to be the target of his critique. This did not surprise me very much, because while I haven't seen it I am familiar with Carpenter's They Live, and the famous clips from that movie. Because of that I expected much more from Escape from New York. There is not a scene here that is nearly as fun as the 'Chew Bubblegum' scene. Apart from that, I don't really understand how this Kurt Russell role became so iconic. He is a great actor who revels in chewing the scenery while uttering colorful dialogue. Here he gets to give a rather one-note performance full of dull one-liners.
My main problem with Escape from New York may be that Carpenter controls the pace of this movie a bit too well. After 10 minutes I thought I was gonna be in for a treat. Carpenter set up his movie perfectly, while including a truly wonderful dolly shot. Yet after those 10 minutes it felt like he continued to set up his movie. It never felt like the film shifted into another gear. The movie simply never really grabbed me. I did not expect to like Wuthering Heights (considerably) more than Escape from New York, but here we are, Still, this is not without its pleasures. Carpenter has a lot of fun experimenting with light, colors and shadows. Especially during the night scenes (it is funny how Carpenter contrives his narrative in such a way that despite the fact that the film takes place over a period of 24 hours, more than 3/4 of the scenes take place at night) it seems as if no shot is lit in the same way. A nice highlight was Kurt Russel's flight into Manhattan when he is seemingly surrounded by a red glow. Furthermore there are some nice absurdist touches such as Isaac Hayes car which is decorated with bizarre chandeliers. Ultimately though the film is saved, as many are, by Harry Dean Stanton's performance. He enjoys enormously playing Brain, a cowardly, but intelligent pragmatist who constantly changes sides based on what's best for him.
