Kurt Russell’s post-apocalyptic WesternEscape from L.A.may not look like it on the surface, but it’s a loose remake of John Wayne hidden gemEl Dorado. ThisJohn Carpenter moviewas the belated sequel toEscape from New York, with Kurt Russell returning as the one-eyed outlaw Snake Plissken.
Despite 15 years of anticipation,Escape from L.A.proved a financial disappointment, grossing only $25 million(or $64 million when adjusted for inflation) on a $50 million budget. It also received atrocious reviews for its terrible CGI and for being more of a remix than a true sequel.
Its performance also led toa planned third film dubbedEscape from Earthbeing cancelled. Still, the movie has earned a cult following in recent years for its tongue-in-cheek tone and game cast. WhileRussell famously based his Snake performance on Clint Eastwood, Carpenter basedEscape from L.A.on another Western icon’s movie.
Escape From L.A. Is Heavily Inspired By John Wayne Western El Dorado
Rio Bravois one of Carpenter’s favorite movies, which sees the jailhouse of John Wayne’s sheriff besieged by killers who want to break out a prisoner. While not quite a true sequel, Wayne and director Howard Hawks followed it with 1967’sEl Dorado, which paired Wayne’s character with Robert Mitchum’s drunken sheriff.
Carpenter admitted in a 1997Total Filminterview that he was stumped about making a sequel until he drew inspiration fromEl Dorado. Specifically, he borrowed Hawks' approach to the 1967 Western, stating “[Hawks] made the same movie structurally, but changed the details.”
In the same wayEl Doradoinverted everything aboutRio Bravo, Carpenter did the same withEscape from L.A.In the sequel, Snake is sent to kill somebodyinsteadof saving them, and instead of being the worst prison in the world, L.A. is technically the only free place left in the sequel’s nightmarish vision of America.
El Doradowas full of these inversions; Wayne plays a gunfighter instead of a lawman, while his cocky sidekick (played by James Caan) isn’t a crackshot like hisRio Bravocounterpart, but was instead a master knife thrower. Every key character or moment fromRio BravoorEscape from New Yorkgets a reprise in their sequels.
For all its post-apocalyptic trimmings,Escape from L.A.is very much a Western in its construction. It has a badass outlaw sent to a tough town to clean things up, it’s only that the horses have been replaced by motorcycles and Snake doesn’t wait to pull his revolver in a duel.
El Dorado & Escape From L.A. Are Remakes Masquerading As Sequels
Carpenter’s filmography is littered with nods to Westerns and Howard Hawks, so it’s little surprise Carpenter drew inspiration from the late Western filmmaker for the only sequel he ever directed. That said, bothEl DoradoandEscape from L.A.were widely critiqued for being remakes instead of true sequels.
Of course, this can be a common complaint of most sequels, but in the cases ofEscape from L.A.andEl Dorado, it’s very true. They took the blueprints of the previous film and switched details around, but anyone who’s seen the originals is going to know how things play out.
In both cases, having the same director return to the same sandbox is what makes them interesting.Even working within an identical structure they’re not really the same movies, with Hawks and Carpenter interrogating different concepts and themesin their “sequels.”
Escape from L.A.is a fairly scathing critique of Hollywood and the movie business, and having the sequel just replay the original’s story is a glib gag in itself. It has Steve Buscemi as a sleazy, traitorous agent, everybody complains about Snake’s height - a common movie star complaint - and posits sequels are always doomed to recycle the same narrative.
El Doradoisn’t a classic likeRio Bravo, but it’s a tighter, more action-packed experience. It’s the breezier of the two movies, and really doubles down on the male bonding aspect of the original.
Escape From L.A. Isn’t The First Time John Carpenter Remade A John Wayne Western
Carpenter got into movies to make Westerns, but the genre had died out by the time he became a major name. That’s whyso many of Carpenter’s films have a Western framework, likeThey Live,Vampiresor evenBig Trouble in Little China. This latter was originally written as a Western, before budget cuts forced a modern update.
Two ofCarpenter’s most obvious Westerns in disguise are his second filmAssault on Precinct 13, and his secondlastsci-fi chiller,Ghosts of Mars.Both involve cops and criminals working together when a police station is attacked by a relentless horde bent on their destruction.
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Both films are riffs onWayne’sRio Bravotrilogy,comprised ofRio Bravo,El DoradoandRio Lobo. Carpenter’s films use the basic framework ofRio Bravo(an isolated locale, honor between men, not running away from overwhelming odds, etc), while he adds his own genre sensibilities to it.
Assault on Precinct 13andGhosts of Marslean towards the horror genrewaymore than Hawks' films ever did. Still,the DNA ofRio Bravoruns throughout both, down toGhosts of Mars' endingdirectly referencingEl Doradoas the movie’s two heroes banter while heading off on their next adventure.
Escape From L.A.
Cast
Escape from L.A. is a 1996 action film featuring Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken, who is sent to retrieve a powerful device from the president’s daughter in a dystopian Los Angeles, now an isolated penal colony after a devastating earthquake. The film follows Plissken’s mission amidst chaos and rebellion.
El Dorado
In “El Dorado,” veteran gunslinger Cole Thornton is summoned by a wealthy rancher, Bart Jason, to assist in a land dispute. However, upon arriving in the town of El Dorado, Thornton discovers from his old friend, Sheriff J.P. Harrah, that Jason’s true motives are far from just. Determined to prevent unnecessary violence, Thornton joins forces with the sheriff and a young, eager deputy named Mississippi to protect the besieged MacDonald family.
