No Escape (1994) Retrospective / Review

No Escape (1994) Retrospective / Review
/ oliverharper
www.olivers-ret...
/ ollieh82
/ oliversretroreviews
/ oliverharper1982
Join the discord! / discord
#rayliotta #noescape #martincampbell #oliverharper #retrospectivereview

[@andrewhudson7108]

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.

[@markula_4040]

I condemn you for not waiting 2 more years and doing this in 2022, the same year the movie takes place. For shame

[@darthXreven]

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

[@DirtyFNsocks]

@@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.

[@darthXreven]

@@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!!!!

[@JackBurton.]

I’m watching this review in 2022

[@buildamillionbridges6153]

Easy fella.

[@acwong7893]

A very underrated movie.

[@Football__Junkie]

Great underrated movie. Stuart Wilson gives a great charismatic performance and steals the scenes

[@perv2006]

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.

[@The_Mimewar]

I remember the villain leader more than anything else in this movie

[@crashfellow82]

Escape from absolom for me

[@flybeep1661]

Me too.

[@mesicek7]

same

[@avastavery5489]

Yep. Along with the terrible VHS cover it just screamed b-movie.

[@insertcolorfulmetaphor8520]

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!

[@mynock250]

Saw this in the theatre when it came out, loved it.

[@matthowell3132]

My dad and I used to rent this all the time when I was a kid. Thank you so much for reviewing it!

[@jimd385]

Love this film, a forgotten classic 90’s action film, music is good too.

[@themoviebuff6196]

Just watched the film for the first time recently underrated classic. Rest In Power, Ray Liotta.

[@MonkeeKnucklez2]

Ahh shit, I forgot he passed. Now I’m sad all over again.

[@temjin44]

This and starship Troopers are my most watched movie. Must have watched both more than 50 times.

[@filmfanman2647]

A movie with all men and not a woman in sight? Ahh the good ole days lol. This would never be made today.

[@genemiller6837]

One of my faves from the 90s too bad it was received so badly but then most movies I like are underrated

[@sorearm]

I've never actually heard of this film, it looks pretty good

[@thomasc.5219]

You can find it on a certain site you may be seeing this on. No ads full screen good audio and quality

[@sorearm]

@@thomasc.5219 i love the internet

[@shainewhite2781]

2:40, it's MAD MAX meets Lord of the Flies.

[@RichV20]

It's like a good Waterworld/Postman

[@yavrielsechelle7431]

@@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.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

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 KZbin channel. Feel free to come on my KZbin channel and watch them and leave a comment.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

@MizerisMoney Gross?

[@JeffCfreeradiorevolution]

Sure beats the hell outta Rise of Skywalker!

[@nicklander3301]

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

[@paulanerruhrpott6188]

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.

[@TheHamsterMaster]

This movie is such an underrated gem and I'm so happy to see a respectable review for it. One of my favorite films.

[@johnpetrie1918]

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.

[@jimd385]

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.

[@patrickshields5251]

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.

[@ilmarinen79]

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.

[@SparkyMarkyMark23]

It was released 6 days after my 3rd birthday.

[@davidfrederick6003]

I thought it was a GREAT FILM. An island version of Escape from Alcatraz. HBO first debuted in U.S. as Escape from Absalom.

[@SultanSamet]

This movie looks amazing!! I didn't even knew about it!

[@Jack.___]

A wonderful Festivus gift this year

[@Kingofkod]

This movie is impossible to find in the US. Very annoying but I'm glad to see you mention it.

[@thomasc.5219]

You can find it on a certain site that you may be seeing this on...

[@Kingofkod]

​@@thomasc.5219 I know about the pirated options but I'm a bit of a film collector and wanted my own copy.

[@raygoshay4096]

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.

[@Giantshredder]

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.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

Amen! brother. I love this movie too. I've got a couple of scenes from the movie on my KZbin channel.

[@ilmarinen79]

Indeed. Decent movie but conflicts could have been more imaginative. I think I half-expected to see some alien monsters there in the jungle.

[@daveruda]

I have nothing but fond memories of this one. A bit stock but the performances were good and overall enjoyable.

[@patwaters-actormoviereviewer]

I had no idea Martin Campbell directed this.

[@edalder2000]

I remember this film from seeing it on cable constantly in the 90's. It was great fun.

[@thebluecollarhero]

“Don’t ever turn your back on me again.”

[@shainewhite2781]

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.

[@buildamillionbridges6153]

No Chantix on the island. That’s why the Outsiders were so cranky.

[@BanCorporateOwnedHouses]

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.

[@Grizabeebles]

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.

[@wojciechgrodnicki6302]

One of those “bad” movies you watch ten times.

[@DeathPrevails77713]

A damn good movie. And a damn good retrospective, Oliver. 👍🖒

[@OliverHarper]

Cheers mate!

[@wasteoftime5848]

Loved this movie back in high school but never understood why it was so hard to find/obscure until now.

[@nassmatic]

“As far back as I can remember I always wanted to escape from the island.”

[@danielbloomquist9810]

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.

[@SparkyMarkyMark23]

As of 2023 it's finally got the BluRay release it finally deserves. Enjoy it.

[@HereComesPopoBawa]

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.

[@OliverHarper]

Perfect double bill with Fortress!

[@quaddo]

A seriously underrated film. I remember seeing in the cinema.

[@ashscott6068]

I literally just woke up, having watched this last night, and the moment I open KZbin I see this video had been uploaded 6 seconds ago...

[@Liam-ly8rv]

I saw this as Escape from Absolom. And preferred that title. Was a good little action movie.

[@ilmarinen79]

Same here! Also prefer that title and remember it foremost.

[@gistvisions]

RIP John Robbins.

[@dorianbuciza4101]

R.I.P Ray Liotta

[@amgbemenayahoocom]

Extremely underrated movie 🍿.

[@MrDilo1874]

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.

[@woooweee]

Back when you could make a movie about men.

[@skeaneable]

an island without women........:(

[@jasonmarchant4525]

we're getting a Blu Ray special edition this fall in the USA. Finally!

[@SparkyMarkyMark23]

It's Totally💯Worth It!

[@artofwar4644]

good movies RIP Ray lLiota

[@trainerredcharizard7982]

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

[@dizzle6709]

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.

[@maxmatson1578]

The band "Front Line Assembly" made good use of sampling this movie🎹🎸🎧💫😵💀👍

[@chrislondo2683]

Watching this retrospective I’d never even heard of this movie before. Anyway this is really great so far.

[@leathery420]

So this is one of the things that killed Ray's career after Goodfellas huh?

[@thomasc.5219]

Idk why, its not a terrible movie, Ray is good in it. If the script fleshed out the villians a bit more it be a great movie. I believe they wasted the main villian, they had something and failed to go with it with him.

[@georgemiller8370]

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. :)

[@OliverHarper]

Thanks, George!

[@georgemiller8370]

@@OliverHarper Cool. Keep up the great work.

[@shashanksuman]

This is the only movie i know of, which doesn't have any female cast.

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

Do "Rapa Nui" (1994)!

[@-NateTheGreat]

2 more years and this movie will be present day.

[@timefilm]

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.

[@alliesfrench]

Wow. Well, I know what I’ll try to watch now. Thank you!

[@dornravlin]

Did you ever see Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky that's an interesting prison movie i wouldn't call it good but it is fun and a waky movie

[@Pewpewpew182]

Wow I haven't thought about this film in years. Great choice! I miss the snes game as well.

[@StevenSeagull123]

...Third price is you'r fired!

[@ViktorKruger99]

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.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

I first watched it in 1997 when I was 13.

[@MarkyMatey]

It has that vibe to it. There are plenty of movies that fit that.

[@indierockguitar6875]

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.

[@smacksalad]

Somewhere in Russia/China, this film is actually happening.

[@Pandaemoni]

They might as well have named it "Generic Action Title".

[@rosselliswilkinson]

It is Escape From Absolom in Australia

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

Can you do one on A.I: Artificial Intelligence? It's definitely worth a retrospective

[@aurorauplinks]

That is a tragic film... the end just makes me want to skip it each time. It is amazing etc

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

@@aurorauplinks What makes it even more heartbreaking is that the Monica that cures David's depression at the end is not the real one.

[@Serevarno]

@@aurorauplinks You should take a look at Movies w/ Mikey's vid on A.I. It puts the ending in a whole new perspective. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWbVhXuco7yDn8k

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

@@Serevarno Well, I actually already have seen it

[@vulcan-raven7394]

Escape From Absolom

[@AziaXtremeNFinity]

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

[@Ed-cc4lt]

Please do a review of Gremlins 2 Review I been waiting for that for years and next year is the 30th anniversary

[@alanmike6883]

A classic great

[@killbot_factory]

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.

[@joeyd1404]

i actually enjoyed this movie back when it came out. I need to see it again!

[@jacquescourtois8068]

Très bon film d'action j'aime beaucoup. Ray LIOTTA parfait face au méchant Stuart WILSON.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@thedrew1011]

I loved that movie. I need to seek out that bluray

[@TwoTonePictures]

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!!! :)

[@danielwilliamson6180]

On behalf of all your followers, Happy Christmas and Happy New Year, Oliver!

[@BilalVadiaGaming]

I JUST watched this last night as well 😂😂😂

[@shainewhite2781]

Thanks for the video!! See you later!! Merry Christmas!!❄️☃️🎄❄️🎄☃️

[@GameplayandTalk]

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.

[@patrickantone1203]

Stuart Wilson does kind of look like Rik Mayall! I never thought about it but, YEAH! Being from the states myself, I always thought he looked like George Carlin if he survived the Mad Max apocalypse.

[@nobodyfromnowwhere7510]

9:45 Yeah....about that... It's sad when a dystopian movie just predicts the future. (In America, at any rate.)

[@thatssoderek2188]

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.

[@fawkkyutuu8851]

Classic , watched It last night. I miss 80's to early 90's with practical effects , gritty , dirty , Inventive , more human and organic filmmaking , *with minimal CG* . I rarely get Immersed In movies today ( except for "Blade Runner 2049" I haven't been to theatres In years ). I'm looking forward to the new "Dune" movie from director Denis Villenueve who did 2049. If anyone can pull off these movies the right way It's probably him. They just don't make em like this anymore.

[@nassmatic]

Great movie and review. Can you do a retrospective review of “Battle Royale” (2000) by Kinji Fukasaku? Thanks.

[@AB-xd8hm]

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.

[@spigui500]

Speaking of it, Oliver... Are you ever going to cover The Shawshank Redemption?

[@Dennis-nm4qh]

Such and underrated movie. I still remember the day I bought it on VHS😀

[@murdock8068]

As an American. I had never seem the villian before (because hes a smaller English actor or not known here) He just wasnt intimidating enough. Even though hes a intelligent man. He just doesnt have it.. I somewhat liked it when i was younger but rewatched not long ago. Snoozefest to be honest. I do appreciate the other characters though

[@nickquinn6559]

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

[@post-leftluddite]

I loved this movies when I was 10 years old when it came out "MERACK!!!"

[@Kurtsg10]

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.

[@Aeon2Flux]

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.

[@darthXreven]

I saw No Escape in theater, awesome movie, it's a shame nobody really celebrates it like we did Terminator and Total Recall stuff like that but the blessing here is we don't have to suffer watching morons like Mike Bay or JJ Abrams utterly trash and ruin it.....so i'll take the cult hit status over the whole widespread acceptance thing, small price to pay to defend the movies you love yeah? and I loved 90's action flicks cus some like this had a real heart to it despite the bleak tone....

[@HereComesPopoBawa]

I guess me saying so plays into the joke, but I skipped directly from License to Kill to Casino Royale, so saw no 90s nor Brosnan Bond. It was my "lost decade" with regards to pop culture.

[@cloudtx]

I keep seeing Gale Anne Hurd mentioned in so many retrospectives here. Seems like she produced A LOT during the 80's/90's.

[@odotb9916]

My Laserdisc copy of this film was pressed by Pioneer. No rot fortunantley! Watched it last week and really enjoyed it.

[@davidagiel8130]

I actually enjoyed this movie When it first came out, especially after being a huge Goodfellas fan.

[@shreknet]

This or Battle Royale are the comparisons for me. Hunger Games modernised it. Fortnite made it capable.