‘Tis the season for haunts and thrills, and movie enjoyers everywhere are getting ready to press play on their favorite spooky films. Many of them will pick out a movie directed by John Carpenter — a master of the horror genre and the man responsible for the critical success of Halloween (1978), the film credited for pioneering the slasher genre. Some of Carpenter’s most well-known thrillers include Halloween, The Thing (1982), and Christine (1983), which are all fantastic picks for the October season.
Did you know that Carpenter also directed some of the best action films of the 1980s? One of his most well-known successes in the genre is Escape from New York, a 1981 science fiction action film set in a dystopian New York City. The movie follows Snake Plissken, an ex-special forces operator turned federal prisoner who is detained on Manhattan Island, which has been converted into the United States' only maximum security prison following a 400% increase in crime. Plissken is offered freedom in exchange for rescuing the President of the United States following a hijacking of Air Force One.
Carpenter began writing Escape from New York as a reaction to the Watergate scandal and the feelings of cynicism around the President at the time. He co-produced parts of the film with Nick Castle, who injected humor into the film’s script to appeal to more audiences, and assembled an all-star cast including Kurt Russell, Donald Pleasence, and Harry Dean Stanton, several of whom also starred in Carpenter’s other films. After months of filming in the dark, Escape from New York released in theaters to positive reviews and grossed $50 million worldwide. Although the film wasn’t a spectacular success right out of theaters, Escape from New York became a cult classic that inspired several other works, including the popular Metal Gear video game series.
Escape from New York was first released on home video in October 1982 by Embassy Home Entertainment. The 1982 release is distinguishable by its clamshell case, which used the same artwork as the film’s promotional posters during its theatrical release, with no other logos or text across the box (excluding the credit text toward the bottom of the box). “Embassy Home Entertainment” is featured across the spine instead of on the front of the VHS case. These original October 1982 home video releases of Escape from New York are exceptionally rare on the secondary market because of their age and limited public release and are considered a “holy grail” collectible by both action film enthusiasts and John Carpenter fans.
CGC recently certified a sealed copy of Escape from New York on VHS graded CGC 9.6 A+. The sealed rarity is pedigreed to the Audio/Video Plus Collection, a prominent collection of factory-sealed and complete in box home video titles that once belonged to Audio/Video Plus, Houston’s longest-running independent video rental and retail store. As of October 2026, it is one of the highest-graded examples of Escape from New York that have been certified by CGC.
About CGC
Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles, including trading card games (TCGs), sports cards, magazines, video games, and home media. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services. If you collect it, we grade and protect it.
CGC is part of the Certified Collectibles Group, a global provider of expert and impartial authentication and grading services for collectibles. Since 1987, the Certified Collectibles Group companies have certified more than 110 million collectibles, including coins, banknotes, comic books, cards, autographs, and stamps.