# Police Uniforms in Escape from New York **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045 "2020-07-22T21:11:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/1 "2020-07-22T21:11:20Z")
I was watching the old movie _Escape from New York_ the other day and it appeared to me that the paramilitary police uniforms in that dystopian future are less scary than the actual police uniforms today. Anyone agree or disagree? Of course the future depicted in _Escape from New York_ is probably now in our past. Does anyone have the numbers on that? I think [TVTropes.org](http://TVTropes.org) has a category for that but if I start looking at TV Tropes I won’t get anything done the rest of the day. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/2 "2020-07-22T21:54:59Z")
It takes place the far distant future of 1997. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/3 "2020-07-22T22:04:34Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Anyone agree or disagree? Neither seem particularly scary to me. If you are referencing the specifically the crowd and riot control gear, which is in all of the top shots on an image search of EFNY, I would also not describe it as paramilitary. Crowd and riot control is dominantly a policing function. The National Guard in a state role assists with those policing tasks. Active Component troops may perform those policing functions overseas during SOSO (Stability Operations / Support Operations) or in limited cases inside the US. The gear itself was designed for that dominantly non-military task, though. That gear is not paramilitary. It is designed for policing. I do have one reason to be more concerned about EFNY police in their riot gear. It is shitty. I would worry that one or two assholes throwing things would be more likely to spark an overreaction from them than if they were throwing them at well equipped police. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/4 "2020-07-22T23:07:28Z")
It’s a long throw from Manhattan island to New Jersey tho. 😃 John Carpenter didn’t have huge budget for EFNY; the total budget was just $6,000,000. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/5 "2020-07-22T23:13:03Z")
The riot uniforms look about the same to me… missing some armor maybe, but mostly it’s what I would expect to see. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/6 "2020-07-22T23:51:23Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > John Carpenter didn’t have huge budget for EFNY; the total budget was just $6,000,000. Holy crap, is that true? There are movies made now with hundreds of millions of dollars in their budget and they suck ☹ Actually, I can’t remember the last good movie I saw ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/7 "2020-07-22T23:58:43Z")
If we’re talking low-budget films, I believe _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ cost about £200,000 in '75. That’s less than half a million USD, assuming £1:$2. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/8 "2020-07-23T00:03:51Z")
Aye; it’s true. [_Escape from New York_ cost $6M and grossed $25.2M.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_from_New_York) [_Escape from L.A._ cost $50M and grossed $25.5M.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_from_L.A.) ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/9 "2020-07-23T00:08:01Z")
Ghosts of Mars had $28 million and grossed only 14 million. It was originally supposed to be escape from Mars. But since LA did so shitty, they gave it to ice cube instead. > **[Ghosts of Mars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghosts_of_Mars?wprov=sfla1)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Ghosts of Mars (titled onscreen as John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars) is a 2001 American science fiction action horror film written, directed and scored by John Carpenter. It was produced by Screen Gems and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film stars Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Pam Grier, Clea DuVall, and Joanna Cassidy. Set on a colonized Mars in the 22nd century, the film follows a squad of police officers and a convict... ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/10 "2020-07-23T00:08:57Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > If we’re talking low-budget films, I believe _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ cost about £200,000 in '75. That’s less than half a million USD, assuming £1:$2 Yeah, but that movie sucked. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/11 "2020-07-23T12:43:33Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > If we’re talking low-budget films, I believe _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ cost about £200,000 in '75. That’s less than half a million USD, assuming £1:$2. > > ~Max I read somewhere that the classic opening bit where they use coconut shell halves to imitate the clip-clop of horse hooves came about from not having the budget to rent actual horses. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/12 "2020-07-23T13:04:02Z")
[spit take] WHaaatt? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/13 "2020-07-23T15:35:11Z")
Fun fact: The bridge scene in EFNY was shot in St Louis, on the famous Route 66 “Chain of Rocks” bridge, that had fallen into disrepair. It has since been cleaned up and you can walk it now. Parts of Manhattan were also filmed in East St. Louis. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-uniforms-in-escape-from-new-york/916045/14 "2020-07-23T16:54:30Z")
Fun fact: they bought the bridge for $1 prior to filming and then sold it back for $1 when they were done, thus keeping the city from liability claims had there been injuries during the shoot.