Others came and went, but this poster hung in my room at my parents home from the time I was fourteen until I made my own way in the world. Why? Simply because Snake Plissken was cool and different from other heroes I'd seen up to to that time in film. Bogie was a rebel, but you knew he'd come around in the end. Bond was classy, even when in distress, but Snake was as unpredictable as his name and you were never sure where he stood (justified by the closing segment of the film).
Showing on TCM Underground tonight, John Carpenter's action film on a budget explores a futuristic society, which deals with its criminals by turning Manhattan into a maximum security prison, but all bets are off when Air Force One goes down inside and somebody has to rescue the President. Plissken, who is sentenced to life imprisonment, does not exactly volunteer for the job (in fact, he suggests they get a new President), but strikes a deal for his freedom, unaware of a binding agreement that will cost him his life if he fails to return within twenty-four hours.
While Escape From New York can be enjoyed purely as an action/exploitation film, it delivers much more, boasting one of the best casts of pure character actors in Harry Dean Stanton, Donald Pleasence, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Van Cleef, Isaac Hayes, and Adrienne Barbeau. Kurt Russell turns in the performance of his career as Snake with a throwback to the cynical protagonists of Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961) and the spaghetti westerns that it influenced, creating a deep character that is inspired by self preservation. The film also explores social and political ideals, asks pointed questions about the rule of law vs. anarchy, and boasts some of the best one-liners in any movie. So, if you've not had the pleasure of visiting NYC, take a tour with Snake tonight and don't forget to buy a t-shirt.
I'll be looking out for these themes.