The year is 1997 and the island of Manhattan has been turned into the only maximum-security prison in the Unites States by having a 50-foot wall erected around its entire perimeter. What do you do when the president has crash-landed right in the middle of hell? Why you call in the only person badass and crazy enough to get him out. Snake Plissken! He’s Special Forces, a convict, and highly decorated by the president himself, oh yeah, and fully loaded with guns and enough one-liners to make Arnold blush. To make sure Snake accomplishes his mission without any funny business the prison warden, played very effectively by Lee Van Cleef, injects Snake with microscopic explosives that after a certain amount of time will detonate inside his neck killing him instantly. Snake leaves the warden with one promise, “When I get out, I am going to kill you.”
This is a movie I wish I had seen as a thirteen year old when it premiered in the theaters. Snake Plissken would have been my idol and I probably would have worshipped all things Kurt Russell. It’s too bad my introduction to Kurt was as a goofy dad in Overboard opposite Goldie Hawn. Don’t get me wrong he is an excellent comedic actor but I absolutely love him as Snake. While John Carpenter’s original electronic score dates this movie a lot of things help make this movie work.
The film was made in 1981 and it feels like it. John Carpenter is like a jack-of-all-trades in the industry. He was responsible for the script, the directing, and unfortunately the score. He does action well and despite the dated Foley effects the action is fast paced and really fun. There is even a pretty sweet gladiatorial nail-bat fight that pits Snake against a huge dude with mammoth sideburns.
There are some really great performances in this film. Ernest Borgnine plays a very likable cab driver aptly named Cabbie. He does a really good job playing the goofy sidekick and provides the only comic relief. Isaac Hayes plays the Duke of New York and he is the guy that is running the prison city, which he rules with an Iron fist. He also dresses exactly the way I picture Isaac Hayes dressing when he’s not in a movie, kind of like Shaft crossed with a stereotypical pimp from the 70s. Donald Pleasence, of Halloween fame, turns in a solid performance as the President. I haven’t really seen him in too many films but every time I do he is great. Let’s not forget Lee Van Cleef as the untrustworthy warden. My god that guy can play a bad guy like nobody’s business. If you haven’t seen Westworld check it out for Van Cleef’s role as a maniacal robot gunslinger. I love that guy.
Another thing that I love about this film is all the pre-CG era special effects. There are no fancy computer generated futuristic landscapes. Everything was done with awesome miniatures and matte paintings. Some may feel that this dates the movie but I love the look of miniature work and it kind of sucks that it has been totally replaced with computers. Don’t misunderstand me I love the things that computers can do for movies but there is just something about a real explosion blowing apart a model building the feels very satisfying.
If you love 80’s action like I do and can put up with some dated elements then you should definitely check this one out. There is even a sequel that was made in the 90s with a much larger budget. I have seen it and there is just as much comical badassery in that one as there is here. They would play awesome back to back provided you have enough beer.
I am going to follow Donald Pleasence to my next film Alone in the Dark. It’s an early 80s slasher that also stars Jack Palance. Should be interesting.
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