It is a 1981 view of 1997. A botched hijacking attempt also results in the President of the United States' private plane crashing unto the Manhattan Island. The problem is, the island is a high-security prison populated by all sorts of criminals who captures and holds the president hostage. Talk about from pan to fire. So, desperate authorities (led by Lee Van Cleef) bring criminal ex-special force "Snake" Plisken to rescue the president. He has to, since he is injected with some kind of explosives which will go off in 24 hours. Snake, the ultimate anti-hero, has no choice but to save the president. So, that's the plot. If you don't know anything about this movie, you are not a movie buff.

Two things before I go into other things. First the plane crash in this movie. It is shown on the computer as crashing into a building! Secondly, Snake lands in a glider on top of the Twin Tower! Go figure.

I believe I have watched all the collaborations between director John Carpenter and actor Kurt Russell. They are the adventurous mix-nuts Big Trouble In Little China, terrifying and atmospheric The Thing and the sequel to this movie, Escape From LA. They all do not disappoint. They are exactly the movies to watch (except The Thing) when you just want to have fun. So much so that if Carpenter and Russell gets together again and makes a sloppy romance, I will watch it.

I had a nagging suspicion about Russell's portrayal of Snake. At times he looked like he is immitating Clint Eastwood. In fact, Plisken is more like Dirty Harry gone criminal. He is anti-authoritarian, violent and quick on one liners. I checked one of the reviews and was informed that the role was originally, in fact, offered to Eastwood and then to Charles Bronson, both of whom were unavailable since their paycheques were pretty big. Carpenter then turned to his buddy Russell who agreed to compromise to the budget. But don't get me wrong. He didn't stay Eastwood long. Soon, Snake becomes a role of his own, so much that you can't imagine anybody else in it.

The movie was not a big hit when it came out. But like The Thing and Big Trouble, it was appreciated over the time. They call it a cult classic. The latter day popularity led to the making of its sequel with a bigger budget. I don't quite can tell what the reaction must have been when it first came out, but I realise why it became so famous. It had a lot to do with imagery, painting of characters, and Snake's extreme political incorrectness. How many of Snake-like anti-heroes can you see these days? Even Arnold's Terminator has turned good.

The supporting cast are great; Isaac Hayes as master criminal Scar, Ernest Borgnine as a crazy old cabbie, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau and her boobs. The latter is well captured on camera, just the cleavage of course, but was never distracting as far as the suspense and the action in this movie is concerned. Not that I mind otherwise.

Being a master of atmosphere, Carpenter, who is better known for his horror movies, did a lot providing the right sense of ruin, desolation and, if I may , elements of film noir adequately. All this, plus Snake appeal makes the movie a very very entertaining fare.