John Carpenter's taut slab of low-budget sci-fi has Airforce One crash-landing in New York - now one big jail - and the president (Donald Pleasence) held hostage by criminals. Enter Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), a convicted crim given 22 hours to save the prez.
There's a great supporting cast, cool touches, strong action and a catchy theme, but it's Russell's Plissken that really leaps off the screen, exuding more cool than any ten normal anti-heroes. Snake is a very, very angry man - an embittered war hero who turned to crime to steal what he felt he was owed - but still has time for a raft of one liners and a fine line in controlled violence.
