Escape From New York (1981) review

Crime rates are out of control and the entirety of Manhattan has been turned into a gigantic prison, so when U.S. President John Harker (Donald Pleasence) is captured by "The Duke" (Isaac Hayes) and his cohorts, Police Commissioner Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) makes decorated soldier-turned-convict "Snake" Plissken (Kurt Russell) a deal: rescue the Commander-in-Chief within twenty four hours in exchange for his own freedom.  This was a favorite of mine as a kid (I taped an edited version off of New York TV) and I'm happy to say that I think it still holds up decades later: the action and performances have a pulpy, almost cartoonish feel, but that's well balanced out by the absolutely grim and jaded depiction of humanity-gone-amok and the corroded and decaying sets (part of it was shot in East St. Louis, Illinois) add to the sense of doom.  The supporting cast, which also includes Ernest Borgnine as a hyper cab driver, Harry Dean Stanton (who refines oil ... in a library) and tough gal Adrienne Barbeau (as Stanton's girlfriend), add to the grit and moxie.  The unforgettable appearance of Plissken with his smokes, leather jacket, eye patch and machine gun has proven to be influential: most notably, video game developer Hideo Kojima based his main character in the Metal Gear Solid series on him.