There is no room for questions for such a wild setting. Then came a brief description of the setting (Manhattan Island turned into a prison). My skin could feel the unique atmosphere and what was about to happen. A calm melody with a monotone rhythm, analog electric sounds… a simple and even tasteless opening – but I was drawn to it. The lights were turned down, and the film began. Although I did have him in mind, I was not a worshipper yet. Considering myself an avid film fan, I certainly knew of John Carpenter. In Spring 1981, I was a high school student. And the 3rd film turns out to be the movie that influenced me the most in the birth of MGS hero Solid Snake – Escape from New York (the Japanese title was New York 1997). “This time I would like to talk about a film I saw not on TV but at the movies, based on my own will.
I won’t ruin the movie for you, you will just have to watch it for yourself, but I will leave you with an excerpt from Hideo Kojami, the creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, and his opinion on this fantastic film and how it influenced his games: It’s a perfect blend of Fallout, Perfect DarkĪnd Metal Gear Solid, and it’s very, very entertaining. It has it all: the bad ass anti-hero with a hinted at back story, the cop briefing you on your mission (metal gear solid style), gadgets, silenced weapons, stealth, a couple of sluts, lots of enemies and a sci-fi soundtrack. The best thing about this movie is how it watches like a video game, from the first 5 minutes you are literally glued to the screen, playing it in your mind as though it were a first person shooter. The soundtrack in this film is amazing, and it really helps set up the tone and suspense of the desolate landscape the film is set in. With Escape From New York John Carpenter very successfully allows the viewer short glimpses at a very disturbing slice of dystopia: a society shut off from the rest of the world, fueled by crime and violence, and of course, synthetic blade runner esque sounds. The catch: Snake only has 24, no wait… 22 hours to do it! A deal is made: Snake must infiltrate Manhattan, find the president, and then escort him past the walls, back into safety. Meet Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), an ex special forces war hero turned criminal, called into action by USPF Commisioner Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef – The Good, the Bad & the Ugly). But when the president’s ship, en route to an important meeting, crash lands in the middle of Manhattan’s mayhem filled streets, it’s time for the big dogs outside to pull some strings to get him back. Out of sight, out of mind is the principle value factored into this zany equation. The story is simple and yet brilliant: Crime in the US has risen by 400%, authorities have pretty much given up on Manhattan and have walled its entire perimeter and turned it into a prison, however its prisoners are totally free to do whatever it is that they do. It was called ‘ Escape from New York‘, and it managed to infiltrate my top ten movie list, elbow one of the movies right in the face, smoke a cigarette, save the president, and return to being straight up cool. I just witnessed, quite possibly, the most bad ass film that exists on this planet.
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