A soaring crime rate forces the United States government to transform Manhattan Island into the single maximum security prison for the entire country where anyone who goes in doesn’t come out again.
However, when terrorists crash the President’s plane into the island, only one man can rescue him: fallen national hero and eye-patched scourge of society Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell).
With memorable supporting performances from the likes of Harry Dean Stanton, Donald Pleasance and Isaac Hayes, and Carpenter’s brilliant electronic score, the film’s subversive influence can still be felt in cinema today.