Creepy Crypt: Escape from New York (OmU)

On June 20, we start our Summer of Carpenter. From then on, we will be presenting a selection from John Carpenter's extensive filmography. Of course, we can't show you every one of his films, but at least we have Escape From New York, Christine, Prince of Darkness, Starman, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live, The Village of the Damned and Ghosts of Mars on offer. So we don't want to hear any complaints.

We start with the action-packed film starring Kurt Russell, which is actually called The Rattlesnake in German. But the original title sums up the film a little better.

The year is 1997, the world is on the brink of nuclear war and the former cultural metropolis of New York has been converted into a huge prison island surrounded by high walls - a kind of Australia under British patronage. There are no guards in the prison itself, the inmates have to organize themselves and live off the monthly food rations. Because he wanted to raid a nuclear weapons depot (possibly to make nuclear war more difficult), the former war hero Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is to be sent to this juggernaut. But on the very day of his imprisonment, "Air Force One" - brought under control by an "anti-imperialist suicide squad" - crashes over New York City. Only the president (Donald Pleasence) is able to save himself with the help of a capsule; the rest of the crew are killed when the terrorists crash the plane into a high-rise building. As it is impossible for the army to get hold of the President, who is in the hands of the "Duke" (Isaac Hayes) and would be killed if the security forces make the slightest move, the head of operations (Lee van Cleef) offers Snake Plissken a deal: He goes undercover in prison, gets the state leader out and gets a reprieve in return. To increase Plissken's motivation, he is implanted with a small detonator that will burst his main artery after 24 hours...

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On June 20th, we kick off our "Summer of Carpenter." From then on, we'll be presenting a selection from John Carpenter's extensive filmography. Naturally, we can't show you every single one of his movies, but our lineup includes Escape from New York, Christine, Prince of Darkness, Starman, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live, Village of the Damned, and Ghosts of Mars. So, we don't want to hear any complaints.

We start things off with the action-packed film starring Kurt Russell-known in Germany as *Die Klapperschlange* (The Rattlesnake), though the original title captures the essence of the movie a bit better.

The year is 1997. The world is on the brink of nuclear war, and the former cultural hub of New York has been transformed into a massive prison island surrounded by high walls-a sort of Australia-style penal colony reminiscent of the era of British rule. There are no guards inside the prison itself; the inmates must organize themselves and survive on monthly food rations dropped from the air. Former war hero Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is slated to be shipped off to this hellhole after attempting to raid a nuclear weapons depot (possibly in an effort to hinder a nuclear war). However, on the very day of his incarceration, *Air Force One*-hijacked by an "anti-imperialist suicide squad"-crashes over New York City. Only the President (Donald Pleasence) manages to save himself using an escape pod; the rest of the crew perishes when the terrorists crash the plane into a skyscraper. Since a military rescue operation is impossible-the President is held captive by "The Duke" (Isaac Hayes) and would be killed at the slightest move by security forces-the mission commander (Lee Van Cleef) offers Snake Plissken a deal: go undercover in the prison, retrieve the leader of the nation, and earn a pardon in return. To boost Plissken's motivation, a small explosive capsule is implanted in him that will rupture his main artery after a 24-hour deadline...