![]() They've done better than that: They've brought down Air Force One and have taken the president (Donald Pleasance) hostage. ![]() ![]() It takes place in the far-flung year 1997, when Manhattan has been turned into a prison where criminals of every stripe are left to fend for themselves. Over time, the low-budget futuristic action yarn has emerged as cult classic. They own the character and consult on all his incarnations. It's great." He, producer Debra Hill and actor Kurt Russell are capitalizing on Snake's enduring popularity by "branding" him like James Bond. Whatever the reason, Carpenter says by phone from his Hollywood pad, "I think it's fabulous. "The character of Snake Plissken appeals to people because he's the ultimate individual," says comic-book scribe William O'Neill of "John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles." "He's not controlled by any other forces than what he decides." "It's the eye patch," deadpans Seattle expert Robert Cumbow, author of "Order in the Universe: The Films of John Carpenter" (Scarecrow Press, $25). Why is there suddenly no escape from this guy, more than two decades later? But don't move a muscle: There's also a comic book and the requisite action figure, and in development, a novel series, a video game, and a feature-length anime from the makers of the landmark "Ghost in the Shell," due next summer. The eye-patched anti-hero of director John Carpenter's 1981 "Escape from New York" is back in an impressive special-edition DVD (Fox, R) today. But drop the Chinese calendar and turn around slowly. It's shaping up to be the Year of the Snake.
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