One of our favorite contemporary actors here at MovieFanFare is none other than Kurt Russell. From his origins as a Disney contract player through to his work as a leading man and beyond, Kurt always delivers mesmerizing performances. This is especially true when he teams up with close friend and frequent collaborator John Carpenter. In films like Elvis, Escape from New York, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, and Escape from L.A., the Russell/Carpenter pairing invariably results in pure movie magic. Russell celebrates his 66th birthday today, and is poised for a massive comeback (although really, he never left) in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 in which he plays Star Lord’s dad, Ego the Living Planet. For this week’s Flashback Friday post, we wanted to pay tribute to one of our all-time favorite Russell movies, Escape from New York. In the film, the Big Apple has become an island prison where society’s worst are kept. When the president’s plane crashes inside the massive, chaos-filled jail, tough soldier-turned-criminal Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is given 24 hours to rescue him…or die trying. Needless to say, much adventure and some genuinely comedic moments ensue. As one famous review so eloquently put it, “it’s a trip worth taking,” and everytime we find ourselves rewatching Escaoe from New York we recognize it as a contemporary classic full of that Russell/Carpenter cinematic wonder that we love so much.
