Best known for directing the classic independent horror film "Halloween", director John Carpenter works wonders in another movie that I absolutely enjoyed - "Escape From New York".<br /><br /> "Escape From New York" is an exciting tale of Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), a former war hero who is now a criminal with a Eastwood-like accent and is ordered by Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef), the calm, but stubborn U.S. Police Commissioner to go into New York City, now the country's only maximum security prison and rescue the President (Donald Pleasence) in twenty-four hours. Some of the scenes in this movie are terrific such as Snake eluding the Crazies, Snake finds Brain (Harry Dean Stanton), an old friend of his who betrayed him in a robbery, and the car chase across the 69th Street bridge that is mined.<br /><br /> Kurt Russell gives a near perfect performance as Snake and the film gets solid supporting performances from Cleef, Stanton, Pleasence, Ernest Borgnine as the last cab driver in the Big Apple, Adrianne Barbeau, Issac Hayes as the vicious Duke, and Frank Doubleday as Romero, who manages to steal some scenes in the movie with his freaky appearence and Jack Nicholson-like laugh. The story that was written by Carpenter and Nick Castle is smart and very well detailed. Also, Carpenter makes a terrific musical score that pays off in some of the key scenes. Dean Cundey's cinematography of the prison is beautifully shot including the scene where Plissken flies into New York.<br /><br /> "Escape From New York" is one of my two favorite John Carpenter films ("Halloween" being the other". It's smart from beginning to end.