Snake Plissken
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S.D. Robert (Bob) "Snake" Plissken is a fictional character in John Carpenter's films Escape from New York and Escape from L.A., played by Kurt Russell.
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[edit] Character history
Snake Plissken is a former U.S. Army Lieutenant; serving under Special Unit Black Light, with two Purple Hearts,[1] and the youngest soldier to be decorated by the U.S. President[2] for bravery during campaigns in Leningrad and Siberia in World War III against the Communists.
Some time later, he turned to a life of crime, probably due to the perceived betrayal of the United States government during the "Leningrad Ruse". Snake took up with partners Harold Hellman (later known as "Brain") and Fresno Bob. In Kansas City around 1993, Hellman apparently let Plissken and Fresno Bob get cornered by police,[3] at which time Fresno Bob was brutally tortured and killed by fascistic sadists within the United States Police Force.[4]
Possibly as a result of the Kansas City incident, it was widely believed in the criminal community that Plissken was dead. This is a running gag in Escape from New York: "I heard you were dead." In Escape from L.A. the recurring joke is changed to "I thought you'd be taller."
[edit] On-screen history
[edit] Escape from New York
Snake was arrested in 1997 after breaking into the U.S. Federal Reserve in Denver, Colorado. Following the heist, the story of his capture was filmed, although the footage was cut from the beginning of the movie. It can be seen on supplementary materials on the VHS and DVD editions of Escape from New York.
He was sentenced to life in New York maximum security prison, the entire island of Manhattan, surrounded by an impenetrable wall and left in an anarchic state. At this time, Air Force One was hijacked and crashed into Manhattan, and the President, played by Donald Pleasance, was captured by the Duke of New York (Isaac Hayes), the de facto leader of the prison. Robert Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) offered Snake a full pardon for every criminal action he committed if he would go in and rescue the President within 24 hours. Plissken succeeded with the help of Harold Hellman (Harry Dean Stanton) (now known as Brain, and working for the Duke of New York), Brain's "squeeze" Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau), and a taxicab driver nicknamed Cabby (Ernest Borgnine). Only Plissken and the President survived in their escape.
[edit] Escape from L.A.
Sixteen years later, Snake was once again enlisted for a similar situation. This time, he was forced to retrieve a black box which controls a series of EMP style satellites pointed around the world from the island of Los Angeles (which had separated from the mainland in an earthquake was no longer a part of the United States).
[edit] Escape from Earth
This was a proposed second sequel often mentioned by Carpenter and Russell in interviews prior to the release of Escape From L.A. The concept was that Earth was the only place left for Plissken to escape. After Escape From L.A. failed to attract much business, the project never materialized.
In August 2006, there was an internet rumor circulating that the project was actively being pursued by Paramount at Russell's urging, but the rumor was revealed to be untrue.
[edit] Escape from New York (remake)
On March 13th 2007, it was announced that Gerard Butler was asked to play the role of Snake Plissken in the remake of Escape from New York.
[edit] Other appearances
- Snake Plissken also appeared in John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles, a four-part comic book miniseries that was released in 2003.
- In the early 2000s, John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, and Debra Hill developed a proposed Snake Plissken television series that was ultimately turned down by all the major networks for being "too dark and bleak." It is believed that the concept of the series was what was used for the Snake Plissken Chronicles comic series.
- Along with the comic book, other Snake Plissken Chronicles projects were announced. A Namco-produced video game was announced,[5] but was later cancelled. Production I.G. was also set to create an anime film based on the property, reportedly based on the Escape From Earth concept John Carpenter and Kurt Russell had conceived, but this also never materialized. Carpenter and Russell would have executive produced, and Russell would have provided the voice and likeness of Snake.[6]
[edit] Trivia
- Many believe that the Special Forces unit which Snake had been a member of was called "Black Flight". However, Lee Van Cleef (who portrayed Police Commissioner Bob Hauk) had mispronounced the word. According to the film's subtitles and the novelization, the name is "Black Light".
- Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear series, has said in an interview that the character designs for Solid Snake and Big Boss were based on Snake Plissken. In the second game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the character Snake uses the codename "Iroquois Pliskin" early in the game, as a reference to the character. Incidents in the first half of the game also cause him to be assumed dead by many. In the game, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Naked Snake has an eye patch just like Plissken but on his right eye.
- William Gibson credits the character Snake Plissken as an inspiration for his character "Armitage" in the novel Neuromancer. In that novel, Armitage forces the protagonist to cooperate in a manner similar to the way Snake's cooperation is coerced.[7]
- The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy features a recurring character, Hoss Delgado (played by Diedrich Bader), who is a parody of both Snake and Evil Dead's Ash Williams.
- Snake can also be seen in the Nintendo 64 game Duke Nukem in a secret room, where his upper body is hanging on a hook and Duke saying, "I guess he didn't escape from L.A."
- A playground in Gumniste, Kosovo called the Snake Plissken Memorial Playground is currently slated for construction in Spring/Summer 2007.[citation needed]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Mentioned by Cmdr. Malloy in Escape from LA.
- ^ Mentioned by Hauk in Escape from New York.
- ^ When they meet later in Escape from New York, Brain says to Plissken, "You were late."
- ^ This is loosely referred to in Escape from New York when Snake confronts Hellman saying, "You know what 'they' did to Fresno Bob? Do you want me to show you!?!"
- ^ http://ps2.ign.com/articles/431/431568p1.html
- ^ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=3176
- ^ Larry McCaffery, "An Interview with William Gibson conducted by Larry McCaffery"
