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4.) “Escape from New York,” 1981. A noted and unapologetic libertarian himself, actor Kurt Russell made sure he played his most famous role, Snake Plissken, an ex-soldier and extreme individualist, on screen.

In an interview with Ain’t It Cool News in 2014 about the character, Russell revealed something he felt many critics missed but that diehard fans did not. “Some of the crazy reviews we got … ‘Do [director John] Carpenter and Russell realize they’ve made a lefty movie?’ That was my favorite of all. Boy, did they not get it,” said Russell.

The actor wanted his character to be the ultimate self-reliant individual, one loyal to no government, especially the film’s authoritarian American government — which in the film has destroyed New York City and turned it into a prison.

[lz_ndn video=32171955]

“Escape from New York” is one of the greatest and most original action movies ever made, period. Countless films have since copied its basic premise: that government loses somebody in a pit of human waste it would dare not enter — and then needs to threaten someone who is ruthless to take care of it.

In this case, the lost person is the president’s daughter and the ruthless individual is the eye patch-wearing Snake Plissken. Despite his rough exterior and trouble with authority, he has a moral code he never breaks.

Viewers won’t just find a perfect and lean action movie that still influences the genre to this day; they’ll see that Plissken is one of the greatest and coolest action protagonists of all time. Russell even protested in 2014 when a remake was suggested and when Gerard Butler, an Englishman, was proposed as leading man.

“The one thing that I can tell you that I know about Snake is that he’s very American,” the actor told IGN. “He’s an American man absolutely in his prime.” [lz_pagination]