Escape from New York

Alongside David Lynch, Carpenter was a director who really understood Harry Dean Stanton’s qualities, and the actor is used to great effect in this pulsating take on the prison breakout. Setting the urban jungle of Manhattan as a futuristic penal colony where prisoners run riot, Carpenter has the U.S. President’s plane crash there, with Russell’s mercenary Snake Plissken sent in to rescue him. A thought-provoking and highly entertaining dystopian tale, Stanton gamely plays second fiddle to Russell, successfully stealing a few scenes from an impressive supporting cast that includes Isaac Hayes’ charismatic villain.