003 : Escape from New York
We are now entering round 3 of this column. I have talked about The Great Escape and The Guns of Navarone - classics of the 60s. Obviously, I did not see them at real time. I saw them on the small TV in the living room instead of on the big screen at the movies. The process was not really an active effort of "watching" but more of a passive experience of "seeing" what happened to be shown on the TV. This was how I encountered many movies in my childhood. But it was these coincidental encounters that created the foundation within myself. I grew up and then became able to experience film "actively" by going to the movies by myself. This time I would like to talk about a film I saw not on TV but at the movies, based on my own will. And the 3rd film turns out to be the movie that influenced me the most in the birth of MGS hero Solid Snake - Escape from New York (the Japanese title was New York 1997).
In Spring 1981, I was a high school student. I went to the movies with my friends. Considering myself an avid film fan, I certainly knew of John Carpenter. Although I did have him in mind, I was not a worshipper yet. The lights were turned down, and the film began. Only text is shown on the black screen. A calm melody with a monotone rhythm, analog electric sounds... a simple and even tasteless opening - but I was drawn to it. My skin could feel the unique atmosphere and what was about to happen. Then came a brief description of the setting (Manhattan Island turned into a prison). There is no room for questions for such a wild setting. A computer voice talks emotionlessly about how the future will be in the next 10-20 years. All this time the audience gets no live footage. All the audience can do is imagine based on the data and wire frame (actually models whose edges are colored with fluorescent paint). Various images of the future flood the minds of the audience and cause a mental panic. The next cut shows a panoramic view of Manhattan the prison. "This is gonna be great!" The next hour and a half, I was glued to the innovative idea and punk atmosphere. "How could such a cool movie exist!" It wasn't simply a fun movie. The movie and I shared similar chemistry. The colors, the smell, and the air were things that the director and I shared in taste. There is no logical explanation. I believe everyone has had this kind of experience with music and film. It might not have been a movie popular among the public, but it was definitely the movie I got into the most.
I was especially electrified by the hero, Snake Plissken. Being in the midst of my rebellious period, the antihero "Snake" resonated harmoniously! He was a dark hero that separated himself from the orthodox hero who was either part of some organization, enslaved by the system, or was justice personified. Noire novels and stories and movies with evil heroes are common now, but this was quite rare back then. Although he gets used, he ultimately lives by his own ideology. Although confined as a criminal, he was not truly evil. Instead, he was a new type of hero with "justice not bound by others." Snake's words, actions and every move looked so cool. I'm sure that when people came out of the theatre, they were all dragging their right leg just like Snake (who gets injured by an arrow). My friends and I were no exception. (By the way, I had one eye shut like Mel Gibson after seeing "Mad Max 2.") The line "Call me Snake!" became a fad in school.
The name 'Snake' in MGS comes from "creeping up on someone silently like a snake." The adjective 'Solid' expresses Snake's strong and blade-sharp image - paradoxical when combined with a snake's litheness. Normally, 'snake' and 'solid' do not get along. It's like talking about hot ice. I came up with this name to express this lack of balance and equilibrium. But when I decided that the codename would be Snake, the character itself was more Plissken than snake-like at the subconscious level. If I used a different name (animal) for Snake in MGS, he probably would have been a totally different character.
This movie is another example that contains the very important synopsis element of "infiltration, rescue, and escape". What adds greatly to the suspense is the 24-hour "time limit". What plays a big role as a direction tool is his very obvious watch. You could ask, "Does it really have to be this big?" but showing this watch instead of an on-screen timer works really well. Snake takes a look at his watch at the very moment the audience wishes to take a look. The time is not spoken. The audience has to read the time just like Snake. Towards the end when it is only minutes away from the limit, the watch is no longer shown. Only Snake's facial expression is shown. It is a mean but calculated means of direction. Carpenter is great with such small touches. The device indicating the president's location, the cassette tape necessary at the summit, the bracelet with the hidden switch, the nanocapsule that dissolves in blood and causes and explosion, the diving glider, the egg-shaped escape pod... the cool use of all these neat gadgets adds to the enjoyment of this film.
The reason why New York is the setting of MGS2, I have answered many times in my interviews. "After taking care of business in Alaska, where would Snake go?" When I asked myself this question, I very quickly reached the conclusion that he would be in a common location nearby instead of a remote corner of the world with a hostile climate. The candidate that I came up with no hesitation was New York. New York is the center of the world economy and culture - a melting pot and "mini Earth". It is in the United States of America, but not exactly American - more like an independent nation. That is why I chose New York. At the same time, it is an homage to the film. I said to myself, "If Snake escaped from New York in 1997, it was about time he returned to New York."
John Carpenter was our hero in the 80s. He established the new genre of "Sci-fi horror." He did not "sell out" to blockbuster films. He pursued his own style of entertainment. He was never sucked into the current of the times. He ran the dark side. From the late 70s to the early 80s, he was a director completely different from Spielberg and Lucas. His popularity can be compared to that of James Cameron, who emerged later on (coincidentally, Cameron worked on the special effects of this movie). He has not created hits in the 90s, but he keeps on creating films constantly. Carpenter is Carpenter, and he will continue being Carpenter. No creator of our generation has been unaffected by Carpenter. I made sure to see every new film by him. This past summer, his film Ghosts of Mars has finally been shown in Japan. It was a B movie, but it revitalized me. It was the Carpenter film of all Carpenter films. His "rock spirit" was definitely there. Yes, it could be old-fashioned. It might not be a Hollywood mainstream movie. But still, I enjoyed it a lot. Like Escape from New York, it was indeed a Carpenter film. It was shown in a few selected theatres only, but die-hard fans like myself flocked to them and the film stayed in the theatres for a month. This was a sign of how popular and respected he is among men of my generation.
In Japan, we released a Premium Package edition of MGS2. In the package was a pamphlet that included a comment from Carpenter himself. I have not met him in person, but he conscientiously played MGS2. I was really happy to hear that. He gave me his praising comment. The comment in the pamphlet is as follows: "Like Snake Plissken, MGS2 can't be stopped! This game rocks!" - John Carpenter
