Get Your 'Escape From New York' Watch on Kickstarter

ATLANTA, GA — If you've ever wanted to tell time like one of the greatest action stars in B-movie history, now is your chance.

An Atlanta startup has created Lifeclock One, an officially-licensed replica of the countdown watch worn by Kurt Russell's character, Snake Plissken, in the 1981 John Carpenter film "Escape From New York."

The watch, which is being introduced on Kickstarter, is also a fully functioning smartwatch.

Jonathan Zufi, creator and project lead of the Lifeclock One, said he's a super-fan of "Escape From New York" who had the idea for the watch after watching the film "for the millionth time" a couple of years ago.

"I thought, if I did it right and turned it into a super-cool wearable, I could delight other fans of the film, and maybe a few other people as well," the Atlanta-based software engineer said in the watch's Kickstarter video.

The price to get a watch on Kickstarter begins at $249 for the first 50 backers, then jumps to $399. Fancier versions run all the way up to $799.

Thursday morning, the campaign had raised $46,774 of its $200,000 goal after only one day. Thirty-four days remain in the fundraising effort.

In John Carpenter's 1981 film, the crime rate in the United States has skyrocketed and New York City has been turned into a maximum-security prison where the only sentence is life without parole.

When Air Force One crash-lands right in the middle of the city, Russell's Plissken is called upon to go in and get the president out.

He has 24 hours to complete the mission — a fact he's constantly reminded of by a countdown watch like the one Zufi's startup, Ridgewood Watch Company, has made.

"I love this thing. I, for sure wanted one after I saw the movie," said a spokeswoman in the Kickstarter video. "But it's not exactly an off-the-shelf type of item. So, we decided to build our own."

The Lifeclock One lets the user mimic Snake Plissken with a movie-like countdown timer.

But its LED display also shows the time in multiple time zones, has a stop watch, counts your steps and has a compass and temperature readout.

It also has Bluetooth connectivity, allowing the user to link it up to an Apple or Android device and get incoming calls, texts and push notifications from their favorite apps.

One feature from the movie not included on Lifeclock? It won't explode after 24 hours, killing its user.

We think Snake Plissken would approve of that modification.

Photos via Lifeclock One Kickstarter