...funny thing, about the passing of time; it has a way of affecting, re-affecting and de-affecting certain things. 'Certain things', as far as how the general masses see them. How one looks at a certain thing, one day, and then years later, see that very same thing in a different light. The old story of how time is kind to some things, and not so forgiving on others...the old adage of some things aging like fine wine, and for other things...well, they turn to vinegar. And so, considering the particular subject matter at hand, as the classic pop song lyric so succinctly goes, "...if you think you know where all this is heading..."...yeah, we're talking Italian trash cinema, with the moniker of 'trash' not only being poignantly applicable to this specific film review, but also, as an endearing token of affection, with regards to this rather eclectic brand of cinema...
...in as much as this reviewer has very much embraced and appreciated Italian cult film cinema, regardless of all of it's ever-shifting, ever-changing, even ever-mimicking incarnations, stemming back to the early '60's, and reaching up through the years, to...say, about the late '80's. The gothic-flavored horrors of the '60's...the tense, visceral giallos of the '70's...the gore-soaked zombie & cannibal buffets of the '80's. And all of the war-sploitation, shark-sploitation, prison-sploitation, Rambo-sploitation, Star Wars-sploitation and post-apocalyptic future-sploitation flicks, prolifically sprinkled amidst it all. And it's one of those latter categories, and a specific film therein, that we're gleefully jumping all over, in this focus...
...the year is, of course, 1990...and the Bronx section of New York has not been so much walled up, as more nonchalantly partitioned off as...well, a pretty dangerous place to live, with the general populous relegated into knowing not to cross the invisible border into this part of the city, for fear of putting their lives at risk. It seems that at some usurping, scale-tipping, power-grabbing moment of past previous, the gangs of the city have overwhelmed and taken over...varied and eclectically named/themed/costumed gangs, strewn throughout the battle-torn metropolis, struggling and warring with each other, in a desperate effort to hold onto their meager scrap of territory...some underground, some taking to the tower heights, and most etching out their survival in the rubble-scattered labyrinth of the streets...
...a neutral and anti-heroic presence in the battered remnants of the ravaged city, the Riders...a rag-tag, leather-clad gang of bikers, led by a cool, collected and even-tempered, albeit intimidatingly muscle-bound, stringy-haired and poker-faced 'pretty boy' biker, named Trash...patrol and ride the sun-baked street pavement, always looking for action...or at least a good fight. And in the midst of one such fight, which was instigated as the result of one of their own having been mysteriously and brutally killed, Trash comes across a pretty and attractive waif of a girl, being held by the rival gang, which the Riders were vengefully pummeling. The scared and naive-looking girl, calling herself Ann, clearly appears to not belong in this part of the city; however, with the girl expressing her gratitude for having been saved from the harmfully intent gang, she pleads with Trash for his protection. Trash reluctantly agrees, with a look of suspicion that suggests a gnawing gut feeling...that there's something more to this, than meets the eye...
...through some coyly manipulative 'poking and prying', Trash finds out that Ann is the daughter of the president of a major controlling corporation, and upon the president's death, Ann is poised to inherit the mantle of her father. However, Ann is quite aware of the underlining corruption, going on amidst the structured & regimented organization, and wants nothing of it, hence her 'escape'. Of course, this does not suit well with the 'suits', as although their intent is morally sinister and underhanded, they still need the girl as a sort of iconic 'mouthpiece' for the people...having little-to-no power herself, but necessary for the corporation itself, to weld it's power. And in an effort to reclaim their showpiece, knowing where Ann had escaped to, the corporation sends in a hired mercenary, named 'the Hammer', to go in, extract the girl, and 'dust' anyone who gets in his way...
...while contemplating what to do, as far as helping Ann out, Trash confronts Ogre...the grandiose and self-proclaimed 'king' of the Tigers, the head-reigning gang of the Bronx...whom Trash suspects in the recent killing of one of his men. Ogre makes a point as to not hide his involvement in the death of Trash's comrade, citing that the gang member was a spy, as evident by a strange electronic surveillance device, found on the body. Unbeknownst to Trash, who's own suspicions are on the rise, Ogre's argument couldn't possibly be closer to the truth, as plotting and conniving members of his own gang prove to be stirring up the ranks, and trying to get rivals gangs to war with each other, in an attempt to kill Trash, and take over the gang...
...heading back to his own turf, Trash is abruptly met by members of his gang, who inform him that a rival gang, the Zombies, has abducted the girl, having since heard about her intrinsically high value. In fact,
all of the rival gangs, residing in the Bronx, has heard of the girl, and
all want a piece of the action. And so, in an effort to fight fire with fire, Trash reluctantly takes his gang though the dark and twisted maze of the city, in an effort to convince Ogre and his gang to side with the Riders, in an effort to rescue the girl, and thwart the plans of the corporation (...who would just as soon destroy the city, then go fishing)...and to get there, Trash has to make his way through an army of deadly gang members, all hell bent to stop him and the Riders...not to mention, avoiding the skilled & well-armed, dogged and omnipresent pursuit of 'the Hammer'...
...now, as might have been expected, back in the day that this so-called 'knock-off' was originally released...even now, one might not help but hear the lambasting echoes of '...why, this is a shameless rip-off of Escape from New York and The Warriors...', or other critically heckling variations to that effect (...in an ironically 'prophetic' notion, the idea of the girl trapped in a decrepit uber-future 'no man's land', actually predates John Carpenter's 1996's follow-up, "Escape from L.A.", and the 'evil corporation, making sinister and underlining plans to destroy a crime-ridden, gang-controlling city, once and for all' concept, genuinely foreshadows 2004's gritty, futuristic French hyper-actioner, "District B13"). However, in looking at the film, some 30-plus years later...and in taking into consideration, as far who directed this particular film...a well-seasoned filmmaker, who has been known to take well-trodden genre concepts...usually written into fairly lackluster storylines...and cleverly infuse those familiar concepts into a fast-paced, character driven, economical special effects-laden dynamic...with fast cars, shattering explosions, outrageous stuntwork (...usually carried out by the star performers themselves, vice expected stuntmen...heck, those stunt guys are too expensive anyways, and the insurance involved?? Sheesh...), which actually transcends the often accused 'copying' of ideas, which more than often has befallen films of this ilk. That is Enzo G. Castellari's often revisted mantra...that's his style...
...and sure enough, "1990: The Bronx Warriors"...without the explosive and fast-paced dynamics, as well as the oh-so eclectic and irreverent cache of characters...would have indeed be seen as convoluted and plodding, with the attempt to 'homage' the 'Warriors Meets Escape from New York' melding, seem much more the 'shameless rip-off', as had originally been deemed. And director Castellari has often taken that dynamically explosive and fast-paced signature approach, coupled with the most motley crew of characters in this, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi sub-genre (...as evident with further exploration into the genre, like the 1983 follow-up to "1990...", called "Escape from the Bronx", and the same year's "Warriors of the Wasteland"), as well as other compelling and thrilling genres, with films like the 1978's 'Dirty Dozen'-like war adventure, "The Inglorious Bastards", a dip into shark-sploitation, with 1981's deliciously campy, albeit deadly serious "The Last Shark" (...come on, Universal!!! Get off this movie's back, drop that injunction, and let the powers that be, finally release this one officially; it's so much fun, and hardly taints the classic power and intensity of "Jaws"...), as well as his hand in the Spaghetti Western genre, with classics like 1976's "Keoma", as well as the wild western treasure hunt, almost 'Sierra Madre'-like actioner from 1967, "Any Gun Can Play"...
...and in as much as several of the characters in "1990: The Bronx Warriors", appearance-wise and attitude-wise take their cues from familiar characterizations, as seen in the higher-profile films, which this one is inspired by, they still manage to make the characters unique unto themselves. Mark Gregory...one of the underlining great mysteries of the foreign film market, in having suddenly dropped out and disappeared from the spotlight, while he was well on the top...definitely exudes in the ruggedly handsome, albeit stern-faced role of the lead member of the Riders, Trash...a sort of 'good guy' silent warrior, anti-hero type, which recalls a sort of cross between Michael Beck's 'Swan' persona, from 1979's "The Warriors", though seemingly dipped into a flavorful vat, containing the essence of Clint Eastwood's 'Man with No Name'. Exploitation favorite Fred Williamson, who forged a pretty respectable repetoire in having worked with Castellari, in several of his films, is clearly in his element, playing the 'king' of the Bronx, Ogre, in all of the position's regal trappings; but then, as with a great number of his films, Fred...hey, all he seemingly has to do, as far as performance, is be himself...and that's the appeal, which we fans of the genre, have come to expect...
...amusingly enough, considering Fred Williamson's trademark nickname, seasoned actor Vic Morrow...in his second to the last role, just short of his tragic death, on the set of 1983's "Twilight Zone: The Movie"...affords a rather outrageous over-the-top performance as the cold, merciless and formidable 'Nazi-Terminator'-like mercenary role of 'Hammer' (...sheesh!! Did Fred know about this, going into this production?? He's gonna be pissed, ya' think??). Also strange that actor Christopher Connelly, who has been quite well know for his dashing, albeit dusty hero roles, in the past...and who also managed to carve a respectable niche in the Italian film production industry...plays a sort of an unbecoming wimpy-ish role, as the weak, flunky pawn truck driver gang member of the Riders, Hot Dog. And of course, leave us not forget about the gangs, themselves; oh yes...much like in "The Warriors", each gang...individually themed and costumed, often based upon their deadly skill set...including, most amusingly, one such gang, decked out in face paint, top hats & canes, and well-choreographed ballet moves (...Oooooooo!!! The Baseball Furies better
not run into this gang...Oooooo, scar-r-r-r-r-y!!)...
...for Blue Underground's DVD/Blu-Ray combo release of this film...which is being release similarly, in conjunction with director Castellari's other two uber-future, post-apocalyptic grindhouse flicks, 1983's "Escape from the Bronx", which sees Mark Gregory's return, in the role of Trash, and the same year's "The New Barbarians", featuring a return collaboration between the director, and actor Fred Williamson...the features, some of which are carry-overs from the previous release of the film, by Media Blasters/Shriek Show, include audio commentary by the director, himself...candid video conversations with the director, special effects contributor Fabrizio deAngelis, stunt coordinator Massimo Vanni, and a visit to the movie and stage weapons rental facility of contributor Paolo Ricci...and of course, the prerequisite trailers of this film, as well as the other titles in the trilogy...
...it has often been suggested of films like "1990: The Bronx Warriors", that the Blu-Ray format is just too good for films like this; it's not necessarily a commentary, suggesting that such a film, amongst others, is not good enough for the pristine format. Rather, to clean up and remaster a film like "1990..." would assuredly do the film a great injustice, as the film plays best in a degradated, well-worn and scratchy meld, as it's reflection of what is best in grindhouse cinema might suggest. However, in the case of Blue Underground treatment of the print, they totally
get this concept, and as such...though the scratches
are paired down to a minimum, for the best visual impact...the look of the film itself remains gritty, dusty and strikingly color-worn, as well it should. Heck, pulling up to a theater marquee, whether an inner city one, or a backwoods drive-in, "1990: The Bronx Warrior" would, without a doubt,
not look out of place, as an enjoyably second-tiered feature, with one...if not both of the films, which inspired it...
...a
'knock-off' you say?? Eh, well...perhaps. But a very clever and nostalgically entertaining one, nonetheless...
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