Director – Enzo G. Castellari (The New Barbarians)
Starring – Vic Morrow (The Twilight Zone: The Movie), Mark Gregory (Escape from the Bronx), and Fred Williamson (From Dusk Till Dawn)
Release Date – 1982
Rating – 4/5
Tagline – “The lucky ones were the first to die!”
The year 1982 was an exciting year for Italian director Enzo G. Castellari. It was during this time that he directed the film that most believe to be his best one yet. That film was 1990: The Bronx Warriors and it went on to become a cult classic and even spawned a sequel. The film would be the first of three in which Enzo would tackle the post-apocalypse sub-genre.
This film is one I have heard so much about but for some fucked up reason I never attempted to grab a copy to check out. Recently, Blue Underground announced that they would be releasing the film on blu. This fucking excited me so I reached out to them and they were king enough to send over a review copy. Thanks guys!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows Trash (Gregory) who is the leader of a motorcycle gang in the Bronx. The Bronx has now been closed off from the rest of the U.S. and is no longer regulated by police. Gangs have taken over sections of the Bronx and Trash is the leader of one of those gangs. He rescues a young woman from another gang and learns that she is an important woman.
Her father owns the biggest company in the U.S., the Manhattan Corporation. He keeps her close and the two hit it off. However, her father wants her back and hires a man with no moral restraint to get her back. Her starts a gang war between the gangs before sending in his private army to get her back. What they did not count on is the gangs joining forces to keep them out of the Bronx…but do they stand a chance.**Spoiler Alert**
One of my favorite aspects about post-apocalyptic horror flicks is that the land is lawless and the police have no authority. Escape from New York is the perfect example of that and the thought of 1990: The Bronx Warriors being a mash up of that film and The Warriorsmade me a little too excited.
The acting in this one is hit and miss. My first complaint is with the film’s star Mark Gregory who plays Trash in the film. When we first meet the film’s anti-hero you can’t help but laugh at him. His posture is perfect and he refuses to bend his back even when riding his motorcycle. He literally looked like a cardboard cutout riding a bike. He also walks in a weird way which makes it hard for the viewer to take him seriously. However, this changes once the film is in full swing and the viewer no longer notices this. The remainder of the cast does a great job and are pretty consistent in it with no one shining brighter than the next.
The story for this is is painted as a post-apocalyptic flick but it is not. The Bronx has fallen and only the strong survive but the remainder of the world is still churning. No great disaster or event caused this. This was a bit of a let down but it does follow a story similar to EfNY and does mix it up with The Warriors which does offer a very fun and exciting story even though it lacks originality. The story really does throw everything it meant to be an early 80s post-apocalyptic film at the viewer creating an action packed flick that true fans of these films will really enjoy.
Also, the film has several kills scenes featuring various weapons from blunt object, to sharp object, and even a few gun shots. Sadly, none are that impressive or stick out. They all fall into mediocrity and deliver nothing amazing. One would expect a few gory kills scenes with a film like this but they do not get them.
Finally, the film has been remastered and is now running 1080p and looks fantastic. Scenes are clear and crisp while the audio is loud and strong. The film also features several fantastic features like commentary by director Enzo Castellari, Conversations Part I with Enzo and Fabrizio De Angelis, Sourcing the Weaponry featurette, Adventures in the Bronx, trailers, posters and stills. Overall, the Blue Underground release of 1990: The Bronx Warriors is the definitive release for this film. The film looks amazing and has great special features. Buy this one now!
