1990 THE BRONX WARRIORS

Italy, 1982, 86 minutes, Colour.
Mark Gregory, Fred Williamson, Vic Morrow, Stefania Girolami, Christopher Connolly.
Directed by Enzo G. Castellari.

1990 The Bronx Warriors is an action film of the dismal future. It is a spaghetti futuristic film, an Italian exploitation of themes presented in American films. The most obvious one is Escape from New York with touches of The Warriors and Mad Max.

The Bronx is a desolate waste and a high risk area. Various gangs are in command there. The multinationals want to rescue the heiress to the corporation who has taken refuge in the Bronx. The police are at work but a hired policeman with anarchic violent tendencies (Vic Morrow), an ex-gang member, causes mayhem as he tries to extricate the girl. The dialogue is banal, especially when dubbed. However, the visuals are quite arresting: of the wasteland Bronx, of the various groups including miming and painted scavengers, roller skating baseball athletic types as well as the cyclists who are the heroes of the film. Fred Williamson also leads an exotic gang who have all kinds of affluent decor and the music of the '50s. Viking funerals for dead companions, battles and final extermination with flamethrowers with Vic Morrow in control are features. Not the easiest of films to sit through, with the comic strip touch, yet an interesting variant on the gang and ugly future society theme.