1990: Bronx Warriors

source: 1990: Bronx Warriors

Directed by Enzo G. Castellari. Starring Mark Gregory, Fred Williamson, Vic Morrow, John Loffredo, Stefania Girolami, Christopher Connelly, Betty Dessy, Ennio Girolami. (R) In the not-too-distant future (1990, to be exact), society has all but collapsed, and the Bronx has become a desolate battleground for hideously-attired street gangs (and, in the background of one shot, children playing basketball?). To describe the story any further would be a cheat, since this incoherent disaster of a movie can't decide how it even wants to tell it; the obvious distinction of being described as "'The Warriors' meets 'Escape from New York'" will suffice. What doesn't suffice is anything related to skill, technique or entertainment value. The acting and character work--especially from a young punk called Trash (Gregory), who walks like a woman with a wedgie, rear-end thrust out like he's working it for catcalls--is pretty atrocious across the board (save for the nuanced effort from a bug that wanders onto the camera lens aimed at the helicopter during the climax). But who cares about personality or orderly storytelling in B-movie junk like this, right? What tanks this one completely are poorly-edited scenes that always either drag on forever or end abruptly, action choreography out of an unambitious high school stage performance, and bottom-of-the-barrel production values, even by Italian cheapie-exploitation standards (was the budget for the sets and costumes a few thousand lire?). If you can't even make flamethrower-wielding stormtroopers on horseback the least bit exciting, you shouldn't try at all. 9/100

1990 The Bronx Warriors: 3 out of 10: It's the distant future and the Bronx is now a no-go zone filled with criminal scum. A rich 17-year-old girl escapes her guardians and flees into the Bronx where she meets up with a large breasted male hairdresser who leads a motorcycle gang? Hold on let me check the box… Italian eh? Should have known. Yes it's a rip off of Escape from New York mixed with the Warriors. The film is loaded with problems even for an Italian rip off hack job. First of all they are clearly not in the Bronx. Helpful hints include the World Trade Center and UN building not to mention the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. I guess 1990 the Brooklyn Warriors sounded too much like a baseball movie. Despite listing the Hell's Angels as technical support the biker gang leads are well gay. I mean Village people gay. The leads really don't even know how to walk like men literally swishing from one scene to the next. The fight scenes show off their ballet and modern jazz skills as opposed to actual combat skills. And the outfits could give leather a bad name for years to come. It's a fine line between wearing your leathers to ride and looking like an extra from Cruising. Even the late Vic Morrow who keeps his manhood intact throughout most of the film goes leather bar at the end. The dialog is awful beyond belief and the acting is community theater level. The gangs our heroes swish against are even worse. First you have the Rollerball rejects with Spaceball helmets and then the cast of Chorus Line makes an appearance.(This is not an exaggeration the motorcycle gang literally battles a Broadway review) Fred Williamson (who confusingly is called Trash while Vic Morrow's character is called the Hammer), Betty Dessy as Hammers girl Witch (In her only film) and Joshua Sinclair as Ice actually give entertaining performances. The two leads however Stefinia Girolami Goodwin and Mark Gregory could simply not be worse. Their chemistry is nil and their line reading is atrocious. Looks like I owe 2019: After the Fall of New York an apology. As Joe Bob Briggs might say 17 breasts, zero of which belong to the ladies.

Enzo G. Castellari's "1990: Guerrieri Del Bronx" aka. "1990: The Bronx Warriors" is a trashy end time action flick that was mainly produced to cash in on the success of two prior post-apocalyptic cult flicks, Walter Hill's "The Warriors" of 1979 John Carpenter's "Escape From New York" of 1981. I have utmost respect for director Castellari for movies such as the great late Spaghetti Western "Keoma" with Franco Nero in the lead, but it "Bronx Warriors" is certainly not one of the highlights of his career. Although "The Bronx Warriors" is overall a silly film that lacks in many departments, it has some qualities and is fun to watch if you're a fan of apocalyptic 80s trash. The exploitation factor makes it worthwhile, although it could have been higher, since there's no nudity, and not nearly as much violence as i hoped for. In the future (the year 1990) The Bronx is entirely in the hand of criminal gangs. The fight against crime has become so hopeless that the state has decided to keep out of the Bronx and declared this territory no man's land and people have to kill in order to stay alive in this godforsaken place ruled by hostile gangs. One of these gangs, a biker gang called the 'Raiders' are lead by a young guy called Trash (Mark Gregory), who falls in love with Ann (Stefania Girolami Goodwin, daughter of director Castellari) a girl who has fled to the Bronx from Manhattan... The main reason to watch "Bronx Warriors" is the great blaxploitation star and badass Fred Williamson, who is once again the epitome of coolness as 'The Ogre', the self-proclaimed King of the Bronx. Another cool role is that of Vic Morrow, who plays a professional gun called Hammer. Other than Willamson and Morrow, and Victor Conelly, who has a smaller role, the performances are pretty forgettable, especially Mark Gregory is rather terrible in the role of Trash. I also found it quite questionable, why the huge, badass bikers with their tattoos and full beards would accept baby faced Trash, who looks like he's 15 years old as their leader. Some (unintentionally?) hilarious aspects of this film are the ridiculous-looking rival gangs, like "The Zombies", a gang whose members come on roller skates and armed with hockey sticks, another gang who look like Neanderthals, and another 'fearsome' gang of rouged guys who look like ballet dancing drag-queens. The great Fred Williamson is responsible for almost all the cool moments in this film, which is otherwise quite forgettable. Nevertheless, the exploitation and trash factor make "Bronx Warriors" worthwhile if you're a fan of this kind of trashy end-time cinema. Don't set your expectations too high, and you might have an entertaining time, if only due to Williamson and several bloody fights. Mildly recommended to lovers of trashy 80s stuff.

Enzo G Castellari, I salute you. I first saw this movie in my local youth club in 1983 when a VCR was still a luxury and around a dozen sweaty teenagers would gather in Bertie Road YC on a damp Monday evening to be entertained by whatever Mr Butler had rented from the petty cash for our amusement. From the opening montage of myriad nasty, pointy things and exquisitely made up "warriors" we were hooked and the first brawl of 5 riders whupping the arses of 10 silly skaters our attention was riveted to the screen like Trash's jeans to his thighs. (Seeing the "Ben Hur axle blade things" flip down to hamstring the two skaters and Trash elbow a bloke in the face with his sooo cool fashion accessory were the hight points for me). This movie is undoubtedly flawed. Atrocious choreography, risible dubbing and more holes than a popular brand of cheese. BUT.... Enzo and pals obviously had so much fun making this film that you can forgive them their trespasses. Any movie that has a birthday party being interrupted by Vic Morrow, clad in leather and conducting a slaughter of street gangs by baddies on horses, armed with flamethrowers...well, what can I say? I have loved this movie and its sequel for nearly 25 years now, well not warming to Enzo's other work particularly (anyone seen Warriors of the Wasteland? It's Mad Max 2 in a quarry!). I own the two VHS versions from the shop that the Bertie Road youth club hired from and have met Enzo twice in the last few years in Rome (nice fella). Check out my website dedicated to the two greatest movies about the Bronx (although not in the opinion of the mayor of Manhattan methinks). www.bronxwarriors.com One of life's guilty pleasures.

Well, it's been a few months since I've seen something as downright poor as "1990: The Bronx Warriors." I'd compare it to Bruno Mattei's "Rats." Plot: The year is 1990. The Bronx, NY has turned into a 'violent wasteland' mostly comprised of sissies riding rollerskates, bikers with brand new, sparkling clean Levi's, and a bunch of horribly costumed 'gangsters.' An obvious homosexual male named 'Trash,' leads the biker gang known as The Riders. They have no real motive or mission, they just live in construction sites and act stupid, not really committing any crime or doing anything interesting. A woman, who happens to be the heiress of a huge corporation, flees to the Bronx so she doesn't become a 'puppet' and The Riders, specifically Trash take a liking to her. A guy named Hammer, who is hired by the corporation, tries to take out the Riders and pretty much succeeds in the end, eliminating everyone cool in the film and leaving the wimpy, weepy Trash to finish him off. The movie had such potential as a screenplay written by the amazing Dardano Sachetti, but in the hands of Castellari, this turkey doesn't even come out cooked. There are holes, acting that is on-par with a high school play, and stretches of sheer yawn-inducing dialog that the whole thing makes you scratch your head and wonder- could these people really be serious here? There isn't enough gore to make it cool, the costumes are atrocious, and throughout the film we see life going on as normal around the actors. (Cars going by on bridges and highways, kids playing basketball, old people walking the street, etc.) The Bronx hardly seems like a 'wasteland' and aside from the horribly costumed gangsters and 'scavengers,' the only thing wasteful about this film is the fact that money was spent making it. Look for some especially horrible acting from the guy who plays Trash when he forces some tears out in a few scenes. God, it was like watching a student film. What happened, Enzo? "Escape From New York" it ain't. Italian horror buffs and vintage exploitation junkies can by all means skip this one. For a better example of Castellari's genius, see "The Big Racket" instead. 2 out of 10, kids.

This low-keyed Italian imitation of both Walter Hill's "The Warriors" and John Carpenter's "Escape from NY" is a lot less spectacular and outrageous as I anticipated it to be, but it nevertheless offers a lot of cheesy post-apocalyptic fighting scenes as well as a large variety of eccentric characters. It's actually quite clever how Enzo Castellari ("Cold Eyes of Fear", "The Last Shark") braids together the plots of the aforementioned Sci-Fi classics, but the actual elaboration is extremely tacky and results in chuckles instead of in tension & thrills. Castellari completely fails in making the Bronx appear to be a menacing location. The abandoned streets don't look pauperized or even decayed and the different gangs inhabiting these supposed wastelands aren't very terrifying, either. Especially the gang-members of "The Riders" are hilarious! They should be a relentless bunch of bikers, yet they all look like well-behaving 40-something house fathers with neatly trimmed mustaches. Their leader is a pretty boy with eyes like those of a cute puppy and he's only half as old as the rest of the members. How the hell did he ever got elected as leader? My bet is he cried continuously until the rest gave in. Anyways, he – Trash – falls in love with a Manhattan girl who fled from her future wealth and takes her into custody. Her family wants her back, though, and they hire the Bronx-born scum-legend The Hammer to raise the ultimate war to eliminate all gangs. There isn't a single original aspect or plot twist to find in the entire film. The smaller gangs are completely derivative of Hill's "The Warriors", with losers on roller skates and even bigger losers break-dancing instead of walking. The only remotely interesting character is that of Fred Williamson. Although, again, identical to Isaac Hayes' Duke character in "Escape from NY", Williamson clearly had a great time and performs his battle scenes with a great deal of panache. George Eastman's role had potential too (he plays the leader of a gang of disguised hockey players called the Zombies), but he's given too little screen time. The two leads, however, are incredibly annoying and in desperate need of some acting courses. Vic Morrow (in his second-last film) goes tremendously over the top as The Hammer, especially during the climax when he's commanding an entire army of hateful coppers to set fire to the Bronx. Sure, it's a pretty terrible film, but undemanding fans of Italian trash-cinema might certainly enjoy it. And if you're one of them, I also recommend: "2019: After the Fall of New York", "Holocaust 2000", "The Atlantis Interceptors" and of course the sequel "Escape from the Bronx".

Definitely struck me as an uncredited remake of The Warriors (1979) with elements stolen from Escape from New York (1981). The Bronx has been abandoned by police, since it has been taken over by gangs. Each gang wears costumes and have matching modes of transportation. A woman runs over a bridge into the Bronx. She's due to inherit the presidency of The Manhattan Corporation, but wants to avoid those people who would have her be just a puppet. After she gets attacked by one gang, another gang saves her and she becomes the girlfriend of their leader, Trash, who has the most feminine walk I've ever seen in a guy. Perhaps that's what too-tight pants does. Anyway, Trash's gang ends up having to fight their way through a couple other gangs to get to the King of the Bronx, the head of the Tigers, Ogre. Trash also has to deal with traitors in his own gang. The video I saw unfortunately was cut, so I missed out on the tap-dancing gang (!). There were some silly gangs in The Warriors too, so I guess they were just following that. Fairly entertaining, but derivative. Don't bother with any cut versions.

It's the year 1990 and the Bronx is declared a no-man's land and has been boarded off by the authorities. As now murderous street gangs, who see this as a battleground, run the area. An important young lady, Anne who soon will be in control of or more so a puppet of the Manhattan Corporation. Heads for the Bronx to hide out from these figures. On her journey, Anne encounters Trash the leader of the bikers. After a tussle with a hostile gang and she tags along with him. To get Anne back the Manhattan Corps get the aid of a cop, Hammer, to get in there and bring her back. Oh, this cheap Italian rip off reeks of awfulness and extreme cheese. Despite being poorly done this ridiculously shonky fluff is nothing more than brainless fodder. Entertaining, yeah… kind of. That's if you're in an undemanding frame of mind though. What follows here is a story taken from such great cult flicks like Walter Hills' "The Warriors" and John Carpenter's "Escape from New York". Instead the concept is treated rather nonsensically with an odd assortment of junky ideas with a pitiful script that just lacked any sort of wit and moments in the story that dragged, which you couldn't help but feel it. The style of it is terribly cartoonish and unintentionally goofy. Especially that of some fashionable gangs lurking in the Bronx. Like the tap dancing group who are real a threat and a hopeless bunch of roller hockey nuts. There are a few neat (if unusual) set pieces orchestrated in a gritty and glum setting. Versatile and upfront camera-work and a titillatingly funky grunge soundtrack capture this, but its too overlong and sloppy direction creates unexciting pockets. It's violent, but it's bluntly executed in a laughable and tatty manner. When it tries to get all-emotional between the casts, it gets lost at sea. The clueless looking Mark Gregory who played Trash was unconvincing and extremely wooden and Stefania Girolami was no better, but boasting the likes of Vic Morrow (who's simply larger-than-life in this meaty role as Hammer) and the charismatic shine of Fred Williamson made it easier to swallow this tripe. What a crappy imitation! That's mildly amusing crap. Oh, and watch for Gregory's femininely "supercool" strutting.

Its fantastic when you stumble onto what is (in your own eyes) a masterpiece and 'Bronx Warriors' is just that. Hugely enjoyable to watch as a simple tale with ridiculous backdrop. This film was never meant to be taken seriously and it shouldn't. Watch it and laugh at it.