Search - 1990: Bronx Warriors on DVD

Dated Cult Low-Budgeter

01/11/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"17-year-old Mark Gregory stars as Trash, leader of The Riders - a motorcycle gang that survive in the Bronx of the future. Crime has supposedly risen to such impossible heights that the police have abandoned the Bronx to its own devices - the gangs now rule the streets. In reality, most of the Bronx is owned by the corrupt Manhattan Corporation who would like to develop the land. They have inflated the crime rate in order to get the government to give up control, allowing them to forcibly remove people from their homes without interference. However, they do not control the streets and to complete their plans they will have to deal with the street gangs.The gangs largely co-exist, each staying off the others' turf, with the Ogre (Fred Williamson) ruling over all as self-styled King of the Bronx. The balance is upset when Trash encounters Ann (Stefania Girolami), a girl who has run away from civilised Manhattan, who he saves from a rival gang. The two are immediately attracted to each other, and she joins up with him and his gang. However, she is the heir to the Manhattan Corporation and has run away because she fears being used as a puppet. The men in power will stop at nothing to get her back, even bringing in the legendary mercenary Hammer (Vic Morrow). Ann is taken by another gang, and the race is on as to who reaches her first. But Trash must also prevent Hammer turning the gangs against each other while fighting to get Ann back.Originally made in Italian (although filmed in the Bronx) as 'I Guerrieri del Bronx', this cult classic was later dubbed into English. Only recently released in its uncut version, it was notorious for its violence and suffered extensive cuts in both its original UK and US releases. It also featured a lot of real Hell's Angels as the supporting bikers. It has to be said that these days the violence in it looks quite restrained and won't shock as many as it once did. Suspension of disbelief is definitely required in order to deal with gangs who roller skate or tap dance, but the imagery of it all remains quite vivid.DVD Extras: Just the basics with this budget single-disc release. Extras: Picture gallery, Filmographies, Trailer. 2/10It's Got: Lots of startling imagery.It Needs: More violence - it's no longer living up to its reputation.Alternatives: Bronx Warriors 2, Clockwork Orange, After the Fall of New York.Summary: Dated cult low-budgeter that nonetheless still has something to offer to fans of the genre. 5/10(Review by Andrea Chee)"

I love this movie

Michael A. Martinez | Fairbanks, AK USA | 03/26/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Campy, charming, and stylish, 1990: The Bronx Warriors is one of the best things to come out of Italy since The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Lots of great action scenes with obvious choreography which parallel's Walter Hill's THE WARRIORS, and a lot of Enzo G. Castellari's usual style and slow motion. The story does get slow at times, but is worth sitting through for the show-stopping finale. This movie was heavily cut for US release, so I advise you to track down an uncut, letterboxed version of the film. The Sergio Salvati photography is much more suited by the widescreening than full frame. Great musical score as well, composed by Walter Rizzati who also scored THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY and THUNDER WARRIOR 2."

"We were born dead...life means nothing."

cookieman108 | Inside the jar... | 06/30/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981) brought us vision of a bleak future, one where crime was rampant, swelling the prison populations to the point where the authorities finally had to take extreme measures basically isolating the island of Manhattan into lawless, free-range dumping ground for convicted criminals, a no man's land for no-goodniks, if you will...the popularity of this film, along with that of the post apocalyptic thriller Mad Max (1979) and its sequel Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) spawned any number of low budget imitators, both in the U.S. and abroad, including this Italian production titled 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1983), co-written and directed by European exploitationeer extraordinaire Enzo G. Castellari, who was also responsible for other films in the same vein like The New Barbarians (1981) and Escape from the Bronx aka Bronx Warriors 2 (1983). Starring in the film is Mark Gregory (Bronx Warriors 2, Delta Force Commando), Fred `The Hammer' Williamson (That Man Bolt, Black Caesar, From Dusk Till Dawn), and Vic Morrow (Blackboard Jungle, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Humanoids from the Deep). Also appearing is Christopher Connelly (Manhattan Baby), Joshua Sinclair (Shaka Zulu), George Eastman (2019: After the Fall of New York), and Stefania Girolami (The New Barbarians), daughter of the director Enzo G. Castellari, who, by the way, also makes an appearance as the character of `Vice-President'.

As the movie opens, we learn three things; the 1st is a young woman named Ann (Girolami) has run away from her boarding school in Manhattan, fleeing across the bridge into the Bronx, the 2nd is the Bronx has been officially declared a no man's land by authorities as they've basically given up trying to enforce the law, and the 3rd thing is the Bronx is supposedly ruled by a motorcycle gang known as The Riders (they're so cool they ride around with lit plastic skulls on their handlebars). Anyway, shortly after arriving in the Bronx, Ann is accosted by a roller skating gang but is soon rescued as The Riders, led by someone named Trash (Gregory), show up and lay the smack down. As they return to their own turf, they have an encounter with a group of dandies (dressed up like pimps, calling themselves The Tigers), led by Ogre (Williamson), who apparently rules the Bronx, which conflicts with the information given at the beginning stating The Riders ruled, so I'm confused...anyway, it turns out Ann is from an extremely wealthy family, and is meant to take on an incredible responsibility when she turns 18, which is in a few days. To facilitate her safe return, the powers that be enlist the aide of The Hammer (Morrow), a ruthless, sadistic, `play by his own rules' lone wolf type with his own agenda. As gangs clash and The Hammer plays his games (which usually involve pitting various gangs against each other), everyone is after Ann, putting Trash in the middle (Trash and Ann have developed some sort of relationship) of what looks to be a coming confrontation to see who will truly rule the Bronx...I think...there's a number of aspects to the story that weren't all that clear.

When I reflect on this film, originality is not the first thing that comes to my mind...cheap rip-off, perhaps, but not originality...I read somewhere else where someone stated it was unfair to compare this film against those that were ripped off, like Escape from New York or Walter Hill's The Warriors, because of budget differences, but I didn't see how that was relevant as a rip off is a rip off, regardless if it has a big budget or not...filmmakers worldwide tend to bereft of originality, and much focus is put forth on making money by rehashing concepts that have proven successful. In this case it is just more obvious than others...and I don't necessarily mind the blatant usage of successful concept if it is entertaining and done well...which is about half the case here...the film was entertaining, despite the fact it wasn't made very well. The biggest drawbacks are the generally unfocused plot (overall it keeps well, but its in the details things go awry), the poor scripting, and lame acting (specifically the lead). And I'll tell you what, given the Bronx was supposed to be this lawless territory ruled by violent gangs, I never got that sense...one gang was made up of nearly an all male, burlesque, tap dancing troop with painted faces, top hats and canes...another featured pasty faced ragamuffins who live in the sewers, a third featured a bunch of dandies dressed in polyester leisure suits, and then there's leather and denim clad motorcycle gang The Riders, who mostly look like carbon copies of that biker from the group The Village People, certainly not helped by a leader (Trash) who tends to sashay when he walks (turns out Gregory, the actor who played this character, was, in fact, of the swishy sort, according to Williamson, who stated he `left no footprints in the snow', meaning he was light in the loafers). There were some violent confrontations and some decent bloodletting, but most of it came at the expense of The Riders, whose members dropped like flies throughout the film, due to, in my opinion, poor leadership at the hands of Trash...by the way, if Gregory's performance seems awkward its because he didn't understand English, so when they were feeding him his lines and he would repeat them to the camera, so he had no idea what he was saying and therefore couldn't always produce the necessary expressions (I got the feeling even if he knew what he was saying it still would have been the same). At least Williamson and Morrow were fun to watch, especially Morrow, who seemed to have taken acting lessons at the Jack Palance School of Scenery Chewing (think I'm kidding? Check out Palance's performance as Voltan in Hawk the Slayer). As far as the dialog, here's an especially painful bit when Trash is opening up to Ann..."At least dying for you would give my life meaning."...oh bruther...here's another spewed forth by Ann as treachery is revealed..."Foiled at the last minute. How could you think you'd get away with it?"...cripes...the production values weren't as bad as I thought they'd be (the film was shot in Rome, with a weeks worth in New York, and the footage interspersed to give the appearance of the entire film taking place in New York). And get used to that psuedo jazz fusion musical score, as its played over and over and over...

Media Blasters really does an amazing job with this DVD release. Not only have they presented a really good looking widescreen (2.35:1), enhanced for 16X9 televisions, picture, but they've also provided the 92 minute uncut version, something not a lot of fans had seen prior. The audio also comes through well in Dolby Digital stereo. Special features include an audio commentary with the director (his Italian accent is very thick, so I was unable to listen all the way through in one sitting), along with a 40-minute interview with Fred `The Hammer' Williamson (they keep calling him `Da' Hammer, but it is really `The' Hammer), a 6-minute interview with the director, a photo gallery, and trailers for films like Flesh for the Beast (2003), Faceless (1988),2019: After the Fall of New York (1983), and Flesh Eater aka Revenge of the Living Zombies (1988).

Cookieman108

By the way, if you watch the interview with director Enzo G. Castellari, you'll notice he's sitting in a rather nice office, but look to behind him and to the right...you'll see one of those yellow, pine tree car air fresheners hanging on his bookshelf...real classy...I guess the guy has an odor problem...and while watching the film, pay particular attention around the 57 minute 30 second mark for a nasty looking, unintentional motorcycle wipe out...
"

Beware of non-Media Blasters copies for sale

S. Boone | Louisville, KY | 06/27/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a decent enough Italian urban warfare kind of flick,if you enjoy those kind of things, but if you're interested in it, beware of sellers that have extremely LOW prices because one in particular, that still has listings, sold me some cheesy knock-off that's not the item listed. It's a dub from a Media Home Entertainment TAPE, no less....so heads up, folks..."