I guerrieri dell'anno 2072 (1984)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Elisa Briganti (screenplay)
Elisa Briganti (story)

Release Date:

28 January 1984 (Italy)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Action

Plot:

In 2072 Rome, Italy, the ruthless CEO of a TV network plots to stage a modern series of gladiator games for ratings while one 'contenstant' learns of a conspiracy behind the true nature of the results.

Plot Keywords:

Game | Gladiator | Prisoner | Death | Futuristic

Cast

Jared Martin	...	Drake
Fred Williamson	...	Abdul
Howard Ross	...	Raven
Eleonora Brigliadori	...	Sarah (as Eleonor Gold)
Cosimo Cinieri	...	Professor Towman
Claudio Cassinelli	...	Cortez
Valeria Cavalli	...	Susan (as Valerie Jones)
Donald O'Brien	...	Monk (as Donal O'Brien)
Penny Brown	...	Sybil
Al Cliver	...	Kirk
Mario Novelli	...	Tango (as Tony Sanders)
Hal Yamanouchi	...	Akira (as Haruiko Yamanouchi)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lucio Fulci

Also Known As:

Fighting Centurions
Rome, 2072 A.D.
The New Gladiators
Warriors of the Year 2072

Runtime:

89 min | USA:90 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Regency Productions

Trivia:

The original title of the movie is "I Guerrieri Dell' Anno 2072", but the date changes a lot according to some countries. In the UK, the title is "Rome 2033 - The Fighter Centurions", and even the first Italian VHS pushed the date a little later - it was re-named "I Guerrieri Dell' Anno 2079".

Quotes:

Commentator: Take a good look at these contestants, because for these men violent death is just seconds away.

Movie Connections:

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Fulci Double Feature: 'Conquest' (1983) + 'Rome 2033' (1984)

I just have to recommend watching these two Lucio Fulci films (from his 80's period) as a double feature. I guarantee it will be an amazingly warped experience. This is just a "dual user-comment", not even a review. I felt this was the only way I could tackle those movies, since watching the two of them back-to-back was such a truly unique endeavorment. Under normal circumstances, I might at least have been able to say a few more substantial things about THE NEW GLADIATORS (as I've seen more Italian films in the same vein). But know I still find myself more or less left-fieldishly knocked-out cold from watching CONQUEST. A cinematic experience that seems nearly impossible to review...

I saw CONQUEST together with two friends (who have already seen more than one Fulci film). While one was shaking his head in disbelief, uttering words like "I don't think I quite get this movie...", the other one was constantly impressed with the pure genius of Lucio Fulci, not able to suppress his enthusiasm throughout the movie. During all this, I sat in the middle, baffled and confused, amazed and puzzled..., thinking: "Fulci, what have you done...? Were you, again, suffering from a true stroke of genius, or were you simply a raving lunatic all along...?". One thing is certain, though: When someone the likes of Fulci tackles the Sword & Sorcery genre, you simply have no alternative than to watch the movie.

ROME 2033: THE FIGHTER CENTURIONS (or THE NEW GLADIATORS, as it is probably better known) was an even more fun watch. Probably because my two friends were a bit more familiar with the movies Fulci heavily steals from (from BLADE RUNNER to A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and from THE RUNNING MAN to ROLLERBALL). It's a wonderfully derailed, nonsensical mish-mash of futuristic idiosyncrasies riding the wave of the popular Italian post-apocalyptic action films at the time. And of course, how can it not star Fred Williamson? That "hate beam" was yet another stroke of genius (for some reason we just started calling it that way -- it's the blue-ish animated ray that comes out of that stick of that one guy). You can call it a good or (most likely) bad movie. But you will have a fun time watching it.

The 10/10 covers this "double feature experience" as a whole.