Endgame - Bronx lotta finale (1983)

Director:

Joe D'Amato

Writers:

Joe D'Amato (screenplay)
Aldo Florio (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 November 1983 (Italy)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

For An "Endgame" Champion In The Year 2025, There's Only One Way To Live. Dangerously.

Plot:

A telepathic mutant recruits a post-World War III TV game-show warrior to lead her band of mutants to safety. |

Plot Keywords:

Mutant | Future | Martial Arts | Gore | Nude Girl

Cast

Al Cliver	...	Ron Shannon
Laura Gemser	...	Lilith (as Moira Chen)
George Eastman	...	Kurt Karnak
Dino Conti	...	Professor Levin (as Jack Davis)
Hal Yamanouchi	...	Ninja
Gabriele Tinti	...	Bull (as Gus Stone)
Mario Pedone	...	Kovack
Gordon Mitchell	...	Col. Morgan
Nello Pazzafini	...	Kijawa (as Nat Williams)
Christopher Walsh	...	Tommy
Franco Ukmar	...	Stark (as Frank Ukmar)
Bobby Rhodes	...	Woody Aldridge
Alberto Dell'Acqua	...	Gabe Mantrax (as Al Waterman)
David Brown	...	Speaker
Carlos Alberto Valles	...	Committee Member (as Carlos Valles)

Also Known As:

Endgame (USA) (cable TV title)
Endgame, gioco finale (Italy) (alternative title)

Runtime:

USA:98 min | France:80 min | West Germany:96 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (video rating) | Australia:R | West Germany:18

Company:

Filmirage

Trivia:

Of all his movies, director Joe D'Amato has stated that he likes this one best.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Lilith repeatedly demonstrates the ability to communicate telepathically with Ron Shannon. It's also repeatedly made clear that she and the other mutants are supposed to hide the fact that they are telepathic from the other members of Shannon's team. So why does she risk blowing her cover by leaping from the back of the van to warn Shannon of a trap? Shouldn't she be able to give him the warning telepathically?

Quotes:

Ron Shannon: Who's the karate ace?
Bull: He told me his name was Ninja. He doesn't socialize much. Just pays to train by himself. Never wants to fight. But his body is a deadly weapon.
Ron Shannon: Make him fight.
Bull: He won't.
Ron Shannon: If he's attacked, maybe then he'll defend himself.
Bull: [prompts a gym attendant to attack] You!
Ninja: [to Bull, after defending himself] It's no use. He's dead.

Don't Delay, Annihilate Today!

Based on the reputation of director Joe D'Amato, who's primarily known for an endless number of pornography movies and perverted exploitation flicks, and a shallow first look at the VHS cover and stills, I was expecting "Endgame" to be an extremely low-keyed and virtually worthless piece of Italian 80's trash but I'm glad to announce that it actually is a pleasantly engaging Post-Apocalyptically themed Sci-Fi experience. It's a piece of 80's trash nevertheless, of course, but one of the most enjoyable kinds. "Endgame" belongs in the extended category of Italian produced "Escape from NY" knockoffs and it can easily compete with the most successful and notorious accomplishments in there, like Sergio Martino's "After the Fall of New York", Ruggero Deodato's "The Atlantis Interceptors", Lucio Fulci's "The Fighting Centurions" and Enzo G. Castellari's "The New Barbarians". These titles probably don't mean anything to 'normal' film lovers, but to true fans of Italian exploitation cinema they form an excellent source of comparison. The main story lines are very familiar and D'Amato isn't too ashamed to add in one clichéd plot twist after the other, but the film is extremely fast-paced, spectacular and indescribably violent, so who really cares about originality? Al Cliver plays a terrific Snake Plissken clone, but the show is obviously stolen by the almighty George Eastman as the arch enemy. It's the years 2025 and everybody eagerly awaits the new edition of a popular TV show, called "Endgame", in which a couple of bloodthirsty hunters go after a human prey. Ron Shannon wins the game, but only thanks to the help of the telepathically gifted mutant Lilith (D'Amato muse Laura Gemser). The government systematically exterminates all the mutants, and thus Shannon swears to help Lilith and her other mutant friends flee out of the city. Along with a troop of recruited mercenaries, Shannon guides them out of town but the group successively encounters hugely challenging ordeals like a community of blind cannibalistic monks (a splendid homage to "The Omega Man" perhaps?), an army of bewildered mutants and Nazi-like government soldiers. "Endgame" is glorious and priceless 80's entertainment like they just don't make it anymore. The battling sequences are extended and body count is enormous, with literally hundreds of bad guys and the occasional good guy dying left and right and in highly imaginative ways. In spite of the obviously low-budgeted production values, D'Amato managed to gather together some excellently apt set pieces and flamboyant vehicles and even the make-up effects are far above average. Director Joe D'Amato stated that this is his own personal favorite of all the movies he directed, and he's probably right although I personally have even bigger soft spots for "Anthropophagus" and "Beyond the Darkness". This is somewhat also a very atypical D'Amato film and that's a positive comment. For once, he could keep his viewers alert and fascinated with actually content instead of through showing nudity and sleaze. I mean, Laura Gemser stars in this film and she barely takes her clothes off! George Eastman also stars and he doesn't even attempt to rape a woman! This is just a perfectly entertaining Italian post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi movie with all the necessary ingredients: action, bloodshed, gimmicks, costumes, silliness and a terrific freeze-frame end shot.