The Blood of Heroes (1989)

Director:

David Webb Peoples

Writer (WGA):

David Webb Peoples (written by)

Release Date:

23 February 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Sport

Tagline:

When juggers play there is only one way to live - THE HARD WAY! - [Australia Theatrical] [Title as Salute of the Jugger]

Plot:

A Mad Max-esque post apocalyptic world provides the backdrop for a brutal, futuristic game resembling football...

Plot Keywords:

Post Apocalyptic | Box Office Flop | Mahatma Gandhi | Skull | Outsider

Cast

Rutger Hauer	...	Sallow
Delroy Lindo	...	Mbulu
Anna Katarina	...	Big Cimber (as Anna Katerina)
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Young Gar (as Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio)
Gandhi MacIntyre	...	Gandhi
Justin Monjo	...	Dog Boy
Aaron Martin	...	Samchin Boy
Joan Chen	...	Kidda
Casey Huang	...	Kidda's Father
Quang Dinh	...	Samchin Head Elder
John Doumtsis	...	Samchin Timekeeper
John Biro	...	Samchin Peasant #1
Brian Cawley	...	Samchin Peasant #2
Gino Terranova	...	Samchin Peasant #3
Cecilia Wong	...	Kidda's Mother

Also Known As:

Salute of the Jugger (UK) (video title) (UK) (DVD title) (USA) (working title)
The Salute of the Jugger (Australia) (UK)
The Blood of Heroes (USA)

Runtime:

90 min | Japan:104 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Norway:18 | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Coober Pedy, South Australia, Australia

Company:

Handistom Investment

Quotes:

[Kidda gets tripped by Ghandi when practicing her running skills]
Sallow: Can't pass an old man?
Kidda: I didn't see him.
Sallow: You gotta know where everybody is, all of us!
Kidda: What if I can't?
Sallow: They'll crush your skull!

The best sport movie ever made

I am surprised and delighted by the sheer depth of this movie every time I re-watch it. Not only is the jugger sport convincing, well-designed and very enthusiastically played by the excellent cast of actors, but the post-civilised (as opposed to post-apocalyptic) world it takes place in is both subtly drawn and entirely believable. Nowhere in the pithy script is there the usual heavy-handed sci-fi references to the nuclear war (or whatever) that reduced human-kind back to feudal barbarism. We are presented with the world of the juggers as-is, without a single "as you know, our society collapsed after the great firestorm in the sky" speech or a hint that the heroes of the title can improve mankind's sad situation as anything other than gladiatorial entertainers. A masterpiece that should be on DVD, converted into a computer game and, if they can get the original cast and production team together, sequelled.