1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982)

In a post-apocalyptic New York City, a policeman infiltrates the Bronx, which has become a battleground for several murderous street gangs.

Director:

Enzo G. Castellari

Writers:

Dardano Sacchetti (story), Dardano Sacchetti (screenplay)

Stars:

Mark Gregory, Fred Williamson, Vic Morrow

Cast

Cast overview:
Vic Morrow	...	Hammer
Christopher Connelly	...	Hot Dog
Fred Williamson	...	The Ogre
Mark Gregory	...	Trash
Stefania Girolami Goodwin	...	Ann (as Stefania Girolami)
Ennio Girolami	...	Samuel Fisher (as Enio Girolami)
George Eastman	...	Golan
Joshua Sinclair	...	Ice (as John Sinclair)
Betty Dessy	...	Witch
Rocco Lerro	...	Hawk
Massimo Vanni	...	Blade
Angelo Ragusa	...	Leech
Enzo G. Castellari	...	Vice-President (as Enzo Girolami)

Storyline

In a post-apocalyptic New York City, a policeman infiltrates the Bronx Warriors, which has become a battleground for several murderous street gangs. It's the dead of night, and nobody at all is on the street. On the other side of the bridge, a Manhattan runaway, girl named Young Ann is attacked by a gang of street hockey players! These guys are on roller skates, dressed in fiberglass safety gear, and are wielding hockey sticks as weapons. They chase Young Ann into a dead end and surround her, but then they are themselves surrounded by a much tougher-looking gang who at least have the self-respect to ride motorcycles. In the middle of this chaos, gang leader Trash steps in to take care of her.

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Plot Keywords:

street gang | gang leader | new york city | urban decay | social decay | 

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Taglines:

A Heavy Metal Journey Into An Urban Hell Where Everything Was Done Wrong!

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

22 April 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

1990: The Bronx Warriors

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deaf Internacional Film SrL.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 89 min (uncut) 97 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stefania Girolami Goodwin, who plays Anne, is the daughter of the film's director, Enzo G. Castellari. She once said of working on this movie: " . . . it was one of those things, my dad was casting, and . . . didn't find the girl he wanted, so I tried and it worked. I think it's also because he trusts me a lot, always has, and it's a wonderful feeling for a daughter. That movie also gave me the opportunity to practice my behind-the-camera abilities as an AD [assistant director] on my days off, and I loved it".

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Goofs

Several scenes are very obviously filmed in Brooklyn, not The Bronx.

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Quotes

Trash: You bastard! You work for the Manhattan Corporation!
Hammer: I work for nobody. I don't care about the Manhattan Corporation! I don't care about the girl, I don't care about politics, I don't care about anything! I believe in nothing. I'm Hammer - The Exterminator!
Trash: You're the biggest son of a bitch in the world. You're afraid somebody might remember you were born in the Bronx?
Hammer: No, you're wrong. I'm gonna make sure that nobody ever forgets.

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Alternate Versions

The British and American releases differ greatly. The American Best Film & Video release is missing the opening speech where Fisher decides what to do about Anne and the fight with the camp, tap-dancing gang, scenes that are in the British release. However it gains 3 scenes on the British version:

• A longer scene of the Riders discovering the body of Chris by the pier.
• After Sandy and Speedy's cremation all the Riders take a handful of cremated ash and throw it into the river in a ritual.
• A conversation between Anne and Trash on the beach, just before she is kidnapped by the Zombies, where she says she wants to leave because she feels responsible for all the deaths that have happened and Trash makes a speech about how "death is part of life, we live with it and it's scent gets on our skin". (This also makes Anne's dying words to Trash make a lot more sense at the film's close).

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Connections

Referenced in Kummeli V (2014)

User Reviews

I guess the Bronx is the place to be!

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.