2019: After the Fall of New York (1983)

After a nuclear war, society breaks down into two groups, the evil Euraks and the rebel Federation. A mercenary named Parsifal is hired by the Federation to infiltrate New York City, which ... See full summary »

Director:

Sergio Martino (as Martin Dolman)

Writers:

Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay) (as Julian Berry), Ernesto Gastaldi (story) (as Julian Berry)

Stars:

Michael Sopkiw, Valentine Monnier, George Eastman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Sopkiw	...	Parsifal
Valentine Monnier	...	Giara
Anna Kanakis	...	Eurac Officer Ania
Romano Puppo	...	Ratchet (as Roman Geer)
Paolo Maria Scalondro	...	Bronx (as Vincent Scalondro)
Louis Ecclesia	...	Shorty
Edmund Purdom	...	President of the Pan American Confederacy
Serge Feuillard	...	Eurac Commander
Tiziana Fibi
Hal Yamanouchi	...	Rat Eater King (as Haruhiko Yamanouchi)
Alessandra Tani
Jacques Stany	...	Eurac Officer
Siriana Hernandez	...	Flower
Tony Askin	...	Aschi - Mutant
Franco Mazzieri	...	Nevada Race Announcer (as Frank Mezner)

Storyline

After a nuclear war, society breaks down into two groups, the evil Euraks and the rebel Federation. A mercenary named Parsifal is hired by the Federation to infiltrate New York City, which is controlled by the Euraks, to rescue the only fertile woman left on Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

italian cinema | french horror | italian horror | french cinema | sadistic psychopath | 

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Taglines:

In The Year 2019, The Future Depends on One Man.

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

7 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

2019: After the Fall of New York

Filming Locations:

R.P.A. Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nuova Dania Cinematografica, Medusa Distribuzione, Les Films du Griffon

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The weapons used by the white-suited guards of the 'American' government look exactly like the weapon the Jane Fonda used in Barbarella. (It even featured on some of the posters.) If they aren't the same props being recycled, then they are very faithful replicas.

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Goofs

Obvious stunt double for Ratchet on the wide shot when the three protagonists are riding motorcycles through the wasteland toward New York City.

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Crazy Credits

The film's credits list this as an "Italo-Frenchy" co-production.

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Connections

References 2020 Texas Gladiators (1982)

User Reviews

Derivative sci-fi action, Italian style - and a hoot to boot

Undemanding, ultimately just plain fun post-apocalypse addition to the Italian cycle of sci-fi films, and another feather in the cap of director Sergio Martino (ISLAND OF THE FISHMEN) – so far I haven't seen an unenjoyable film directed by this underrated man. The menu for this particular outing is cheese, cheese and more cheese, with action thriving on an incredible low budget (although not a zero budget) and the plot being pretty much ripped off from ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK: a man is sent into a futuristic New York, has to acquire the last fertile woman on earth, and escape again.

It's as simple as that, although there are lots of companions along the way, a couple of twists, conspiracies and supposed shocks which aren't really too surprising after all. Martino is one of my favourite of the Italian trash directors and here he shows a firm hand regards the pacing, which throws in plenty of action throughout to make the film fly by. As a result it far surpasses the Carpenter film which it ripped of in the first place.

Just about every Italian post-apocalypse film cliché is thrown into this blender of a film at some point or another : we have the masked bad guys riding around on horseback (see also SHE); the cyborgs or androids (any post-1980 sci-fi film, although they predate THE TERMINATOR by a year here); the attractive female companion; the souped-up vehicles and chase scenes a la MAD MAX 2 (relegated to a single pointless car battle at the film's opening); cheap and cheesy laser beam shots (popular in any post-STAR WARS sci-fi film), weird sound effects, dwarfs and even a few gore effects which are fleeting but fun (the eye gouging and head explosion are notables).

The emphasis is on action, with a ton of surprisingly efficient chase scenes, shoot-outs, fist-fights and plenty more shenanigans of this variety. Okay, so its not gonna equal the scope of TERMINATOR 2, but at least it is enjoyable in a cheap kind of way. Martino fills his movie with miniature effects work which is surprisingly decent and while many of the film's props are cheap-looking, I always appreciate the effort that goes into their creation – far better than just throwing in a CGI effect shot created on the computer as with today's cinema.

Trash fans will have fun spotting the various familiar cast members. That's Haruhiko Yamanouchi (ENDGAME) as a rat-eating gang leader; lean elder Romano Puppo (GUN LAW) as the tough ally; overacting wannabe-thesp Edmund Purdom (PIECES) as the dying President; handsome, Bruce Campbell-lookalike Michael Sopkiw (BLASTFIGHTER) as the long-haired leading man; plus big George Eastman (ANTHROPOPHAGUS THE BEAST) as the hilariously – and simply – titled 'Big Ape'. It's all good and undemanding fun for fans of this particular sub-genre, and you could do a lot, lot worse.