Escape from the Bronx (1983)

A rag-tag group of people must fight extermination squads amid their ruined city.

Director:

Enzo G. Castellari

Writers:

Tito Carpi (based on a story by), Tito Carpi (screenplay)

Stars:

Mark Gregory, Henry Silva, Valeria D'Obici

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Gregory	...	Trash
Henry Silva	...	Floyd Wrangler
Valeria D'Obici	...	Moon Grey
Giancarlo Prete	...	Strike (as Timothy Brent)
Paolo Malco	...	Vice President Hoffman
Ennio Girolami	...	President Henry Clark (as Thomas Moore)
Antonio Sabato	...	Dablone / Toblerone
Alessandro Prete	...	Junior
Massimo Vanni	...	Big Little Man
Andrea Coppola	...	Jay the Photographer
Eva Czemerys	...	Trash's Mother
Moana Pozzi	...	Juana
Romano Puppo	...	Trash's Father
Carla Brait	...	Iron Men Leader
Maurizio Fardo	...	Bald Reporter - GCC Press Conference

Storyline

A vicious corporation tries to kill and starve the last remaining habitants of the Bronx in order to build their own high-rise developments. A lone long-haired, hot-tempered warrior, Trash, is his only obstacle. Trash, a psychopathic bomb-maker and his equally psychopathic preschool son and an annoying activist help him out by kidnapping "the President" (of the corporation), a Richard Dreyfuss look-alike. Henry Silva plays another psychopath, this one on the side of the corporations. A favorite movie of Mystery Science Theater 3000 series.

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Plot Keywords:

kidnapping | murder of reporter | killed in an explosion | flamethrower | gunfight | 

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Taglines:

They're blasting back in a bloody battle for the Bronx!

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in the 1990s.

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Goofs

As Floyd Wrangler is driving the armored van, he runs over the same dead body twice.

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Quotes

[Clark's attempt to escape ends with him staring down the barrel of Strike's shotgun]
Strike: You try that again and you'll look like a tea strainer.
President Clark: A hostage is no good dead. I must be worth something, if they're going through all that much fuss topside.
Trash: Then you know who to root for, right mister fucking Clark? Cause if we make it, so do you.

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Alternate Versions

The British version released by Entertainment In Video is missing a few scenes due to censorship, most notably some of the "hostages rigged with bombs" sequence (originally a hostage deliberately ran at a Disinfestor so the bomb goes off in his face) and Strike hitting a Disinfestor in the helmet visor with his shotgun butt causing his face to turn to red mush. The American Media entertainment NTSC video version is HEAVILY edited and missing some segments that completely change the plot of the film. In this version Vice President survives by simply driving out of the Bronx. Toblerone, Blonde Female Rebel and Big Little Man don't die and the scene where Trash takes on 3 disinfestors armed only with a crash helmet is gone.

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Connections

Referenced in Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s (2012)

User Reviews

Get your generic "action movie" fix here!

"Escape 2000" isn't all that bad, even for an Italian knock off. But it should have come with a promotional poster like the old 'generic' foods labels we used to see in grocery stores.

"ACTION MOVIE: Contents: Gunshots, Explosions, Stabbings, Flame throwers, Men in Silver Suits Being Thrown Off Catapults, Plot about Underdogs and Antiheroes vs. Greedy Corporations, Aerial Shots of City Skyscrapers, Unappealing Actors, Grainy Photography. 4 ESL Voice Actors (+ Henry Silva) used to dub entire screenplay. OTHER INGREDIENTS: "Oh Sure" moments used to bookend movie to preserve illusion of actual story telling,Inappropriately intense expressions and overacting, Long Frizzy Hair and Heavy Metal guitar riffs."

I never saw the original "Bronx Warriors", so I don't know how this movie compares to it, and I may be losing some of the subtext for the story as a result. But as a standalone product, "Escape 2000" is obviously built around a 2nd rate plot and a 3rd rate screenplay, and further hampered by some 4th rate dubbing.

The main actors aren't all that bad. Henry Silva can't carry this film, but he's pretty smooth as the 'enforcer'; Mark Gregory ("Trash") is well cast as a scruffy, hardscrabble antihero, but he doesn't so much 'act' as 'project an attitude'. Still, he's OK too, if unexciting. Antonio Sabato gads it up as rebel gang-leader "Dablone", the only really 'larger than life' presence in the film - he's fun to watch, if somewhat tiresome. But it all comes out in these badly mixed, monotonic ESL grunts that pretty much muffle any subtlety and range that the actors might have put into their speeches. I feel bad for them - I can imagine that Gregory thought this might be his big break in America, only to hear his voice on screen make him sound like a dimbulb and a lug when he saw this version.

The other big problem is that the screenplay makes all the characters strictly one-note stereotypes. There's no depth to the characters, no variety to what they have to say or the way they say it. Nothing they do surprises the viewer. And there's a deadening sameness to all the action scenes - the same explosions, the same gunshot Foley sounds, the same grimaces and reaction shots.

Still, I've seen much worse - I've even seen much worse from the Italian film industry in the 60's-80's. "Hercules Vs. Machiste in the Vale of Woe" and "Devil Fish" makes "Escape 2000" look like Oscar material. I'd have to say this one is for fans of the original "Bronx Warriors" and people who need an action movie "fix" and aren't to choosy about what they watch to get that fix. I'd also sure that I'd like it a lot better (at least 5 out of 10 instead of 3) if I knew Italian and could watch it in the original language instead of this tin-eared, rachet-jawed English dub.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

2 September 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Escape from the Bronx

Filming Locations:

101 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$269,748, 4 September 1983

Gross USA:

$1,414,828

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fulvia Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1