All Rise...

Judge Patrick Bromley is happy just to escape from Chicago rush hour traffic.

The Charge

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

The Case

While it doesn't win any points for originality, Italian director Enzo G. Castellari's 1982 sci-fi action epic 1990: The Bronx Warriors is a terrific bit of exploitation: violent, energetic and conceived as a kind of "greatest hits" of the movies it rips off, among them The Road Warrior and Escape from New York. Its sequel, released one year later as Escape from the Bronx (aka Bronx Warriors 2, aka Escape 2000), is another bloody, derivative, dystopian effort from Castellari that doesn't reach the same heights as its predecessor. But even though lighting doesn't strike twice—assuming we're willing to consider 1990: The Bronx Warriors as "lightning"—the sequel is still a good deal of fun. Consider it a copy of a copy of a copy.

Taking place several years after the events of the first movie, Escape from the Bronx finds the New York city overrun with the poorest outcasts of society. Trash (Mark Gregory) is no longer leading a gang, but instead has become a loner just getting by in the Bronx. When the evil GC corporation wants to come in and tear the city down to rebuild it into the city of the future, they send in exterminators who carry blowtorches and light the citizens of the Bronx on fire at will. When his parents are among those murdered, Trash decides to fight back for his city, enlisting the help of the remaining gangs and a mercenary named Strike (played by Giancarlo Prete of The New Barbarians) to fight back against the corporate army and sadistic prison warden Wangler (Henry Silva, Code of Silence).

Escape from the Bronx functions as both a sequel and a remake of the first movie, much the same way John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. does for Escape from New York (the film from which this one is most obviously borrowing, down to its on-the-nose title). There is a kidnapping, only here it's the president of the GC corporation instead of a young heiress. Henry Silva is playing the exact same role as Vic Morrow; they're even dressed in the same costume. It all ends with an epic shootout filled with slow motion bodies falling off of things (Castellari loves his slow motion). The only thing missing is Fred Williamson. To be fair, that's a pretty big hole to be filled.

Marco Di Gregorio—aka Mark Gregory—continues to be unremarkable as Trash, the hero of the "Bronx" series. That's not entirely his fault, as according to the supplements on this disc he was learning his lines in English when showing up to set each day. He's stiff and kind of dull but looks cool enough in the part; besides, it doesn't matter when he's surrounded by so many colorful characters and performances, including Silva, Antonio Sabato and Prete. Everyone seems to be trying to out-crazy each other (one highlight involves Silva freaking out about how much he hates sugar), and Castellari manages to out-crazy all of them. The chaos and carnage he creates in the final act of Escape from the Bronx is the biggest set piece in any of the three post-apocalyptic films he made in the early '80s. Though this movie had a lower budget than the others (and often feels like it), Castellari goes from broke in the finale as gangs and soldiers wipe each other out by the dozens.

Besides being of slightly lesser quality than its predecessor, Blue Underground's Escape from the Bronx (Blu-ray) is a bit of a dip as well. The 2.35:1 framed image gets a 1080p HD transfer is inconsistent; some scenes look vibrant and colorful and very clear, while others are soft and grainy to the point of being almost smeary. Much of this, I'm sure, is a function of the original elements Blue Underground had to work with. The film still looks good overall—certainly better than it ever has, I'm confident saying—but it's more of a mixed bag than the other two Castellari films Blue Underground is releasing at the same time. The lossless 2.0 mono track, on the other hand, is quite good; the (dubbed) dialogue is clear and the music and effects do the majority of the work, carrying a surprising amount of kick. The last half hour of the movie, essentially an extended action sequence, is a real standout.

The bonus features here are very similar to Blue Underground's releases of both 1990: Bronx Warriors and The New Barbarians: we get a commentary from director Castellari, his son Andrea and moderator David Gregory, the third part of really fun interview with Castellari and producer Fabrizio De Angelis, a gallery of production and marketing stills, two trailers for the film and bonus trailers for the other two Castellari movies. Also included on this disc is an interview with Lance Manley, a self-described super fan of Castellari's "Bronx" films who even ran a very early fan site for the movies. A standard definition DVD also comes included in the set.

While Escape from the Bronx isn't quite as strong a movie as 1990: The Bronx Warriors or The New Barbarians, it's still a worthy entry in the canon of early '80s cult action. As someone who has watched a lot of exploitation movies recently, this one stands out for its energy, its stunts, and its body count. I won't say I'm tremendously disappointed that there was never a third "Bronx" movie—I don't think there was much gas left in this particular tank—but I know I'll be coming back to Castellari's post-apocalypse trilogy again and again…even if The New Barbarians has nothing to do with the other two.

The Verdict

Another great time to be had in the Bronx.

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