1990: The Bronx Warriors Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

1990: The Bronx Warriors Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 4, 2015

Enzo G. Castellari's "1990: The Bronx Warriors" a.k.a. "1990: I guerrieri del Bronx" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers; audio commentary with the Italian director; video interview with actor/stuntman Massimo Vann; poster & still gallery; and more. In English, with optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Trash and his men

The film is set in the future -- or what used to be the future. In the year 1990, the Bronx is abandoned by the local authorities and declared “No Man’s Land”. Various gangs have taken over the area and their leaders have agreed to respect their zones of influence.

But when a young and beautiful girl (director Enzo G. Castellari's daughter, Stefania Girolami) who will soon inherit the Manhattan Corporation -- which is apparently the world’s biggest arms producer and distributor -- enters the Bronx, all hell breaks loose. Ann does not want to run the Manhattan Corporation and thinks that if she disappears in the Bronx eventually the board of directors will choose someone else and she will have a normal life. But they immediately hire Hammer (Vic Morrow, Twilight Zone: The Movie), an exceptionally cruel "professional", to bring her back so that they can make her their docile puppet.

Shortly after Ann enters the Bronx, she is captured by the members of a roller hockey gang and then rescued by Trash (Mark Gregory, Delta Force Commando), the exceptionally handsome leader of the Riders.

The concept behind 1990: The Bronx Warriors is hardly original, but it isn’t bad. It is quite easy to see that Enzo G. Castellari was inspired by Walter Hill’s The Warriors and John Carpenter’s Escape from New York and decided to shoot a similarly attractive post-apocalyptic film. The Bronx with its rough reputation seemed like the perfect location for the film.

Unfortunately, it is also very easy to see that Castellari did not have the talent or the budget to shoot a film that could rival The Warriors and Escape from New York. Indeed, the acting in 1990: The Bronx Warriors is simply awful. Gregory, who was apparently discovered in a gym and did not have any acting experience, looks notably stiff in front of the camera and at times even confused by the lines he utters, while most of the men who follow his orders actually frequently appear annoyed. Even seasoned actors like Fred Williamson, who plays The Ogre, another supposedly influential gang leader, and Joshua Sinclair, who plays the suspicious rider Ice, fail to bring some balance to the film.

Gianfranco Amicucci’s (The Inglorious Bastards) editing is equally unconvincing. Some of the footage from the Bronx is quite atmospheric, but the transitions between the different segments are very uneven. The mass action sequences at the end also look mediocre.

Walter Rizzati‘s (The House by the Cemetery) soundtrack is arguably the film’s biggest strength. It blends funk and psychedelica and it is used quite well to enhance the unusual atmosphere.

1990: The Bronx Warriors is the first film in Castellari’s Bronx Warriors Trilogy. The other two films are Escape from the Bronx (1983) and The New Barbarians a.k.a. Warriors of the Wasteland (1983).

1990: The Bronx Warriors Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Enzo G. Castellari's 1990: The Bronx Warriors arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.

The technical presentation is quite underwhelming. Scanner noise -- ranging from moderate to strong -- makes large portions of the film look very harsh and detail frequently suffers. Plenty of the wider panoramic shots, in particular, could look disappointingly flat. The most serious issue, however, is the prominent smearing that emerges when the camera moves. During the darker/underground footage shadow definition almost completely collapses and as a result definition suffers tremendously (you can see the smearing in screencaptures #5, 10, 11, and 12). The presence of the scanner is also overwhelming during select close-ups (see screencapture #18). Colors are stable, but the nuances one should be seeing are lost. Overall image stability is excellent. To sum it all up, while the scanner noise can be tolerated at times, the smearing that accompanies it makes is very distracting. Needless to say, the larger your screen is, the less likely it is that you will be able to enjoy the film. My score is 2.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your Blu-ray player regardless of your geographical location).

1990: The Bronx Warriors Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Mono). Optional yellow English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

It is easy to tell that the audio has been remastered because the audio remains well balanced throughout the entire film. However, keep in mind that the majority of the actors were overdubbed and as a result there are some minor synch issues (the timing is fine, but the movement of the lips could be somewhat different). There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

1990: The Bronx Warriors Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailers -
  
  1. International Trailer for 1990: The Bronx Warriors. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).
  2. Italian Trailer 1990: The Bronx Warriors. In Italian, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).
  3. Escape from the Bronx Trailer. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).
  4. The New Barbarians Trailer. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Poster & Still Gallery - a gallery of original posters, advertising materials, lobby cards, stills, behind the scenes photos, and VHS and CD covers. The gallery was complied by Gregory Chick. (1080p).

• Adventures in the Bronx - in this video interview, actor/stuntman Massimo Vanni explains how actor Mark Gregory/Marco Di Gregorio was discovered in a gym and introduced to Enzo G. Castellari and discusses the shooting of the film in the Bronx. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (8 min, 1080p).

• Sourcing the Weaponry - in this video piece, director Enzo G. Castellari visits the Italian weapons rental house of Paolo Ricci, who created many of the exotic weapons seen in his films. In English and Italian, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (12 min, 1080p).

• Enzo G. Castellari and Fabrizio De Angelis in Conversation Part 1 - in this video piece, director Enzo G. Castellari and producer Fabrizio De Angelis discuss their professional relationship. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (15 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary with Enzo G. Castellari - the Italian director, his son, and moderator David Gregory discuss the shooting of various sequences from 1990: The Bronx Warriors (a good portion of the film was shot in Rome), the casting process (and specifically the casting of Mark Gregory), some of the director's interactions with the Hells Angels riders during the shooting of the film in the Bronx, Vic Morrow's contribution to the film, etc.

1990: The Bronx Warriors Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The technical presentation of Enzo G. Castellari's 1990: The Bronx Warriors is quite underwhelming. It is easy to see that the film has been restored, but the end result is very inconsistent. Most of the film looks quite harsh and unfortunately quite flat as well. If you still want to add the Blu-ray to your collection, my advice is to look around and see if you can find it on sale.