AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK (VESTRON VIDEO - 1983)

No doubt that the term “ripoff” is rarely used in a positive light when describing a movie. The base word even connotes violent extraction. When you receive something of lesser value than what you paid for, you might say you’ve been ripped off. Any time somebody refers to something as a “ripoff” it’s bound to be an accusation rather than a term of endearment. You never hear anybody say, “man, that was a great ripoff!”

Sergio Martino’s “2019: After the Fall of New York” is routinely trapped, tagged as some “Escape from New York” ripoff, and tossed back. Sure, it's obviously derived from other more popular films. In fact, this Spaghetti Apocalypse also braids together an overwhelming host of elements from familiar future bummers such as “The Omega Man,” “Death Race 2000,” “Max Max,” and “Planet of the Apes.” The influences are plainly all over its sleeve, but calling this film unoriginal isn’t entirely fair or true. That would be like calling Edward Hopper a hack simply because he didn’t invent the paint he used. In much the same way an artist might work in clay, Martino uses other films to create something that is unique and original in its own way to create a total rager that might actually be better than a few of the films that inspired it.

Set after certain nuclear doom, the world is now a radiation infested wasteland teaming with elegantly spiked barbarian types, all of whom are sterile and dwindling toward extinction. Amongst them is Snake Plisken clone Parsifal, a celebrity of the times with a shadowy past who sees fit to spend the last of his days competing in lethal demolition derbies. Shortly after his latest victory, the spoils of which are some gold and a hermaphrodite, Parsifal is tapped by the Pan-American confederacy and spirited away to an Alaskan compound. Hefty promises are made in exchange for his mercenary services. The job: penetrate New York City and extract from it the last fertile female on earth. Unfortunately, the island is now inhabited not only by rat-eating warlords, but a sleek and nihilistic governmental faction known as the Euracs.

Parsifal’s odyssey through the bombed out Manhattan borough features a colorful call list of mutant scum, some of whom become useful allies in his effort to repopulate mankind. Like I said, the movie proudly waves its influences in your face, but then there also a handful of curious references scattered throughout the film. For instance, one of Parsifal’s mutant helpers is a dwarf known as “Shorty.” We’re first introduced to Shorty when he’s mistaken for a child by a pack of blood thirsty rat eaters. Upon discovering that he’s merely a dwarf, one of the scuzzy villains refers to him as one of those “time people” – perhaps in reference to Gilliam’s “Time Bandits.” And certainly not least, there’s the simian-faced rebel Big Ape, who is perhaps the most memorable character Parsifal encounters.

There’s no denying the level of enthusiasm which powers this Frankenstein of familiar parts, but it is entirely held together by a fresh mortar of imagination and creativity. There are tons of terrible post apocalyptic themed films out there made by assholes who think all they need to make a successful film of this nature are the keys to a junkyard and a few punk jackets. The aesthetic of a destitute future is probably one of the cheapest and easiest to achieve. We get the grit and rubble galore here, but it's also infused with an element of fantasy. There are a lot of sleek design elements that give this movie its own identity. In particular the medieval design of the Eurac soldiers on horseback are something entirely different from not only everything else in this film, but for the genre altogether. Beyond that, the script itself is great, and the cast is strong. Much credit must go to Michael Sopkiw who plays Parsifal. Beyond raw charisma, he also makes the part his own rather than trying to imitate actors who portrayed the characters his role is no doubt modeled after. Honorable mention also goes to the odd and lovely Anna Kanakis, who provides an ample dose of villainy despite her limited time on screen.

The only motive anybody could have for calling "After the Fall of New York" a ripoff is that it's convenient or easy. It's a cheap conclusion, which is ironic and hypocritical because these same people fault the film for its low production values. It may have that strange, dated feel that is so prevalent throughout eighties Italian productions (which I find personally appealing), but overall the production has a much grander feel to it than the Castellari’s Bronx films. Despite some obvious miniatures, which are still well-done, the action and the sets feel epic in scale.

Overall, this is not fine cinema, nor is it intended to be. It is technically made well enough to let you completely escape into its world. It also manages to exceed expectations and even trump its influences to some extent by virtue of the fact that it follows that Italian methodology of distilling and multiplying the best parts of what makes something classic. As an experience it is purely fun with no wasted moments. 

ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX (1983)

Apocalypse-primed badass Trash returns in this sequel to “1990: The Bronx Warriors,” to defend his borough from a silver suited death squad lead by Henry Silva.

The back of the box states, “General Buildings – an imperialistic mega-corporation – is proceeding with its sinister plan to rebuild the doomed no-man’s land into a perfect, ordered metropolis.” I don't know about you, but I don't see what the big deal is. The only "unfortunate" thing is that the displaced denizens of this burnt out shit hole are simply being executed instead of relocated to New Mexico as promised. Once again, I don't see what the big deal is. I'd rather take a bullet to the head than move to New Mexico myself.

"Escape From The Bronx" begins with the hostile elimination of Bronx scum, and when Trash once again eludes the heavies, they dispatch a squadron to blow torch his parents. At the same time, a meddling female reporter crashes a General Buildings press conference where they have unveiled a small scale model of the future Bronx. After being forcibly ejected from the room for revealing GB’s genocidal practices, the reporter decides she must expose the truth about what's really happening to the Bronx survivors with some first hand reporting. So, she heads into the bowels of the wasteland, where she joins up with Trash in the midst of a heavy turf battle. Soon, they hook up with some militant nutjob and execute a plot to kidnap the head of General Buildings.

The story takes place ten years after “Bronx Warriors,” which is kind of weird because Trash doesn’t look much older and he’s still living with his parents. I’m sure if someone did a book on post-apocalyptic cinema, it would undoubtedly include both of these films. The future here, though, is more Dystopian. The only part of the world that’s fucked is the Bronx, which is the last hold out of scum in the way of total civilized progress. The plot is pretty flimsy, and the ending is hilariously abrupt, but it’s all a sacrifice in the name of gratuitous violence. Nothing gets in the way of this 100 strong body count! Not even the plot! So many action films strive to legitimize or excuse bloodshed, but this movie is amazing in its flagrantly unapologetic nature, which is why I love it so much.

Check out this promo for director Enzo Castellari’s Bronx box set, containing "1990: The Bronx Warriors," “Escape from The Bronx,” and "The New Barbarians." The latter of the three is referred to as part of the trilogy, but it doesn't have anything to do with the Bronx. However, it does have Fred Williamson kicking tons of ass.

Enzo makes no attempt to veil that these movies are derivative of "The Warriors" and "Escape From New York." These aren't rip-offs in any sense, as they are completely self aware attempts to distill the greatest elements from their influences. They imitate with honor and at the same time contain flecks of their own originality. Enzo may be paying homage to Carpenter, but he’s doing it in a way that only he can.

This is the kind of movie that keeps me combing through the annals of Italian trash cinema. Sure, most of it may be imitative of trends in American films, but often times they wound up doing it better than we did. They had hindsight when approaching shit like "The Exorcist." Not only that, but the Italians have a natural tendency to cling to the finest elements of a film and over-inflate them. It's like they don't understand pacing or the concept of the slow burn. Instead, they'll take the cool part and stretch it into an entire film. They beat you over the head with gratuity, which is an art unto itself. That is the national Italian style.

Also, who scores movies better than the Italians? Listen to this:

The performances in this film are great, too. Henry Silva has some memorable scenes as the leader of General Buildings’ death squad, one in particular where he loses his shit because someone has put sugar in his coffee. Antonio Sabato, too, is pretty awesome here as the flamboyant leader of the underworld.

While plowing for links, I ran across a cool little fansite dedicated to the Bronx films. You'll find some awesome interviews with the director. The creator is currently engaged in a hunt to find actor Marc Gregory, who played Trash. Apparently the guy dropped off the planet after his last film back in 1989. Check it out.