| 1990: The Bronx Warriors | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Enzo G. Castellari |
| Produced by | Fabrizio de Angelis |
| Written by | Elisa Livia Briganti Dardano Sacchetti |
| Starring | Vic Morrow Christopher Connelly Fred Williamson Mark Gregory Stefania Girolami |
| Music by | Walter Rizzati |
| Cinematography | Sergio Salvati |
| Editing by | Gianfranco Amicucci |
| Release date(s) | 22 August 1982 |
| Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
1990: The Bronx Warriors (Italian: 1990: I guerrieri del Bronx) is a 1982 Italian action-science fiction film directed by Enzo G. Castellari.
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Anne (Stefania Girolami) is the 17-year-old heiress to the arms manufacturing giant, The Manhattan Corporation. Unable to face her guilt over inheriting a morally questionable company when she turns 18, Anne runs away into the lawless wasteland of New York’s Bronx, described as: “In the year 1990 the Bronx is officially declared No Man’s Land. The authorities give up all attempts to restore law and order. From then on the area is ruled by the Riders”.
Attacked by a roller skating gang called The Zombies, Anne is saved by members of The Riders and taken under the protection of The Riders’ leader Trash (Mark Gregory).
The Manhattan Corporation hires a ruthless and psychopathic mercenary named Hammer (Vic Morrow) who turns the various Bronx gangs against each other to ensure Anne is returned.
Filmed in 1981 in both Rome and New York, 1990: The Bronx Warriors had a complete unknown as the male lead, 17 year old Marco de Gregorio (billed as Mark Gregory in all but the Italian release) who was spotted by director Enzo G. Castellari at a gym they both frequented. Castellari states on the director's commentary of the DVD that Marco was very quiet, hardly speaking but doing a workout on his own and keeping to himself but standing out due to his looks, physique and height.
One scene has the twin towers of the World Trade Center visible in the background, during a meeting of main gang The Riders and the dominant Bronx gang The Tigers led by Ogre (Fred Williamson). Members of the New York chapter of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club appear as members of the Riders during the big gang meet. The Hell's Angels found humor in Marco Di Gregorio's stiff, talk and openly mocked him during shooting. The drummer that is inexplicably included in this scene was not scripted but was in the area of shooting the day that the scene was to be shot. Castellari included him in the scene, without any explanation being given as to why he was there, heralding the gangs' arrival and starting up again as they leave.
This was Vic Morrow's penultimate movie as he died while filming Twilight Zone: The Movie the following year.
The film premiered on 22 August 1982 in Italy and was first time released on 26 March 2003 on DVD in the United Kingdom. In the United States was released as part of the Stephen Romano Presents Shock Festival DVD on 08 January 2010.[1]
The movie topped the American billboard charts for 3 weeks when released. It spawned a sequel in 1984 entitled Escape From The Bronx.
A website was set up in 2004 for both movies. It contains two interviews with director Enzo G. Castellari conducted solely for the website and an ongoing attempt to locate Mark Gregory (Trash) who vanished from public view in about 1989. It also has a message from Enzo and his son Andrea in mp3 format (albeit in Italian) asking Mark to contact them and saying how much they miss him.
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