Escape from the Bronx

Escape from the Bronx (Italian: Fuga dal Bronx), also known as Bronx Warriors 2 in the United Kingdom and Escape 2000, is a 1983 Italian action film directed by Enzo G. Castellari. It was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 under its Escape 2000 name. It is a sequel to 1990: The Bronx Warriors.[2]

This article is about the 1983 Italian action film known as Escape 2000. For the 1982 Australian science fiction film, see Turkey Shoot (1982 film).
Escape from the Bronx
Theatrical release poster by Enzo Sciotti
Directed byEnzo G. Castellari
Produced byFabrizio De Angelis
Screenplay byTito Carpi
Enzo G. Castellari
Story byTito Carpi
StarringMark Gregory
Timothy Brent
Valeria D'Obici
Henry Silva
Music byFrancesco de Masi
CinematographyBlasco Giurato
Edited byGianfranco Amicucci
Production
company
Fulvia Film[1]
Distributed byFulvia Film[1]
Release date
August 15, 1983
(Italy)
January 18, 1985
(United States)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryItaly

Plot

Several years after the events of 1990: The Bronx Warriors, Trash (Mark Gregory), former leader of the Riders gang is now a cynical loner, remaining in the impoverished, lawless wasteland of the Bronx and trading in stolen ammunition.

The General Construction (GC) Corporation, led by President Clarke (Enio Girolami), wish to tear down the Bronx to turn it into “the city of the future”. To do this they need to clear the current population from the area and have employed expelled prison warden Floyd Wangler (Henry Silva) and a private battalion of Disinfestors to burn, shoot and gas those that will not leave willingly.

While the bums, vagrants and elderly are easy prey, the remains of the warrior gangs of the Bronx will not go quietly and a rebel army of all surviving Bronx gangs led by Doblòn (Antonio Sabàto) is holed up underground.

When Trash's parents are burned alive by Disinfestors, he begins to take revenge by leading ruthless guerrilla attacks on the clean up squads which in turn leads to the GC Corporation and Floyd Wangler trying ever nastier means of subverting the rebellion (such as rigging hostages with bombs). Then Wangler calls all the squads' leaders and addresses them to a main order: find and kill Trash because the remains of the underground gangs could recognize him as a new charismatic leader for his courage and his ability. Trash, Doblòn, and a crusading reporter named Moon Gray (Valerie Dobson) then team up with psychotic mercenary Crazy Strike (Timothy Brent/Giancarlo Prete) and his equally crazy son (Alessandro Prete) to try a surprise action: the kidnap of President Clarke as a move to put the Bronx back in the hands of the gangs.

Then Strike, Trash, Moon and little Junior (Strike's son) move to the surface in order to carry out the kidnapping of Mr Clarke who's about to attend a propaganda ceremony in the Bronx; even if the three adults go up; the kid remains downstairs to cover their successive escape with explosives. When upstairs, the three ones realize that the area is well controlled by a consistent security force; then Moon studies a diversion. She suddenly appears during the governor's speech shouting against Clarke and the governor himself and accusing them to be liar. Then one of the governor's men kills Moon and put a gun on her in order to stage a "self-defense" action.

Chaos and confusion crosses the area; panicked ones escape, others shout. The case wants that president Clark uses an old wooden door as a shelter but, behind the door, stands Trash. He takes advantage of the general mess to force Clarke to follow him under gun menace while Crazy Strike helps Trash move by using explosives and hand-bombs. So Trash, Clark and Strike go back to a collector that gives 'em the passage into the underground area; their escape is smartly helped by the explosives set by Junior.

They get to Doblòn ruled area in order to carry out the blackmail but Mr Hoffman (Clark's deputy) orders Wangler to carry out an attack with a lethal gas; he wants to accomplish a double missions: annihilating the résistance and eliminating president Clarke because Hoffman wants to part him from the power. Doblòn gets a warning about the imminent attack and order his people to move to the surface, so they succeed in avoiding the gas thanks to Crazy Strike's advice. When on the surface, the Bronx becomes a fierce battlefield; the two armies are engaged in a cruel combat.

At the end of those few hours of war; only three people survive: Trash, Crazy Strike and Junior, his son. After taking a look around him, the kid asks his father to go back to the underground because the surface wasteland is not a good place to be. Strike concurs and both father and son invite Trash to follow them. Trash doesn't accept and, after greeting those two friends, goes away.

Cast

Production

Shot roughly 18 months after the first Bronx movie, Enzo G. Castellari has stated that he was disappointed with how much muscle mass Mark Gregory had lost between part one and this sequel, which is why he keeps his jacket on for 90% of the movie.[3]

Filmed in New York and Cinecitta film studios in Rome.[4] Mark Gregory was still 18 when he shot this movie and Enzo Castellari states on the DVD commentary for 1990: The Bronx Warriors that his young age and lack of experience was possibly a factor in why Mark did not last long in the film business.

Release

It was released theatrically by Fulvia Film in Italy on August 25, 1983,[5] and in the United Kingdom on September 2, 1983.[6][7] The sequel film was released in US theaters on 18 January 1985 distributed by New Line Cinema.

Home media

The film was released on DVD in the UK by Vipco in 2003, and later on VHS in 1997 by New Line Home Video in the US.

Australian company Stomp Entertainment released a region 0 / NTSC disc in 2006. So far this is the only option for American fans to purchase as the DVD has never been official released on DVD in the United States.

Shameless Entertainment released the film on Region 2 / PAL format in the UK in 2009. The movie is part of a box set entitled "The Bronx Warriors Trilogy" and is packaged with 1990: The Bronx Warriors and The New Barbarians.

Blue Underground released the film in Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on June 30, 2015.

Reception

Audience reception

A website dedicated to both this film and its predecessor 1990: The Bronx Warriors was set up in 2004.[8] The site contains two interviews with Enzo G Castellari and details an ongoing attempt to locate Mark Gregory (Trash) who vanished from public view in about 1989.[9] There is also a message in MP3 format (in Italian) from Enzo and his son Andrea to Mark asking him to get in touch and saying how much they miss him.

The cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 highlighted the movie in a seventh-season episode. Most of the jokes regarded the obvious Italian setting and bad outfits but of particular note is that the character of Doblòn (whose name the characters mispronounce as Toblerone) quickly won Mike, Tom Servo, and Crow over with his over the top performance ("We're getting a big slab of Toblerone here!"). They would groan over his absence in the middle of the movie ("If ever a scene cried out for Toblerone!") and cheered when he made his return later in the film ("Just drink him in!")

The first Bronx Warriors convention was held in 2009 in Rome. Attendees received a badge stating DAS-Disinfestation Annihilation Squad (logo of the villains from this film).

References
  1. "Fuga dal Bronx (1983)". Archivo Cinema Italiano. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  2. Howard Hughes. Cinema Italiano: The Complete Guide from Classics to Cult. I.B.Tauris, 2011, p. 273. ISBN 9780857730442.
  3. "Escape from the Bronx - Trivia". www.bronxwarriors.co.uk. Retrieved Jul 5, 2016.
  4. Roberto Poppi. Dizionario del cinema italiano (in Italian). Gremese Editore, 1991, p. 271. ISBN 9788877424235.
  5. "Cinema a Torino - Fuga dal Bronx (prima)" (in Italian). lastampa.it. Retrieved Jul 5, 2016.
  6. "Escape from the Bronx (1983)". unratedfilm.com. Retrieved Jul 5, 2016.
  7. "Movie Trailers - September 1983". www.movie-trailer.co.uk. Retrieved Jul 5, 2016.
  8. "Bronx Warriors- The Website". www.bronxwarriors.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
  9. "The Hunt for Trash". www.bronxwarriors.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
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