1990: The Bronx Warriors

1990: The Bronx Warriors (1990: i guerrieri del Bronx)

Movie · 1982 · 10 people

Action meets science fiction in 1990: The Bronx Warriors, a post-apocalyptic Italian gang film. Released in 1982 as 1990: I guerrieri del Bronx, it was known in German-speaking countries as The Riffs – Die Gewalt sind wir and in France as Les Guerriers du Bronx. The story takes place in 1990, the year of the title, in a New York where street gangs hold the Bronx and clash with the police. The film was made as an Italian answer to gang pictures such as Walter Hill's The Warriors and the darker Escape from New York by John Carpenter.

Mark Gregory heads the cast as Trash. Vic Morrow plays Hammer, Christopher Connelly is Hot Dog, Fred Williamson plays The Ogre and Joshua Sinclair appears as Ice. George Eastman, Ennio Girolami, Carla Brait and Massimo Vanni are also in the cast. Director Enzo G. Castellari also plays the deputy leader of the gang called Manhattan Incorporated, while his real-life daughter Stefania Girolami plays Ann.

The screenplay was written jointly by Elisa Briganti, Dardano Sacchetti and Castellari, and Fabrizio De Angelis produced. The film runs 81 minutes. A sequel, Escape from the Bronx, followed in 1983; only the character Trash carried over from the first film.

DirectorEnzo G. Castellari

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Cast

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George Eastman George Eastman Actor · died at 83 Fred Williamson Fred Williamson Actor · 88 years old Vic Morrow Mark Gregory Christopher Connelly Ennio Girolami Carla Brait Joshua Sinclair Massimo Vanni Enzo G. Castellari

Through different eyes

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

A real time machine for fans of 80s post-apocalyptic gang films. Gangs holding the Bronx, a running war with the police, names like Trash, Hammer, The Ogre and Ice: it all has a comic-book flavour, over the top and fun. At 81 minutes it moves without dawdling, which is the biggest plus in a film like this. Don't expect a deep story, but if you want loud genre fun with a cult flavour, this is the place.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Castellari's film was conceived as an Italian answer to Walter Hill's The Warriors and John Carpenter's darker Escape from New York, and it makes no secret of that origin. It was a common strategy in Italian genre cinema of the time: take the patterns of American hits and reproduce them fast. The result, in my view, is a derivative rather than a vision of its own, and it never reaches the originality or impact of the films that inspired it. Even so, Castellari directing, co-writing and also stepping in front of the camera as the deputy leader of the Manhattan Incorporated gang shows the craftsmanlike, handmade nature of this cinema. Not a masterpiece, but an instructive example for understanding the Italian genre industry of the era.

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

For an eye raised on the classics, this film stands for cinema's noise rather than its warmth. Gangs that have seized the streets, a running war with the police, a bleak picture of a city: it's all there, but amid it all a voice of conscience to connect with is hard to find. Even the toughest Yeşilçam dramas had a moral centre, a face to love; here the language of violence pushes ahead of the story. It may interest those curious about the genre cinema of its day, but anyone looking for a story that touches the heart should knock on other doors.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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