This 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray 2-disc set with a soundtrack CD is currently available from Severin Films.
Everyone knows that the post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max 2 (1981) aka The Road Warrior is among the best of its kind. This is largely because Australian filmmaker Geroge Miller managed to create a timeless tale by using mythic story elements and presented hero’s journey from a loner survivalist back to a human being willing to sacrifice and do the right thing for the greater good. It also featured Jaw-dropping stunts and action.
Many substandard copies followed from around the world. 2020 Texas Gladiators is an Italian production that, to an extent, definitely attempts to copy sections of the formula (along with American westerns). It isn’t a particularly strong picture and by today’s standards is in poor taste, but it is a fascinatingly bizarre outing that is never boring and will leave the jaws of many viewers agape. If you aren’t easily offended and appreciate this type of B-movie (and I do, at least to an extent) the outrageousness on display will most certainly entertain.
Severin Films is presenting a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo pack of the movie that even comes with a CD featuring the original score. While the movie was made on the cheap, this release certainly wasn’t. In fact, it’s a stunning 4K presentation. The restoration was taken from the original camera negative, and thus this is an incredible looking disc with a brilliant picture. I was flabbergasted by the presentation. Other than a 10-minute sequence in a bar that contains the kind of grain one would expect from this type of film, the entire picture is spotless. The image quality is so good, that for several upward angles on characters screaming, you can see the fillings in their mouths. The movie looks outrageously good and I have no doubt this is the best it has ever, or perhaps will ever look.
If you’re not familiar with the movie at all but want to pick it up, I’d actually recommend skipping the next three paragraphs. It’s a far more shocking and strange experience if you go in cold…
The story, such as it is, it set in a world where civilization has crumbled and biker gangs rampage ruins, looking for victims. When a group of baddies pillage a monastery, they murder many and attempt to rape several women. They’re more than a little late, but the title vigilante squad/heroes(?) eventually arrive to violently eliminate the threat. The group includes Nisus (Al Cliver), Halakron (Peter Hooten) Jab (Harrison Muller), Red Wolfe (Hal Tamanouchi) and Catch Dog (Daniel Stephen). Alas, after stopping the attempted rape of a woman named Maida (Sabrina Siani), Catch Dog decides to commit the same horrific crime. He’s then stopped by the other members and kicked out of the group.
Maida criticizes the group for their violent ways and tells Nisus that there is a safe community nearby when they can live in peace. He takes her up on the offer and, years later, they are married with a child happily living in the community. That is, until a fascist group run by Black One (Donald O’Brien) arrives with his henchman Catch Dog to raid the facility with technologically advanced shields that can repel bullets. They do so easily, which means that Maida is forced to endure some truly horrendous acts. Nisus does fight back (doing a literal somersault over guards and killing his partner’s attacker), but is ultimately killed.
Sometime later, Hakakron, Jab and Red Wolfe find Maida working a bar. It seems she isn’t interested in peace anymore and asks for their help in returning to the town, reuniting her with her child, and slaughtering all the villains. The group encounter a Native American tribe, who join them in the attack, using bows and arrows to get around the villain’s shields.
I have no idea whom the protagonist is in this film. Every time that a character takes center stage, they are either killed or pushed aside. Truth be told, Maida may be the real lead in the movie, since she seems to have the most screen time and a character arc (even if it’s a bizarre change from a peace-pleading victim to a gun-toting soldier). But these oddities are part of the fun. The plot twists are ridiculous and the events depicted are so outlandish that it’s hard to take seriously. The dialogue is creaky and most of the intended jokes are groaners. And the fact that it is so silly helps make up for the fact that a few scenes are in poor taste.
So, strangely enough, I had a good time with this cheeseball picture. Besides the incredible picture quality that is about 10 times better than it has any right to be, the bonuses are equally engaging. The first is a lengthy documentary on the production with the production team and actor Al Cliver, which explains a lot. There were two directors credited, Joe D’Amato aka Aristide Massaccesi and George Eastman (who was also a writer on the picture). Both are interviewed, along with assistant director Michele Soavi.
The history of this production is very interesting. It seems that Eastman was asked to direct, but that he was slow and not experienced enough to handle the stresses of making a low-budget feature. Assistant director Soavi, who had been working under Dario Argento and would later become a filmmaker in his own right (helming StageFirght and, perhaps most notably, Cemetery Man), says he took the gig because he had plenty of time between Argento projects. Everyone noted Eastman’s inexperience, pestering him over some of his more questionable calls. Soavi didn’t get on well with him either (although they patched things up later and Eastman later co-wrote StageFright for him). The AD stepped in to handle some of the material (although he admits an argument they had ended up causing himself an embarrassing injury during the shoot). D’Amato also arrived on set to take over shooting some of the action.
Eastman admits that there were a lot of problems during the shoot. He does suggest he is a better writer than director in his interview clips, but then also notes that screenwriting was just a job to him and that he wasn’t particularly pleased some of those projects either. The interviewee then goes on to state that he is primarily focused on his current profession of being a restauranteur. In the end, Soavi offers plenty of insight, while D’Amato and Eastman tell some strange behind-the-scenes stories about the shoot that are fun to listen to.
There is also an interview with Geretta Geretta, who plays one of Catch Dog’s gang members. She’s a fantastic interview, talking about her experiences growing up in Portland, as well as how she became an actress working in Europe. She talks about getting an agent in Italy and being cast in European movies. Apparently, Michele Soavi directed the scenes she was in and was a blast to work with Geretta states that the cast and crew she dealt with were wonderful and that it was a thrill do crazy action and play bigger roles that she would never have been offered in the US. She also talks about meeting other Americans and who got their starts acting abroad. She briefly mentions other notable appearances in movies like Rats: Night of Terror and Demons (where she ran into Soavi again, as he was assistant director and a cast member in that feature). She’s a blast to listen to and it’s a great interview.
A trailer is also included, as well as a CD with the movie’s score by Carlo Maria Cordio (who also wrote the music for Pieces and Troll 2 among many others). It comes packaged in a nice slipcase.
Yeah, the movie is really cheesy, but its presentation couldn’t be better. Severin has done another stellar job with their 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray/CD combo of 2020 Texas Gladiators. B-movie fans will have plenty to cheer about with this release.