POST APOCALYPTIC cinema

Ive seen the mad max,snake pliskin,movies and death race,death sport,warriors of wasteland.are there any good post apocalypse films i should know about? please dont say steel dawn ;D has anyone seen bronx warriors?

Yeah, i’ve seen Bronx Warriors, though it was a long time ago. My brother and I used to just devour that stuff. If you’re not expecting too much it is a pretty entertaining film. You get lots of weird gangs, and of course Vic Morrow and Fred Williamson.

As for other films; you could try After The Fall Of New York. It’s fairly slow in places but livens up with the introduction of George Eastman as “Big Ape”!!! But there are just so many of the damn things (and i sat thru an awful lot as a kid), so, off the top of my head, you could try;

Defcon 4
Battletruck
Endgame
Empire Of Ash
Exterminators of the Year 3000
Stryker

and dare i mention the Van Damme stinker Cyborg :stuck_out_tongue:

Got Urban Warriors (1987/Giuseppe Vari) on VHS. It’s so bad, it’s good. Hard to come by, but recommended if you like the occasional crapfest.

Ah, Post-Apocalyptic Cinema, how I love thee. Let me count the ways:

  1. They’re cheap to make. All you need is some swarthy-looking guys and gals, dress 'em in strange clothes, give them some weapons and let them wander around whatever desert is nearby. Add some slightly modified or exotic vehicles, come up with an unoriginal, Mad-Max-rip-off script and you’re off…

  2. They tend to have hot, punky chicks in them. Of course, not all of them do. Some are almost entirely male-oriented, but many have some badass warrior-women in them (starting, perhaps, with the lovely Virginia Hey in The Road Warrior; aka Mad Max 2.) Think about it. Molly Ringwald, all dirty and yummy in Starhunter (all right, all right, so Starhunter takes place on another planet, I admit it! But, it’s definitely in the genre we’re talking about.) Kathleen Kinmont in Phoenix the Warrior (aka She Wolves of the Wasteland.) Lois Ayres and Sharon Mitchell in The Load Warrior (oh, wait - does porn count? The Load Warrior and The Load Warrior 2 are both excellent porno versions of the post apocalyptic flick, with just about as good production values as most of the low-rent flicks we’re talking about.)

  3. A refreshing nihilistic approach to storytelling. Even in the worst, lowest-budgeted examples of the genre (I’m thinking here of dreck like City Limits and Amerika 3000 - yes, the ‘K’ is intentional), these films are dark, hard-hitting action pictures. They have a twisted, almost satanic world-view. Again, we owe a lot to Australia and the Mad Max series (especially The Road Warrior.) I remember reading somewhere that Max was inspired by the dark, brutal anti-heroes of Australian comics of the period (I guess that would be the 1970s.) If this is true, I wonder what some of the titles were and if anyone is familiar with them…

  4. Escapism. Yes, I know, this is an easy one. Most “genre” pictures offer their own kind of escapism but there’s something about a blasted-out, post-apocalyptic wasteland populated by tough men and (sometimes) tougher women. I suppose it’s a bit like the Western in that regard. There’s a mystique about these films…

And there you have it. Give me the cheapest, worst-made piece of post-apocalyptic cinematic garbage (cough Robot Holocaust cough) and I’ll be happy to sit back, put up my feet and enjoy…or, at least, laugh.

Flynn

[quote=“flynnparadox, post:4, topic:712”]Ah, Post-Apocalyptic Cinema, how I love thee. Let me count the ways:

  1. They’re cheap to make. All you need is some swarthy-looking guys and gals, dress 'em in strange clothes, give them some weapons and let them wander around whatever desert is nearby. Add some slightly modified or exotic vehicles, come up with an unoriginal, Mad-Max-rip-off script and you’re off…

  2. They tend to have hot, punky chicks in them. Of course, not all of them do. Some are almost entirely male-oriented, but many have some badass warrior-women in them (starting, perhaps, with the lovely Virginia Hey in The Road Warrior; aka Mad Max 2.) Think about it. Molly Ringwald, all dirty and yummy in Starhunter (all right, all right, so Starhunter takes place on another planet, I admit it! But, it’s definitely in the genre we’re talking about.) Kathleen Kinmont in Phoenix the Warrior (aka She Wolves of the Wasteland.) Lois Ayres and Sharon Mitchell in The Load Warrior (oh, wait - does porn count? The Load Warrior and The Load Warrior 2 are both excellent porno versions of the post apocalyptic flick, with just about as good production values as most of the low-rent flicks we’re talking about.)

  3. A refreshing nihilistic approach to storytelling. Even in the worst, lowest-budgeted examples of the genre (I’m thinking here of dreck like City Limits and Amerika 3000 - yes, the ‘K’ is intentional), these films are dark, hard-hitting action pictures. They have a twisted, almost satanic world-view. Again, we owe a lot to Australia and the Mad Max series (especially The Road Warrior.) I remember reading somewhere that Max was inspired by the dark, brutal anti-heroes of Australian comics of the period (I guess that would be the 1970s.) If this is true, I wonder what some of the titles were and if anyone is familiar with them…

  4. Escapism. Yes, I know, this is an easy one. Most “genre” pictures offer their own kind of escapism but there’s something about a blasted-out, post-apocalyptic wasteland populated by tough men and (sometimes) tougher women. I suppose it’s a bit like the Western in that regard. There’s a mystique about these films…

And there you have it. Give me the cheapest, worst-made piece of post-apocalyptic cinematic garbage (cough Robot Holocaust cough) and I’ll be happy to sit back, put up my feet and enjoy…or, at least, laugh.

Flynn[/quote]

Think you hit the nail right on the head there! You just listed everything i love about these films, and reminded me of a few i had forgotten about! I would much rather watch this kind of stuff (and a whole slew of 70’s/80’s sci fi, horror and action films), than about 99% of what Hollywood churns out these days.

Just out of curiosity; this “Starhunter” film you mentioned starring Molly Ringwald. When i was a kid i saw a film at the cinema, in 3D (had to hold those damn glasses all the way thru cos they wouldn’t stay put!). It featured Molly Ringwald, and Michael Ironside (as a character called Overdog i think) and had the slightly cumbersome title “SpaceHunter; Adventures In The Forbidden Zone”…is this the same film you’re talking about?

[quote=“Silver, post:5, topic:712”]Think you hit the nail right on the head there! You just listed everything i love about these films, and reminded me of a few i had forgotten about! I would much rather watch this kind of stuff (and a whole slew of 70’s/80’s sci fi, horror and action films), than about 99% of what Hollywood churns out these days.

Just out of curiosity; this “Starhunter” film you mentioned starring Molly Ringwald. When i was a kid i saw a film at the cinema, in 3D (had to hold those damn glasses all the way thru cos they wouldn’t stay put!). It featured Molly Ringwald, and Michael Ironside (as a character called Overdog i think) and had the slightly cumbersome title “SpaceHunter; Adventures In The Forbidden Zone”…is this the same film you’re talking about?[/quote]

That’s the one, Silver! Like I said, I was cheating a little, because it takes place on another planet, but, other than that, it’s exactly the type of film we’re talking about. Glad you agree with my ramblings. I, too, enjoy these films more than most of the big-Hollywood stuff out there…

Well, i guess “post apocalytic” doesn’t necessarily have to mean on Earth! :wink: And now you’ve reminded me of it, i might have to go and raid my dad’s place, because i’m sure he actually has it on vhs! :stuck_out_tongue:

Haha, yes! I have it on VHS as well. Now, that’s one that I do need to get on DVD because it’s a scope picture so we’re losing TONS of picture information on the VHS…

True! Just out of curiosity (since you’ve probably seen more of them than i have!0, have you ever seen a film called “Survivor” (1987), featuring Richard Moll as the main villain? If so, is it worth seeking out? And is anybody out there still making these films? Or did they disappear with the 80’s!

I forgot to mention cherry 3000 a decent p.a.movie with melanie griffith of all people.and the horrendous Tank Girl.

When I first read your post, the flick sounded familiar but, when I looked it up on imdb and read the plot synopsis, it didn’t anymore. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it, unfortunately…
As for people still making them, occasionally something pops up but, for the most part, you don’t see too many of them. Although, I might be missing some of the zero-budget, direct-to-DVD stuff lately, so who knows?!

Was this the film with the guy looking for a spare part for a “sex robot” or something. I just remember seeing a film late one night and only half watching it…sure it was that title!

Cherry 3000! Of course! Melanie Griffith back when she was cool. You know what I mean: when she starred in Cherry 3000, Something Wild and Body Double. That’s the Melanie Griffith I remember from my youth! You can officially add her to my “number two” entry in my first post of this thread…

Yep, that’s the one, Silver!

[quote=“flynnparadox, post:11, topic:712”]When I first read your post, the flick sounded familiar but, when I looked it up on imdb and read the plot synopsis, it didn’t anymore. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it, unfortunately…
As for people still making them, occasionally something pops up but, for the most part, you don’t see too many of them. Although, I might be missing some of the zero-budget, direct-to-DVD stuff lately, so who knows?![/quote]

Well…i’ll just keep looking out for it then. Thanks anyway! Oh geez…those staright to dvd abominations! They are worse than any of that 80’s stuff could ever have hoped to be! They show so many of them on the horror channel…with the effects that look like they were done on a crappy, out of date PC and a cast that could be outacted by a potted plant!

Yeah, that just about describes them. Over here in the states, we get many of them on the Sci-Fi Channel, a station that, at one time, showed some pretty amazing things (Farscape, for example) but now shows mostly dreck (now, before all the Battlestar Galatica fans jump on me and beat me to death, let me clarify that I haven’t seen the show at all so I’m not specifically refering to it…)

Yes, our sci fi channel used to be pretty good, but it’s gone off recently. Oh, and like you, i really enjoyed Farscape, but haven’t seen any Battlestar Galactica, despite one friend continually raving about it! In fact i’ve not really been familiar with any of the sc fi/fantasy serials for a few years now…i think the last one i actually followed with any regularity was Witchblade, since at the time i was still collecting comics…

Yeah, there doesn’t seem to be that many things worth getting excited about in terms of TV sci-fi right now…

Anyone familiar with Wheels of Fire? Remember watching this as a kid and loving it. Probably wouldn’t be as great today as it was back in the '80.
[url]Tars Tarkas.NET - Movie reviews and more. Obsessively stupid about stupid films - Tars Tarkas.NET
If anyone got this I might be interested in a trade.

[quote=“Shobary, post:19, topic:712”]Anyone familiar with Wheels of Fire? Remember watching this as a kid and loving it. Probably wouldn’t be as great today as it was back in the '80.
[url]Tars Tarkas.NET - Movie reviews and more. Obsessively stupid about stupid films - Tars Tarkas.NET
If anyone got this I might be interested in a trade.[/quote]

Unfortunately, I don’t have it but, like you, I do remember watching it when I was young and thinking it was great. I’m sure it’s pretty horrible but who cares?! That’s half the fun of PA cinema.
I’d also like to take this moment to recommend Resident Evil: Extinction to fans of PA cinema. It was a cool, cheesy blast that I completely and unapologetically loved.

Flynn