1983 Italian film
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.[2] It was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 under its Escape 2000 name.[3] It is a sequel to 1990: The Bronx Warriors.[4]
Plot
Several years after the events of 1990: The Bronx Warriors, Trash, former leader of the Riders gang, is now a cynical loner in the impoverished, lawless wasteland of the Bronx and trading in stolen ammunition.
The General Construction (GC) Corporation, led by President Clark, wishes 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 former prison warden Floyd Wangler and a private battalion of "Disinfestors" to burn, shoot and gas those who will not leave willingly.
While the bums, vagrants and elderly are easy prey, the remaining warrior gangs of the Bronx will not go quietly. A rebel army of all surviving Bronx gangs, led by Doblòn, is literally holed up underground.
When Trash's parents are burned alive by Disinfestors, he takes revenge by leading ruthless guerrilla attacks on the clean-up squads. The GC Corporation and Wangler retaliate with nastier means of attacking the rebellion (such as rigging hostages with bombs). Wangler calls all the squads' leaders and orders them to find and kill Trash, as he fears the underground gangs could recognize the courageous Trash as a new, charismatic leader.
Trash, Doblòn, and a crusading reporter named Moon Gray team up with psychotic mercenary Crazy Strike and his equally crazy son, Junior. Together, they plan to kidnap President Clark and use him as a bargaining chip to put the Bronx back in the hands of the gangs.
Strike, Trash, and Moon move to the surface in order to carry out the kidnapping of Clark, who is about to attend a propaganda ceremony in the Bronx. As the three adults go up, Junior remains down below to cover their subsequent escape with explosives. When on the surface, the trio realize that the area is controlled by a security force. Moon stages a diversion by suddenly appearing during the governor's speech and shouting against Clark and the governor, accusing them of lying. In response, one of the governor's men kills Moon and places a gun on her to stage a "self-defense" action.
Chaos and confusion break out in the area. President Clark tries to use an old wooden door as a shelter, but discovers that Trash is behind the door. In the midst of the confusion, Trash abducts Clark while Crazy Strike helps by using explosives and hand-bombs. Trash, Clark and Strike go back to a collector that gives them safe passage into the underground area; their escape is further helped by explosives set off by Junior.
The group gets to the area ruled by Doblòn, planning to use Clark to bargain. However, Hoffman (Clark's deputy), orders Wangler to carry out an attack with a lethal gas. Hoffman wants to accomplish two missions at once: annihilating the resistance and eliminating President Clark.
Doblòn gets a warning about the imminent attack and orders his people to move to the surface, so they can avoid the gas. When on the surface, the Bronx becomes a fierce battlefield as the two armies engage in combat.
At the end of the battle, only three people survive: Trash, Crazy Strike, and Junior. After taking a look around him, Junior asks his father if they can go back underground because the surface wasteland is not a good place to live. Strike agrees, and both father and son invite Trash to come with them. Trash turns them down and leaves by himself.
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.[5]
Filmed in New York and Cinecittà Film Studios in Rome.[6] 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,[7] and in the United Kingdom on September 2, 1983.[8][9]
The sequel film was released in US theaters on 18 January 1985 distributed by New Line Cinema.
Home media
The film was released on VHS in 1985 by Media Home Entertainment. Specific scenes were cut out of this release for unknown reasons. The film was later re-released on VHS in 1997 by New Line Home Video.[10]
It was released on DVD in the UK by Vipco in 2003. 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.[11]
Reception and legacy
A website dedicated to both this film and its predecessor 1990: The Bronx Warriors was set up in 2004.[12] 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.[13] 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 site was updated in 2022[14] with the information that Roberto Zanni had revealed that Gregory had committed suicide on January 31, 2013.
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!") MST3K riffers Michael J Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy produced a new riffing of the film for Rifftrax on June 3, 2022.[15][16]
