America, now a desolate wasteland from nuclear warfare that has left the remaining survivors of mankind infertile, yields two warring factions both seeking the answer for the plight of a dying race. The villains of this film are the Eurac corporation, experimenting on test subjects they pluck from the city of New York, hoping to find the answer to birthing a new nation on their own corrupt terms. Most of the Euracs dress like imitation Star Wars Storm Troopers, perhaps representing a Communist regime, setting up outposts and booby traps towards anyone getting in or out of New York. A desert racer, Parsifal(Michael Sopkiw, playing a more sympathetic version of Snake Plisskin, except donning a bandanna instead of an eye-patch), is taken to a top secret outpost in Alaska against his will and asked by the hidden President of the United States to seek out a fertile female housed somewhere within the ruins of a ravaged New York City, buried under rubble and filth. Parsifal once worked under his command in the Pan American Federation, and now the President hopes to start a new race on another world, not corrupted with radiation or war, Alpha Centuri, and promises Parsifal a seat on the ship heading off of Earth if he fulfills the mission by finding the young woman and getting her to them. Along with two assigned operatives to accompany him, a secret cyborg with a rag covering his robotic eye(..quite a wiz when using his stringed set of steel balls often knocking his foes out)and a hook-handed "human map"(..who lost his family to the evil Euracs and knows New York City better than just about anyone), Parsifal will attempt to infiltrate New York City, preferably the damaged Manhattan, to find the fertile woman. In his way are sewer crazies(whose head is a nutty Asian played by Hal Yamanouchi) who hunt rats as a food source, the prowling Eurac soldiers on horseback, and ape-men lead by the gargantuan Big Ape(George Eastman). Luckily Parcifal will find an ally in a dwarf named Shorty(Louis Ecclesia)who knows the location of the fertile woman, but also runs into trouble with the bald Eurac Commandant(Serge Feuillard)and his lieutenant Ania(Anna Kanakis). Parcifal also finds a love-interest in Giara(Valentine Monnier), thought, at first, to be the fertile woman sought found wandering with the sewer, rat hunting pack.
Plucking ideas from multiple sci-actioners, this post-apocalyptic tale, from director Sergio Martino(..far removed from his 70's giallo heyday)moves along at a quickened pace, set to a cool rhythmic beat. Models are used for large shots of New York City and space ships. The outfits used to clothe the characters are mismatched scraps of this and that providing them with a hobo look(..or what I like to call, "junk-garb") while the Eurac officers often wear matching suits representing a type of totalitarian order dictating the kind of police state they're hoping to employ to the destroyed world(..which is perhaps why their purpose for gaining control over the fertile woman is essential). The heroes embark on their mission through flooded sewers, often containing red-eyed flesh-eating rats, bus-graveyards, and underground dwelling places for those with radiation burns, trying to hide from the Euracs. Good fun for non-discriminating viewers who accept the film's relatively low budget, burdened with rather cheap special effects, where the filmmakers try to bring to life an ambitious equivalent to films like "Escape from New York" and "Mad Max". There's no doubt where "2019" gets it's inspirations from..some scenes are directly aping near-exact moments from the aforementioned ESCAPE(..such as when Parsifal is stabbed in the leg, in practically the same spot as Snake Plisskin, or how both heroes face off with their foes, carrying a motley group of misfits).. but Martino knows how to add zing and zang to action scenes. The camera moves with the characters really well, taking off like a galloping horse during chases and hand-to-hand combats between our heroes and the Euracian forces. "Animal lovers" might take offense to the ways the sewer crazies hunt their rats. Only real problem I had was an abandoned plot resolution regarding Ania, who had taken control of the Euracian forces, yet you never see her again once she claims to take matters into her own hands regarding Parsifal.
Plucking ideas from multiple sci-actioners, this post-apocalyptic tale, from director Sergio Martino(..far removed from his 70's giallo heyday)moves along at a quickened pace, set to a cool rhythmic beat. Models are used for large shots of New York City and space ships. The outfits used to clothe the characters are mismatched scraps of this and that providing them with a hobo look(..or what I like to call, "junk-garb") while the Eurac officers often wear matching suits representing a type of totalitarian order dictating the kind of police state they're hoping to employ to the destroyed world(..which is perhaps why their purpose for gaining control over the fertile woman is essential). The heroes embark on their mission through flooded sewers, often containing red-eyed flesh-eating rats, bus-graveyards, and underground dwelling places for those with radiation burns, trying to hide from the Euracs. Good fun for non-discriminating viewers who accept the film's relatively low budget, burdened with rather cheap special effects, where the filmmakers try to bring to life an ambitious equivalent to films like "Escape from New York" and "Mad Max". There's no doubt where "2019" gets it's inspirations from..some scenes are directly aping near-exact moments from the aforementioned ESCAPE(..such as when Parsifal is stabbed in the leg, in practically the same spot as Snake Plisskin, or how both heroes face off with their foes, carrying a motley group of misfits).. but Martino knows how to add zing and zang to action scenes. The camera moves with the characters really well, taking off like a galloping horse during chases and hand-to-hand combats between our heroes and the Euracian forces. "Animal lovers" might take offense to the ways the sewer crazies hunt their rats. Only real problem I had was an abandoned plot resolution regarding Ania, who had taken control of the Euracian forces, yet you never see her again once she claims to take matters into her own hands regarding Parsifal.