2019: After the Fall of New York (1983) User Reviews

I really wanted to like this......

[HaemovoreRex · 5/10 · 17 May 2006]

Despite being a huge fan of cult and B-Movies and even though I really wanted and tried hard to enjoy this, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to go against the general tide of opinion as regards this film.

The ever likable Michael Sopkiw, who's career in B-movies was admittedly brief but so very fondly remembered, appears here as a sort of Mad Max/Snake Plissken type of guy who is coerced into rescuing the last fertile woman on earth from within the hell hole that has become Manhattan Island.

Cue lots of fights, sludging through rat infested sewers, getting captured about every five minutes (!) a healthy splashing of gore and the appearance of perennial B-Movie fave big George Eastman as a simian character called 'Big Ape' and hey presto - you have what on paper at least sounds like a great movie.....

On paper perhaps......

To be fair, the movie isn't at all bad by any means and even boasts some pretty decent production values in fact, but sadly it just failed to enthral me.

The biggest problem I had with this is that the action scenes are for the most part handled with very little flair. Added to this, the best scene in the entire movie (for me at least) was actually at the very beginning when our hero is shown banger racing in a heavily armoured car. Needless to say, after such an intro the remaining 80 or so minutes of the movie seemed pale in comparison.

Still, as previously mentioned, the overall look of the film is very commendable indeed (bar one or two instances of very dodgy model work) and there's some great gross out moments (including one excellent head bashing scene!)

I'm tempted to deduct another point from this film however, due to the all too common and sad trend of some Italian genre movies of the time that regretfully rears it's ugly head here - genuine animal cruelty/killing. In this case we are 'treated' to a display of some rats getting speared. Such a disgusting trend ostensibly stemmed from the cannibal themed movies of the same period as were pioneered by directors Umberto Lenzi and Ruggero Deodato - both of whom were more than capable of producing highly enjoyable films without having to resort to such repulsive, cheap shock tactics.

Would you believe that I have actually spoken to people who have tried to justify such barbaric acts 'for the sake of art''?! I've also spoken to various other cretinous wretches who seem to be under the misguided impression that watching such acts of cruelty in films somehow makes them more 'macho' as it logically denotes that 'they can take anything' (!!!!)

Still back to the film in question.....overall, whilst not unwatchable by any stretch of the imagination, After The Fall Of New York, for me, distinctly lacked enough intriguing scenes to raise it above the average mark.

My advice is, if you're into the genre then watch it by all means, it does have a hefty fan base, however for much more enjoyment value, check out the far superior film it is copied - erm...I mean inspired from, Escape From New York.

Fall Time...

[fmarkland32 · 6/10 · 16 June 2009]

A Mad Max-like rogue soldier is asked by the President of the new world, to go to New York (Which is of course a wasteland) and rescue the last fertile woman on earth, while on the mission he runs into a band of good mutants, savage cannibalistic gangs and a good midget who knows the location of the last fertile woman, while on the way the totalitarian establishment conducts experiments and also want to find the last fertile woman on earth. 2019:Fall Of New York actually predates Hell Comes To Frogtown and Cyborg which basically borrow plot elements from this movie. Of course the main inspiration here is Escape From New York and Mad Max, in fact the main lead looks sort of like Kurt Russell, but with that said this is actually a fun movie. Indeed I was shocked at how invested I was in the hero's plight. I also found many elements interesting, the first one being that our heroes are aided by those devastated physically by the nuclear holocaust, usually they serve as villains but here they aid the heroes in their fight against the normal looking soldiers in the employ of a ruthless cult. Sure the message doesn't mean much and the film is goofy but this element adds likability to the characters and I found myself strangely engrossed in the hero's mission. In fact, for a no-name cast this is actually pretty decently acted. The movie could've used a tighter pace, and the ending seems rushed but as far as Escape From New York rip offs go, this is a very enjoyable product.

**1/2 Out Of 4-(Pretty Good)

Italian post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi filled with thrills, chills , noisy action and spectacular scenes

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 4 July 2013]

Agreeable fun'n'funky post-nuke science-fiction/action romp . This exciting picture packs kinetic action , thrills, intrigue , shocks and lots of blood and violence . The movie likely satisfy action enthusiasts and Italian Sci-Fi fonds . After a nuclear war, society breaks down into two sides , the evil Euraks and the rebel Federation . In this future , crime is out of control and New York City turned into an inhabitable location and finds itself under siege by violent gangs . A mercenary named Parsifal (Michel Sopkiw of Blastfighter) is assigned a dangerous mission by President of the Pan American Confederacy (Edmund Purdom of Sinuhe the Egyptian and The prodigal) to infiltrate New York City , which is controlled by the Euraks, to take the only fertile woman left on Earth . Parsifal along with two hunk men (Romano Puppo , Scalondro) go out from desert toward feared New York City) . There , they meet Rat Eater King (Yamanouchi) , a nasty Eurac Commander and cruel Eurac Officer named Ania (Anna Kanakis) . They'll have to fight against cutthroats , a band of depraved crazies thirsty for blood and survive some battles to-the-death with lots of blood and gore , including throating-slit , beheading and blow up . At the end a motley group (Sipkiw , Valentine Monner , Romano Puppo and George Eastman) embarks a spectacular escape against vicious murderous .

"2019: After the Fall of New York" (1983) film is a comic book plenty of action , fun, adventures , thriller and surprise-filled entertainment . Spectacular stunt-work plenty of motorcycles, car crashes , with bounds and leaps and explosions . Michael Sopkiw as tough and valiant renegade is passable . Sopkiw made his film debut with this substantial lead part as rugged Snake Plissken-like survivalist warrior hero Parsifal . Adequate plethora of characters with average performances by its entire support cast . There appears ordinary secondaries from Italian B series such as George Eastman as Big Ape , Romano Puppo , Giovanni Cianfriglia as Panther , Ottaviano Dell'Acqua and the American Edmund Purdom ; all of them played lots of Spaghetti , Peplum , Giallo and customary genres of the 60s and 70s . Rumbling and screeching musical score by Oliver Onions , the usuals Guido and Maurizio De Angelis . The picture is a rip-off from ¨1997 , Escape from New York¨ by John Carpenter that was also followed by an inferior sequel by the same actor and director : ¨Escape from L.A.¨.

The picture was professionally directed by the prolific filmmaker Sergio Martino or Martin Dolman . Talented and versatile writer/director Sergio Martino has made a vast array of often solid and entertaining films in all kind of genres as horror, Giallo , comedy, Western , and science fiction in a career that spans over 40 years . He especially was expert on Western as proved in ¨Mannaja¨ and ¨Arizona returns¨ and Giallo as this ¨The case of scorpion's tail ¨ , ¨Torso¨ ,¨the scorpion with two tails¨ , ¨The strange vice of Mrs Ward¨ , Cannibal movie as "Mountain of the Cannibal God", Italian crime thrillers as "Violent Professionals" and ¨Sci-Fi as ¨Destroyer¨ and this "2019: After the Fall of New York". Rating: Acceptable and passable Sci-Fi movie, this is an imaginative Sci-Fi picture in which the camera stalks in moving style throughout a story with enjoyable visual skills . This is a bewildering story , funny in some moment but falls flat and it will appeal to Science Fiction and Italian exploitation fans .

Delirium on a busfare budget

[matt-201 · 15 June 1999]

Fascist kingpins scheme in an office decorated with a futuristic knockoff of "Guernica." Gladiators clash in souped-up sedans, then get hookers dispensed by cyborgs styled like female clowns. A Dr. Evil-like chrome-dome bad guy gets his eyeballs pulled out by hooks, then replaced by peepers from an unlucky donor. Sergio Martino's AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK may be the only grindhouse ripoff of a famous movie that out-invents the original by a power of one hundred. It's supposed to be a copy of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, but it suggests Jess Franco having a field day on the abandoned sets of Altman's QUINTET. Dizzily cast and designed, with more visual ideas and free-form movement than any grindhouse movie of the period, it's a lesson in what B movies are supposed to be--and were, before they turned into bland late-night-Cinemax fodder.

They baked the Big Apple.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 14 March 2017]

Twenty years after a nuclear holocaust ravaged the Earth, the Euraks and the Pan American Confederacy continue the battle for supremacy. Mercenary Parsifal (Michael Sopkiw) is recruited by the Confederacy to try and locate the only fertile woman on Earth, hidden somewhere in the ruins of Manhattan. He is joined on his quest by warriors Bronx (Paolo Maria Scalondro) and Ratchet (Romano Puppo), pretty blonde Giara (Valentine Monnier), dwarf Shorty (Louis Ecclesia) and hulking half-man/half-monkey mutant Big Ape (George Eastman).

One of many Italian post-apocalyptic action flicks to follow in the wake of Mad Max and Escape From New York, Sergio Martino's 2019: After The Fall Of New York is a wholly unoriginal, shoddily made, poorly acted crap-fest full of really badly choreographed action scenes, lousy special effects, manky props, amusing costumes, and seriously dumb characters. Opening with an unconvincing miniature model of nuked New York and ending with the launch of an equally cruddy model spacecraft, with all manner of cheap-jack nonsense packed in between, one might imagine the film to be hugely entertaining as a result, but Martino's uninspired direction and his cast's abysmal performances suck the life out of even the most silly of scenes.

Possibly just about worth watching for the robot clown with a massive glowing eyeball on its head, Shorty's valiant death ("Bastaaaarrrds!"), Big Ape throwing his sword to decapitate several of his enemy, and the hilarious eye-gouging (seriously, how did he not see that coming?), but don't bank on it. 3.5 out of 10, rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

You'll have fun with this "Escape From New York" ripoff

[atomicpunk40 · 6/10 · 28 November 2019]

Yup, 2019: After The Fall Of New York is on of those "so bad its fun' kind of movies.

"Fall" (as I will call it from now on because I don't feel like saying its full name over and over) is a complete rip-off of John Carpenter's "Escape From New York". You know that one. Manhattan Island is now a maximum security prison. The President Of The United States crash lands in it with some highly secret information. Snake Plisskin (one of the greatest names in movie history!) is sent in to this hellhole to get the President out. In "Fall" New York has been nuked. A military police force has taken over what is left and tries to rub out everyone they don't see as fit to live, which is basically everybody since everybody has a some kind of mutation. Oh yeah, everybody is also sterile thanks to the radiation. However there in beautiful, bombed out Manhattan is one woman who was born after the bomb hit, therefore making her fertile and worthy of motherhood. Gladiator fighter Parsifal (Michael Sopkiw) is sent in to get her and bring her out so that the Pan America Confederacy - our current government whose headquarters are located in on a glacier in Alaska (Alaska?) - can start repopulating the world again with fresh, unpolluted humans. Parsifal's reward? He gets to go to one of the areas of Earth that has survived and prospered from the bomb, making it a virtual paradise with sunny beaches and clean air. Or something like that

In Escape, Snake goes up against scores of allies and scores of freaky enemies while trying to achieve his goal. In Fall, Parsifal goes through score of allies and scores of enemies to get his goal as well. In Escape. Snake crosses a bridge to get out. In Fall, Parsifal crosses a tunnel to get out. Get the picture? But goshdang it, Fall sure is a fun ripoff! And wait, there is more! At the movie's beginning our hero fights in Mad Max type gladiator battles in which his reward is a hot chick who will be his sex slave/girlfriend, and these large gold tokens that allow him to buy special privileges. That's two ripoffs, yes two ripoffs (Escape from New York AND Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior) for the price of one. Ohhhh man, you can't beat that!

Like the movie itself, the acting isn't that bad. Its just B-level Italian actors playing cheap sci-fi stereotypes (the brave Little Person, the heroic female sidekick, the friend who turns into a backstabber, and so on) and dubbed with stupid dialogue. The sound effects and special effects are the same type of low budget crap you experience in all those other B-level sci-fi and horror flicks from the 1980's. In fact this was released about a year after Blade Runner, another early 1980's flick that takes place in 2019. What's up with that? Well I guess 2019 was just a great future year for science fiction movies to take place.

But is this movie entertaining? For the most part, yes. Cheesy Italian made stuff - like this - always certified a good time. If you grew up the 1980's, like I did, then you will remember that cheap, B-movie titles like this were in every video store. And they were always a blast to watch with a living room of friends, a large bag of crispy cheese curls, a joint or two, and a bottle of whiskey or a six pack of beer handy.

My rating (from Excellent to Poor) Pretty Good. Yeah it is shoddy, but "2019: After The Fall Of New York" is a fun shoddy.

In search of fertility

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 5 March 2006]

In the sub-genre of post-apocalyptic action films, 2019: After the Fall of New York is pretty much an average example. The plot makes sense within the framework of the film and provides the film's heroes with a legitimate reason to go on their mission into enemy territory. In some of these films, the heroes go on these missions for the most ridiculous of reasons with a totally unbelievable object/device/rock/etc. as their goal. The idea of tracking down the last fertile woman on the planet to use in repopulating the planet is better than most. I'm not going to go so far as to call it an intelligently written script, but I've seen a whole lot worse.

As I wrote previously, 2019: After the Fall of New York is an average example of the 1980s post-apocalyptic films. As most all of these films take their "inspiration" from The Road Warrior and Escape from New York, none of them stray very far from the norm. 2019: After the Fall of New York has the same bad special effects, the same Flock of Seagulls wardrobe, and the same perfectly chiseled, but ultimately dull, hero you can find in any of these movies. But, even with the predictability and other shortcomings, it's a fun watch.

I DON'T want to be a part of it, New York, New York!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 8 May 2006]

Most people seem to go on and on complaining about how shamelessly this film imitates John Carpenter's "Escape from N.Y.". Well, duh…! Wasn't that the movie's sole mission? That's what clever Italian filmmakers did during the 1970's and 1980's! Whenever there was something new in Hollywood that hit big at the box-office, a bunch of Italian writers immediately began to work on scripts to cash in on these particular trends, only their movies were usually even more violent, sleazier and gorier than the milestones they were inspired by. Some of the best Italian (horror) movies are obvious rip-offs, like Fulci's "Zombi 2" and Deodato's "House on the Edge of the Park". Sergio Martino's "2019 - After the Fall of New York" also definitely ranks amongst the coolest, most unscrupulous movie-clones ever made! Carpenter's original is a terrific movie, but who's more eligible to come up with a dark, grim and graphically sadistic post-apocalyptic story then the Italian exploitation guys? "2019 – etc…" is a tremendously COOL movie and that pretty much summarizes it all. Once again, futuristic New York has turned into a dangerous wasteland where the few survivors of nuclear warfare feed on rats and get randomly executed for not volunteering as medical guinea pigs. Even worse here is that no children have been born in over 15 years and the entire human race is threatened with extinction. The outer New York federation sends the courageous race-car driver Parsifal to NY in order to bring back the last fertile woman on earth. Naturally, this won't be a pick nick trip, as he has to battle the evil "Euraks" and a troop of hairy circus freaks, led by "Big Ape" (a nice guest appearance by George Eastman). This movie certainly delivers loads of exhilarating action scenes, fabulous kitschy set pieces and a wide range of fascinating characters. The hero Parsifal is a likable Snake Plissken clone, with the exact same haircut and costume, only without the eye-patch (his sidekick wears one, though) and dry sense of humor. The supportive characters include Cyborgs, wild dwarfs and one gorgeous (albeit infertile) girl. The "human extinction" plot is reasonable ingenious and if you don't have problems with all the story lines that are "borrowed" from other cinema classics ("Mad Max", "Planet of the Apes", "The Omega Man",...), you're guaranteed to have great fun with this little-seen Italian cult gem.

Where's the patch?

[Zorin-2 · 2/10 · 10 August 2000]

"After the Fall of New York" is a total rip-off of the cult hit "Escape From New York". A rough apocoliptic hero (only lacking the patch of Snake Plisken) is given a do-or-die decision (sound familiar) to go into the rubbled New York to get the only remaining fertile female. The story line is interesting, but the film itself is bad. Bad special effects, bad acting, and very cartoonish. Actually the story would make a good third entry into the John Carpenter's "Escape" series, that is even if a third film will ever be made.

Low Budget Sci Fi Action movie pulls through

[matthew-marks · 7/10 · 5 January 2007]

Though at first look you might think this movie will turn out bad. But if you actually keep watching there is plenty of action and a nice story line. The violence is nice especially the defacing scene as well as the eye gouging.

This movie reminds me a lot of future kick with don the dragon Wilson. They both have gory violence and random cyborg scenes.

All in all you cant watch this with a bunch of friends because the comments will get annoying. I suggest you watch it by yourself and develop your own theory on how good this movie is. Its like if escape from the new york took drugs.

worst movie ever made

[bob_hamer2004 · 1/10 · 1 June 2008]

I can only assume they gave 2 10 yr old school kids 20 bucks and a dodgey camera to make this movie. Its so bad its hilarious. Get 2 retarded 10 year olds and tell them to make a film thats a rip off of mad max, planet of the apes and escape from new york. Lol it looks like they have used a bowl of water and a 2 inch plastic model of the statue of liberty. I forced myself to watch half of this movie, then collapsed laughing its so bad. Its beyond belief bad. I just cant accept any movie producer or director can be so totally brain dead they get financed to make such appalling trash. I've given it 1 out of 10. Worst movie of all time lol.

Is this the coolest rip-off or what?

[VideoMonkey · 8/10 · 11 July 2001]

This movie pulls no punches and makes no pretensions. It sets out from the beginning to do a job, and it not only does it, it overkills it. The job you might ask? Why to rip-off every post-apocalyptic, after the bomb, flick that has come before it. Mad Max/Road Warrior, ripped off, Escape From New York, ripped off large, anything that is remotely cool from almost any flick of this genre previous, is exploited. Hell, they even have some Planet of the Apes in there too... Now don't get me wrong. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It's pretty well done 'in that over the top Italian Cinema way'. When I first saw this thing when I was about 15, I ate it right up and it was one of the first 10 videos I owned in my life. And by the time I was done college the tape was worn out. And years and years later when I saw it in a cheap previously viewed video bin for $4, I picked it up again and it was worth every penny.

Out of the Wasteland.

[suspiria10 · 7/10 · 1 November 2004]

2019: After the Fall of New York (1983)

Shriek Show / Media Blasters - DVD – D: Sergio Martino – 3.5/5

It's 2019, twenty years after the apocalypse. The Pan-American nation wants to save the human race by rescuing the last fertile female (Valentine Monnier) on the planet and sending her and selected others to the stars to re-colonize. They enlist a wasteland warrior (Michael Sopkiw) to infiltrate the stronghold of the Eurac who are also a bunch of horny little bastards. This Italian rip-off of Mad Max and the like is badly dubbed as you would expect but it is a lot of fun. Sergio (A Man Called Blade, Mountain of the Cannibal God) Martino keeps the pace fast and action-packed. Good fun for those who like the genre.

Too Derivative of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

[charlieoso · 5/10 · 5 June 2019]

We are introduced to the future and the future of New York as we pan over an obvious model of New York City matched with some synth (that is supposed to be a trumpet). It is 2019 and no one is fertile anymore after the nuclear apocalypse. Parsifal (Michael Sopkiw) is sent into New York to find the last surviving fertile woman to try and save their race. In turn he faces many fights, characters to add to his gang to join his quest and plot twists you can see coming.

I really wanted to like this movie, but sadly this is way too derivative of John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK to not feel they were ripping that movie off. They just needed Kurt Russell to play the main character and man you'd swear this would be a sequel or bad remake.

Grim, downbeat, one of the better copy-cat post-apocalyptic films

[amesmonde · 19 March 2022]

20 years after a nuclear holocaust radiation has rendered all remaining humans sterile. After winning a motorized deathmatch an ex-Confederate soldier named Parsifal is offered a place on a rocketship by The President if he can infiltrate New York City and retrieve a fertile woman, or be killed.

Directed by Sergio Martino 2019, After the Fall of New York (2019 - Dopo la caduta di New York) is more sci-fi orientated than most (with a spaceship inclusion). Ernesto Gastaldi, Martino and Gabriel Rossini screenplay has echoes of Blade Runner (1982), Mad Max 2 (1981) and borrows heavily from Escape from New York (1981). It's one of the better copy-cat post-apocalyptic Italian films in the vein of similar to the films 1990 The Bronx Warriors, Escape from the Bronx, The New Barbarians and Endgame to name a few. Even copying a scene from Flash Gordon (1980).

It has all the same production issues of these low budget Italian cash-ins. Questionable, dialogue, acting, special effects, dubbing and sound design. This aside, the catchy soundtrack from Guido De Angelis and Maurizio De Angelis compliments the shenanigans and action adding to the B-movie charm. In contrast to the kitted vehicles, some of the sets and locations are notable. The derelict city set scenes have plenty of atmosphere courteous of cinematographer Giancarlo Ferrando as Michael Sopkiw's Parsifal and his rag tag side kicks Bronx and Ratchet make their way through the city encountering rats, cyborgs, fallout stricken street gangs, horses, ape-like mutants, dwarfs and dodging sonic weapons. It's grim and downbeat for the most part.

Miss Italy Anna Kanakis as evil officer Ania and striking Valentine Monnier as Giara along with B-movie regular George Eastman are memorable. Unfortunately Monnier is given little to do. Tiziana Fibi and Alessandra Tani even less. Kanakis shines here as the femme fatale as steals the film from not only the villain Serge Feuillard's Eurac Commander but also lead Sopkiw. To Martino's credit and company it's well filmed, with some tight continuity (Donatella Botti) and editing by Eugenio Alabiso there's also a few light left of field twists from the writers in the closing act.

Overall, it should come as no surprise it's over the top, full of tropes and holes, but its fast pace keeps momentum in true 80s Italian science fiction film style.

Less than thrilling convicntion of much better movies of Escape From New York and Mad Max to name a few

[jordondave-28085 · 5/10 · 7 April 2023]

(1983) After The Fall of New York/ 2019 - Dopo la caduta di New York DUBBED SCIENCE-FICTION ACTION

The theme is similar to the much higher budgeted of "Children of Men" which centers on the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse, resulting to less fertilization. Two warring factions of the "Euraks" and "the Rebel Federation" with the "Pan American Confederacy" employing services of, Parsifal (Michael Sopkiw) with his objective is to find and locate this particular fertilized woman, for the purpose of populating their colony, escorting with him to perform this mission is, Bronx (Vincent Scalondro) and Ratchet (Romano Puppo).

Part of the synopsis is obviously inspired by "Escape From New York" as it is where it's supposedly take place released in 1981 and "Mad Max" movies, excpt with less than exciting conviction.

Where's Cabby ??

[CelluloidRehab · 7/10 · 22 June 2004]

Someone in Italy appreciated Escape from New York so much, that they made this movie in homage to it. There are "subtle" differences. In Escape from NY we have the protagonist/anti-hero of Snake. In 2019, we've got Percival. He's tough. He's got an attitude. He's also wearing one of the Paul brother's body suit (see The Barbarian Brothers) and he's stolen Paul Hogan's trademark "knife". Where Escape had sets that could potentially resemble NYC, 2019 has miniatures. LOTS OF MINIATURES. Everything from NYC, to an Alaskan base to helicopters. All the set location budgets went into the trip to Monument Valley (where Percival rides his "chopper" motorcycle) and the abandoned train yards here in NYC (where they proceed to destroy old MTA buses and trains). This movie is obviously hindered by monetary restraints. Notice all the "computers" have telephone pads on them. The sound effects of the guns, sound like something from Duck Hunt. The fight scenes look like William Shatner was the stunt coordinator. Its that GOOD. There is also the subtle anti-midget, anti-cyborg, anti-robot theme in the movie that tends to make one uncomfortable, especially with the sci-fi theme. Best scene is the "race" at the beginning of the movie. A 2 car race. 1 car has our hero, the other has a car with 4 men in it. Not exactly a fair race. Also, there is no finish line. The race ends when someone dies. It ends when they push Percival's car over a cliff, and Percival decides to go into street fighter mode to finish the "race". All in all, its a fun movie for what it is. An Italian exploitation flick. Also for those who didn't know, Neil Armstrong's famous quote of "one step...", didn't have anything to do with love. I think John Carpenter should have remade Escape from NY by adding aliens to the equation. Its a nice touch.

Post-Apocalyptic Mayhem by Sergio Martino

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 6/10 · 4 June 2009]

Ripping off popular American films and making cheaper, sleazier, gorier, more exploitative and violent cash-ins was very popular among some Italian filmmakers in the late 70s and 80s, and the results were often vastly entertaining. And while Sergio Martino "2019 - Dopo La Caduta Di New York" aka. "2019 - After the Fall of New York" of 1983 is not the only Italian Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi film that was not only obviously inspired by, but shamelessly rips off John Carpenter's "Escape from New York", it is one of the most entertaining and violent and simply bad-ass ones. Some people seem to be bothered by films of this kind copying American classics. And I won't deny that this film does so very obviously. What these people seem to forget is that many American cult-cinema genres were clearly inspired by typically Italian genres. This film, "2019 - After The Fall of New York", is criticized for ripping off Carpenter's "Escape From New York". Carpenter is most famous for factually creating the Slasher-genre with "Halloween" (1978), which was strongly influenced by the (superior) Italian Giallo, a genre of which director Sergio Martino is one of the supreme masters. Particularly Martino's film "I Corpi Presentano Tracce De La Violenzia Carnale" aka. "Torso" (1973) was a very obvious influence for the Slasher genre; yet I have never heard anyone bitching about how Slasher films 'rip off' Martino's films. Thus much for those who can't stop whining about "2019" ripping off a Classic.

As a Giallo-fan, I will always admire Sergio Martino most for masterpieces like "Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key" (1972), "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" (1971) or "Torso" (1973), but, even when he operates outside the Giallo/Horror genre, Martino delivers, as proved by films like his violent latter-day Spaghetti Western "Mannaja" (1978), or this highly entertaining film. While "2019" is by no means a stroke of genius, and not nearly one of Martino's most memorable films, it definitely ranks among the better Post-Apocalyptic Italian Sci-Fi/Action flicks from the early 80s.

2019: A nuclear war has extinguished a large part of the world's population and left the surviving women infertile. In fifteen years, no baby has been born. The winning party, a European/Asian/African federation called Eurax have proclaimed themselves the winners, whereas its enemies from the Pan-American Confederacy keep operating secretly from Alaska. Both parties are keen on finding fertile women in order to rescue mankind from its doom. When a fertile woman is spotted in New York, Parsifal, a tough and solitary race-driver and drifter, is sent by the Confederacy in order to recover her. The former American Metropolis, however, has become a post-apocalyptic wasteland reigned by the occupying Eurax and violent gangs, and once one is in there, it is impossible to get out... As admitted above, the similarities to "Escape From New York" are numerous (even the hero looks like Kurt Russell as Snake)and it also rips off other films such as the first two "Mad Max" films, but, as long as one isn't bothered by that, "2019" is a very cool little flick of its own right. As usual for Italian Exploitation rip-offs, this is quite a bit gorier and nastier than "Escape from NY" and includes some very gory scenes. Contrary to my expectations, there was hardly any sex or nudity, however. The post-apocalyptic scenario is done with style, and the action sequences are very well-done. My fellow Italian exploitation fans will be glad to see cult-actor George Eastman in a supporting role. Overall, "2019 - After the Fall of New York" is certainly no must-see, but it is definitely fun, and especially recommended to fans of Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Action.

Classic ?

[Phroggy · 7/10 · 6 June 2003]

I think M. Wilder summed it all. If you want to see what eighties

Italian derivative movies felt like, just watch this one. I saw it in a

theatre when it first came out in our "old europe" (Yeah, I'm that old

!), and at the time, those babies did drew a healthy crowd.

Hollywood would do the same now with name stars and a 80

million dollars budget, but it won't have the same feel. On the DVD,

the Michael Sopkwiz introduction was classy in itself. Great in his

own way - not "Seven Samurai" or Antiononi or Chabrol great, but

great as in grindhouse classic...

Phroggy

Top of its Game (8 out of 10)

[dominion76251 · 8/10 · 30 August 2011]

After the Fall of New York is one of the best of the seemingly endless Italian rip-offs of John Carpenter's Escape From New York that deluged the early 80s. Mind you, I really like these films, so that is not a slam by any means. This flick is certainly one of the most entertaining of the lot. Michael Sopkiw does his best Snake Plisken imitation and is quite good. The story is original: Parcifal (Sopkiw) must journey into the hell hole to retrieve the last fertile woman alive; the key to the survival of the human race! You have all the great exploitation elements: violence, gunfire, brutality, gore… could have used more t&a, but hey, you can't have everything. Creative characters abound like the midget (Shorty, what else!) and George Eastman as Big Ape. Anna Kanakis (wow) is great as the treacherous Eurac officer trying to stop Parcifal at all costs.

If you are not a B-movie lover, stay away. Genre fans, however, will not be disappointed here. Enjoy!

Reasonably entertaining futuristic Sci-Fi action from the underrated Sergio Martino.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 24 January 2005]

2019-After the Fall of New York opens with a lengthy narration over extremely poor miniature models of an almost completely destroyed New York, and goes something like this "since the Nuclear Holocaust Twenty years have passed. The leader of the Eurac monarchy, the powerful Euro, Afro, Asian unity who pressed the fatal button claims to have won the conflict. But planet Earth has been reduced to a garbage strewn radioactive desert inhabited by humans devoid of all hope or future (a bit like it is now then?). Radiation could not have been worse, a few deformed creatures developed in the post war period then nothing. For nearly fifteen years now not one human child has been born. New York City, a huge pile of waste and rubble (a bit like it is now then?) is under the control of a Eurac military force, with the help of mercenary hunters are with deadly efficiency exterminating the locals and using the healthy ones for every conceivable kind of genetic experiment in a desperate attempt to find the key to survival to the continuation of the human race." This monologue explains things up to this point perfectly. Soon after this we are introduced to our hero, Parsifal (Micheal Sopkiw) who is an all round tough but fair sort of guy and just a likable kind of hero, you know the sort. He is kidnapped by a rival organisation to the Eurac, known as the Inter-American Confederation. He is flown to 'Alaska'. There Parsifal meets up with the federations President (Edmund Purdom) who offers him a deal. It appears that the only fertile woman left on the whole Earth is in New York. The federation needs her for the continuation of human life on several other planets in a galaxy called Alpha-Centuri that they are planning to travel to. The president promises Parsifal a seat on the spaceship if he brings the girl back safely. Either that or he dies now, not much of a choice really. For help Parsifal has two men, Bronx (Paolo Maria Scalondro as Vincent Scalondro) who is practically a living map of New York and he has a metal robotic hand. Parsifal also gets a guy called Ratchet (Romano Puppo as Roman Geer) who is the strongest man in the confederate, apparently anyway. They all gain entry to Manhattan and are attacked straight away by a gang called the 'Harlem Hunters'. On their travels they come across more gangs, a blonde woman named Giara (Valentine Monnier), a dwarf called Shorty (Louis Ecclesia), Big-Ape (Geaorge Eastman), an evil S/M leather clad Eurac babe Ania (Anna Kanakis) and a whole heap of trouble! Will Parisfal be able to find and recuse the girl and therefore save the entire human race from extinction? This Italian production was co-written and directed by the criminally underrated Sergio Martino under the pseudonym of Martin Dolman and I thought it was a good film that made the most out of it's obviously small budget, but Martino has made better. The script by Martino, Ernesto Gastaldi and Gabriel Rossini is very fast paced and quite entertaining even if it is rather silly at times. But I must admit I started to tire of it's slight repetitiveness after about the 40 odd minute mark. It just became Sopkiw and friends running through sewers and over piles of rubble occasionally stopping to have a fight with some Eurac guards who are under orders not to kill them so they never shoot or even try to fight back that much, and various gang members. The film became interesting again for the last 20 minutes when the main plot kicks back in and they find the last fertile girl on the planet and have to escape New York with her. I was disappointed by the ending which just leaves everything up in the air and left me somewhat dissatisfied. Martino's usual production designer Massimo Antonello Geleng does a good job with limited funds, the sets look quite good as do the locations if a little campy and cheap. The costumes look a bit silly at time though, a special mention goes to Anna Kanakis as the evil S/M babe who makes a great villianess and looks cool in her studded leather outfit! Even if she is very underused and just sort of disappears from the film and the viewer has no idea what happens to her, or the Eurac organisation as a whole. Martino's usual cinematographer is on board too, Giancarlo Ferrando does a fine and professional job generally speaking. The special effects are pretty poor but I've seen worse and are fun to watch on a 'bad' level. There's very little gore, but there are lots of fights with various types of weaponry. Also, for the animal lovers among you watch out as there are scenes of rats being chased and killed by being impaled with spiked poles. Martino directs the action scenes with pace and vitality, I especially liked the sequence where Sopkiw is attacked in a junk yard full of battered, wrecked and burnt out buses. Worth a watch for sure, but I found it a little dull after the fifth fight that looked exactly like the four that proceeded it. I'll sum up by saying that 2019-After the Fall of New York is good fun and should keep most Sci-Fi action/Euro exploitation rip-off fans entertained for an hour and a half without too much trouble.

Mildly diverting post-apocalypse movie

[Wizard-8 · 20 September 2009]

Unlike the majority of Italian post-apocalypse movies that came out in the early 1980s, "2019: After The Fall Of New York" gets its main inspiration not from the Australian "Mad Max" movies, but from "Escape From New York". Among other things, the protagonists have to infiltrate the cut-off city to rescue someone, one of the protagonists has an eyepatch, and the climatic action sequence plays very similarly.

Watching a movie that rips off another doesn't bother me that much, as long as the rip-off manages to be entertaining. This rip-off managed to pass the time well for me. The production values, though low-budget (few "wide" shots, and obviously filming in slums instead of building sets), are still a step up from other Italian post-apocalypse movies. The movie is somewhat padded (the being captured subplot could easily have been cut out), but it never gets boring. So if you have the hunger for post-apocalypse action, this should satisfy.

Escaping from New York, the Italian way

[The_Void · 7/10 · 10 July 2006]

If it was popular in America, you can bet your life that there'll be at least one cheap Italian equivalent; and 2019: After the Fall of New York is, of course, the Spaghetti answer to John Carpenter's Sci-Fi action hit, Escape From New York. Like many Italian rip-offs, this one does it unashamedly; and just about every major plot point from Carpenter's film has managed to find its way into this one. We've got a mission into a New York that has fallen into the hands of the 'lower classes', a Kurt Russell look-alike, a climatic car chase and more; but it's all in good fun. It's actually a bit of surprise (and my main reason for watching) that this film was directed by the same man responsible for a number of Italy's best films; the great Sergio Martino, but I guess he was well paid by the end. As mentioned, the plot is almost identical to Escape From New York; only this time, the ultimate prize is the last fertile woman on Earth, which the 'New Confederacy' intends to regenerate the human race with. A noble cause, I'm sure you'll agree...

This film features the first performance from Michael Sopkiw. His career was unfortunately very short, but given what I've seen here and in Massacre in Dinosaur Valley; he may well be on course for the title of Italy's most ridiculous actor. That being said, his looks and style suit this film very well, and it's actually a very good performance considering the type of movie. Sopkiw is joined by an array of unknown Italian actors, and a George Eastman; who makes a memorable special guest appearance as 'Big Ape'. 2019 has room for a number of over the top characters, and these provide the film with most of its plaudits. Aside from the obvious loss in quality between this and his more credible films, this also isn't the best directorial performance from Sergio Martino; as despite creating a bleak impression of the future, many of the action sequences are lethargic and the film plods along rather than moving swiftly. The final car chase is well ripped off, however. Overall, this film isn't brilliant and won't be turning up on any lists of great Italian films; but it's a decent Sci-Fi romp, and fans of cheap trash cinema will no doubt appreciate it.

An 80's Video Store Classic.

[tarbosh22000 · 7/10 · 10 December 2012]

Classic Sopkiw.

Michael Sopkiw plays Parsifal, a guy who loves racing cars around the Arizona desert and basking in the love of his fans for beating his opponents on the post-apocalyptic racing circuit. But his world is interrupted when he's summoned to a secret base by The President of the Pan-American Confederacy (Purdom). He's informed that he must break into New York City - which is controlled by deadly gangs called the Euraks - to rescue a woman from their clutches who can perhaps help to replenish the depleted population of earth. He also gets assigned two helpers: Ratchet (Puppo), who's supposed to be one of the strongest men left on the planet, and Bronx (Scalondro), a man who has memorized the map of New York. During their mission, the three men meet tons of trials and tribulations, not the least of which is New York's serious rat problem. They meet many wacky characters along the way, such as Big Ape (Eastman). Will they get out of NYC alive and save the world? Find out today! Despite being the pride of our home state, Connecticut, Sopkiw starred almost exclusively in Italian productions. Between 1983-1985 he appeared in 2019, then did two movies for Lamberto Bava: Blastfighter (1984) and Devil Fish (also 1984), then one more for Michele Massimo Tarantini, Massacre In Dinosaur Valley (1985) then all but disappeared. Just more evidence that the 80's was awesome - Italian productions were flourishing, and stars like Sopkiw had venues to flower and we got to know them all through our local video stores. Sadly, that time is over, but gems like 2019 provide much-appreciated artifacts from that golden time period.

2019 appears to be the result of Sergio Martino throwing his hat into the then-hot post-apocalyptic genre. The movie has all the insane outfits, wonderfully decorated sets, innovative weapons and vehicles with crazy crap glued to them that any Italian post-nuke movie would have, and that fans have grown to love and have become accustomed to. Of course that includes flamethrowers and "Pew Pew" lasers. These movies were primarily meant to entertain, and 2019 completely succeeds. It has the ultimate coolguy for a hero, plenty of wild situations intermixed with brutal violence, and the time-honored innovations we often talk about, ensuring an 80's Video Store Classic.

Speaking of video stores (though when aren't we?), when 2019 was released on VHS by Vestron, they dropped the 2019 and just went with After the Fall of New York. Could this be because they wanted to bring the similarities to Escape From New York (1981) front and center? Nah. Can't be. But then Joe D'Amato's 2020 Texas Gladiators (1984) presumably picked up where this movie left off? Regardless, the Guido and Maurizio DeAngelis music (using their pseudonym Oliver Onions) is typically solid and appropriately synthy and futuristic. Their soundtrack to Street Law (1974) is hard to beat, but this one is a winner as well.

The Media Blasters DVD is a must-own if you're into the Italian post-apocalyptic genre. It looks great in widescreen and even has an intro from Michael Sopkiw. We recommend it.

For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

2019:After the Fall of New York

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 13 March 2008]

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.