2020 TEXAS GLADIATORS (1983)
3-Disc 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + CD
Label: Severin Films
Region Code: Region-Free (4K Ultra HD), A (Blu-ray)
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 90 Minutes 33 Seconds
Audio: English or Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Joe D’Amato
Cast: Al Cliver, Peter Hooten, Sabrina Siani, Geretta Geretta, Donald O’Brien
2020 Texas Gladiators (1983) comes to us from prolific Italian b-movie director Joe D'Amato (Anthophagous), a somewhat of an obscure title (in HD anyway) it's finally been given it's physical media due from Severin Films with a new 4K scan and HDR10, we even get the CD soundtrack on this one. The flick is a wild post-nuke/Mad Max knock-off that begs, borrows and steals from a wide range of films, it even manages to cram in some western tropes into the pastiche of post-atomic banger, that might lack originality but goddamn, it is never dull.
It opens with a band of marauders raiding a safe haven monastery where they proceed to cause all sorts of carnage; crucifying the priest, mouth raping a teenage boy, blasting innocents with big guns, and raping all the women. A nun is so shocked and horrified by what she see's she grabs a piece of jagged glass and slashes her own throat open rather than witness it! As the marauders are marauding a group of five vigilantes known as Rangers arrive on the scene and tear into the marauders, easily decimating their numbers. In the aftermath one of the Rangers called Catch Dog (Daniel Stephen, War Bus) is attempts to rape one of the survivors of the massacre, a woman named Maida (Sabrina Siani, Cannibal Terror), which goes against the Rangers code of ethics, causing Ranger Nisus (Al Cliver, Warriors of the Year 2072) to kick his ass and expel him from the Rangers. Five years later we catch up with Nisus who is now married to Maida, and they have a young child together, living in the idealistic small community New Town, which produces energy using uranium they extract from a nearby mine. Things seem great until they're new power source attracts undesirables by way of a returning Catch Dog who is now the main henchmen for a bald Nazi-fuck wannabe named The Black One (Donald O’Brien, Doctor Butcher, MD) who is trying to unite the territory through tyrannical strength and brutality. The people of Free Town mount a spirited defense, but end up falling to the overwhelming numbers of The Black One's marauding legion who jump over their defense using their motorbikes and have defensive shields with mysteriously powered forcefields. Much to my surprise even Nisus bites the dust after a silly show of machismo when Maida is threatened during the siege.
Sometime later we catch up to Maida who has been sold off to a Charles Bronson looking motherfucker, played by Franco Ukmar (Endgame), at a saloon. This Road Warrior-rip even manages to throw is western elements with apocalyptic cowboys and post-nuke indigenous tribes! Anyway, Maida is now the property of that Bronson looking motherfucker who is saddled up at the poker table, only instead of playing cards he's playing Russian roulette, currently with post-apocalyptic gambler Jab (Harrison Muller, She) who wins Maida as his own property after Bronson blows his brains out. He seems alright, he treats her well, and even agrees to help her get her kid back from The Black One. Eventually they both end up teaming with local post-atomic indigenous people and the surviving Rangers, including Halakron (Peter Hooten, Orca) and Red Wolfe (Hal Yamanouchi, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals) to take out Catch Dog and The Black One in a vigorously action-packed finale.
D'Amato sort of co-directed this with George Eastman, with the former handling the action-carnage and Eastman overseeing the dialogue stuff, but it's definitely the wild action and mayhem that your gonna remember about this one, it's heavy with nudity, motorcycle mayhem, a wild saloon brawl, and Indians on horseback versus motorcycle gladiators - there's plenty of action to distract you from the pure unadulterated post-nuke story-theft happening throughout this one. The film was shot by D'Amato himself with second unit direction from Michele Soavi (Cemetery Man), so it looks pretty decent, plus we get a killer synth score by composer Carlo Maria Cordio (Shocking Dark) that I love to death. Another highlight is a brief appearance from Geretta Geretta (Rats: Night of Terror, Demons) as one of The Black Ones marauders, she's so cool.
Audio/Video: 2020 Texas Gladiators (1983) arrives on region-free 4K Ultra HD and region A-locked Blu-ray from Severin Films, scanned in 4K from the original negative, presented in 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1) with HDR10 WCG color space. The source certainly shows minor nicks, scratches and faint vertical lines throughout, but generally looks quite excellent, and grain is lush and natural looking. Fine detail and texture are appreciable, but these Italian post-nuke flicks were usually pretty hazy and a soft-focuses, especially in the exterior daylight scenes, but interiors and more favorably lit scenes export some definite pleasing textures. Colors generally look favorable, I found the HDR10 to be very restrained, greens and some reds look slightly plumped, but the biggest benefactor here from the WGC are the black levels and shadow detail.
Extras for 2020 Texas Gladiators include the 17-min Shoot Me: The Real Story Of The Italian Texas Gladiators – Archival Interviews With Director Joe D'Amato, Assistant Director Michele Soavi, Screenwriter Luigi Montefiori And Actor Al Cliver; a fun 11-min look back via Gladiator Geretta – Interview With Actress Geretta Geretta - who still looks great; 3-min Trailer; and the 20-track CD Soundtrack that runs about 52-minutes with that terrific score by Carlo Maria Cordio (Shocking Dark), Ive had it in my car CD player all week much to my wife's annoyance.
The 3-disc 4K UHD/BD/CD arrives in a black keepcase with a flipper tray housing the discs. We get a Reversible Wrap with some stellar post-nuke/Mad Max nods, and a Webstore Exclusive Slipcover that looks like Rollerball by way of Conan if Roger Corman produced it. The slip is high quality with spot gloss logos on the front cover and spines. Inside is a index card about the size of an index card featuring artwork for the film on one side and the track list for the CD soundtrack by Carlo Maria Cordio on the other.
Special Features:
Disc 1: UHD
- Trailer (2:55)
Disc 2: Blu-ray
- Shoot Me: The Real Story Of The Italian Texas Gladiators – Archival Interviews With Director Joe D'Amato, Assistant Director Michele Soavi, Screenwriter Luigi Montefiori And Actor Al Cliver (16:59)
- Gladiator Geretta – Interview With Actress Geretta Geretta (10:34)
- Trailer (2:55)
Bonus Disc:
- Soundtrack CD (20 Tracks) (51:50)
Screenshots from the Severin Blu-ray:
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