The Ultimate Warrior (1975)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Robert Clouse

Writer:

Robert Clouse (writer)

Release Date:

2 October 1975 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A Film of the Future

Plot:

Atomic holocaust is not the only plague that threatens our future. New York City, 2012 A.D.: In a devastated world, one tired man finds a reason to fight.

Plot Keywords:

Plague | Gang | Turf | Future | Gangster

Cast

Yul Brynner	...	Carson
Max von Sydow	...	Baron
Joanna Miles	...	Melinda
William Smith	...	Carrot
Richard Kelton	...	Cal
Stephen McHattie	...	Robert
Darrell Zwerling	...	Silas
Lane Bradbury	...	Barrie
Nate Esformes	...	Garon
Mel Novak	...	Lippert
Mickey Caruso	...	B. Harkness
Gary Johnson	...	L. Harkness
Susan Keener	...	Angry Woman
Stevie Myers	...	Ice House Woman
Fred Slyter	...	Store Room Clerk

Also Known As:

The Barony (International: English title)
The Last Warrior

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (video premiere) | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1975) | Netherlands:18 | Sweden:(Banned) (1975) | UK:15 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Quotes:

Carrot: We will both go to hell, you and me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hannibal (2001)

Remember to eat your vegetables.

New York in the year of 2012 is a dangerously decayed environment that has been divided into communities who continuously fight, as the earth has been destroyed by a plague and sources of food is very limited. A small peaceful society living in a small compound are led by "The Baron" and seek that of a warrior to protect them from the street people led the malicious Carrot. The mysterious fighter Carson accepts Baron's offer. Although Carson learns that Baron actually has a plan to get his daughter, his son-law and their unborn child to an island off the coast of North Carolina. He would need Carson's help to get them there.

Where did this come from? I knew nothing off it when discovering it at video shop getting rid of their VHS'. Hard to say why this is one unsung flick, as there is some potent names involved and for most part its cleverly constructed. A thoughtfully desperate Sci-fi / action stint that actually throws up some genuine social commentary without any sort forced impression. Strangely enough, you could possibly claim this to be an influential benchmark in the post-apocalyptic sub-genre. This for goes "Mad Max" and the trend that followed it. There's no doubt the 70s were a flourishing time for innovative films. The director Robert Clouse would be known for Bruce Lee's film "Enter the Dragon (1973)" and some others like "The Pack (1977)" and "The Rats (1975)". Clouse manages to give it a hard-edge and the gritty, grubby post-holocaust setting demonstrates something rather eerie and raw. The violence is brutally intense and truly grim. This only makes this hasty plight more authentic with the nature of the situation turning people to think of only themselves and become something they might oppose. It shows there's common ground despite the walls separating the two sides. For some they might find the story to never really get going until the final half, but there are some interestingly credible ideas (like the horticultural aspect of a immune plant) covered in the chatty opening half and a pinch of wit is a nice welcome. Clouse does a frank and accessible job with what his got to shape here. Fight sequences are swiftly exciting (the final super-charged climax is a hoot), even if there's not much flair and the workable stunts go hand-to-hand. There's some imagery captured with a touch of style, but it mostly done with a lot dirt and grit. Organizing the film's rhythm is Gil Melle's dry and spicy experimental music score, which works a treat alongside Gerald Hirshfeld's reliably on-the-move and penetrating photography. Making up a fine cast is Yul Brynner, Max Von Sydow, William Smith and Joanne Miles. A picture-perfect Brynner emit's a gloriously humane, but also a deadly vibe with his warrior for hire, Carson. His dry temperament was surely tailor made for the part. Von Sydow adds the class to his character, the Baron and character actor Smith milks out a fun performance as the sadistically husky voiced swine Carrot. Miles is also good in her sympathetic turn as the baron's daughter Melinda.

It might look like a b-grade action movie and be spotty in parts, but there are some inspired brushes and fine performances to say it's worth the effort.