The Blood of Heroes (1989)

Director:

David Webb Peoples

Writer (WGA):

David Webb Peoples (written by)

Release Date:

23 February 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Sport

Tagline:

When juggers play there is only one way to live - THE HARD WAY! - [Australia Theatrical] [Title as Salute of the Jugger]

Plot:

A Mad Max-esque post apocalyptic world provides the backdrop for a brutal, futuristic game resembling football...

Plot Keywords:

Sports Arena | Sports League | Violence | Desert | Post Apocalyptic

Cast

Rutger Hauer	...	Sallow
Delroy Lindo	...	Mbulu
Anna Katarina	...	Big Cimber (as Anna Katerina)
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Young Gar (as Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio)
Gandhi MacIntyre	...	Gandhi
Justin Monjo	...	Dog Boy
Aaron Martin	...	Samchin Boy
Joan Chen	...	Kidda
Casey Huang	...	Kidda's Father
Quang Dinh	...	Samchin Head Elder
John Doumtsis	...	Samchin Timekeeper
John Biro	...	Samchin Peasant #1
Brian Cawley	...	Samchin Peasant #2
Gino Terranova	...	Samchin Peasant #3
Cecilia Wong	...	Kidda's Mother
David Bookalil	...	Enforcement Officer #1
John Samaha	...	Enforcement Officer #2
Honie Robinson	...	Kolkan Blond Daughter
Max Fairchild	...	Gonzo
Hugh Keays-Byrne	...	Lord Vlle
Lia Francisa	...	Mara
Richard Norton	...	Bone
Basil Clarke	...	Red City Overlord
Jack Clayborne	...	Red City Juggermaster
Dale Brown	...	Caillat
Doug Mealing	...	Red City Timekeeper
Adam Zammitt	...	Red City Street Urchin
Greg Jordan	...	New Qwik
Frank Coorey	...	Samchin Jugger
James Webb	...	Samchin Jugger
Steve Rackman	...	Samchin Jugger
Don Vaughn	...	Samchin Jugger
Stephen Stauber	...	Samchin Jugger
Kerryn Jackson Hyming	...	Kolkan Jugger
Warren Shellbach	...	Kolkan Jugger
Lee Rice	...	Kolkan Jugger
Chris Peters	...	Red City Jugger
Josef Schwaiger	...	Kolkan Jugger
Rick Adams	...	Red City Jugger
Jeff Jensen	...	Red City Jugger
Mark Warren	...	Red City Jugger
Guy Norris	...	Red City Jugger
Domonique Gimondi	...	Samchin Musician
Arthur Spinks	...	Samchin Musician
Bruce Wormal	...	Samchin Musician
Barry Canham	...	Samchin Musician
Sunil De Silver	...	Samchin Musician
Trevor Frost	...	Samchin Musician
Ron Jemmott	...	Junk Miner Musician
Trevor Rippingdale	...	Junk Miner Musician
Harry Harman	...	Junk Miner Musician
John Colborne Veal	...	Junk Miner Musician

Directed by
David Webb Peoples		(as David Peoples)

Writing credits (WGA)
David Webb Peoples		(written by) (as David Peoples)

Produced by
Brian Rosen	....	executive producer
Charles Roven	....	producer

Original Music by
Todd Boekelheide

Cinematography by
David Eggby

Film Editing by
Richard Francis-Bruce

Production Design by
John Stoddart

Art Direction by
John Wingrove

Costume Design by
Terry Ryan

Makeup Department
Bob McCarron	....	special makeup designer
Michael Westmore	....	special makeup designer
Michael Burnett	....	special makeup effects assistant (uncredited)

Production Management
Carol Hughes	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Keith Heygate	....	assistant director
Guy Norris	....	second unit director

Art Department
Warren Field	....	concept model maker
Adam Grace	....	model maker
Julieanne Mills	....	assistant model maker
David Rutherford	....	model maker
David Tremont	....	model maker

Sound Department
Mark Berger	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Jay Boekelheide	....	sound designer
Lloyd Carrick	....	sound recordist
Luis Colina	....	foley editor
Kristen Gerstner	....	apprentice dialogue editor
Kristen Gerstner	....	apprentice sound editor
Devon Miller	....	assistant sound editor
Douglas Murray	....	sound effects editor
David Parker	....	sound re-recording mixer

Stunts
Danny Baldwin	....	stunts
Sue Baldwin	....	stunts
Peter Chen	....	stunts
Mitch Deans	....	stunts
Ollie Hall	....	stunts
Jeff Jensen	....	stunts
Rocky McDonald	....	stunts
Guy Norris	....	stunt coordinator
Richard Norton	....	stunts
Chris Peters	....	stunts
Steve Rackman	....	stunts
Lee Rice	....	stunts
Glenn Ruehland	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Glenn Ruehland	....	stunt double: Sallow
Josef Schwaiger	....	stunts (as Joseph Schwaiger)
Greg Stuart	....	stunts
Don Vaughn	....	stunts
Mark Warren	....	stunts
James Webb	....	stunts
Tony Yuen	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Stott	....	camera maintenance

Casting Department
Alison Barrett	....	casting: Australia
Bonnie Timmermann	....	casting: USA

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ross Wallace	....	wardrobe assistant

Other crew
Andy Clarke	....	safety officer
Arch Roberts	....	safety officer
Peter Stott	....	projectionist
Neal Thompson	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Handistom Investment
• Kamisha Corporation
• Kings Road Entertainment

Distributors

• New Line Cinema (1990) (USA)
• Filmpac Home Video (Australia) (VHS)
• Cineplex-Odeon Films (1990) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Filmpac Distribution (1990) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (video)
• Hopscotch Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• Roadshow Entertainment Video (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Shocking Videos (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Virgin Vision (1990) (UK)

Other Companies

• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

Salute of the Jugger
Salute to the Jugger (USA)

Runtime:

90 min | Japan:104 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Coober Pedy, South Australia, Australia

Company:

Handistom Investment

Quotes:

Kidda: Sallow?
Sallow: What?
Kidda: Tell us about the league.
Sallow: What about it?
Kidda: Are they really so good?
Sallow: Yeah.
Kidda: Really?
Sallow: Better than you can imagine.
Kidda: How do you know if you're good enough?
Sallow: You know.
[...]

A forgotten masterpiece

"The juggers are coming!" is a shout that strikes both fear and excitement into the hearts of the villagers. These wretched people, living in the Mad Maxesque world of post-nuclear devastation will now have to defend the honor of their village by playing against a wandering band of Juggers.

This game is the centerpoint of the movie. It's a brutal match of American football and medieval warfare. Both teams will try to get a dog skull on a stake at the opposite ends of a small playing field. Only problem is that only a small, lightly padded player (the Qwik) can touch the skull, and all other players are armed with clubs, chains, mallets and bad attitudes.

Needless to say, the game can get brutal, broken bones and gouged eyes are common enough. But once the game is over, the real insights into the world this movie creates are made. There is no brutal rivalry outside the playing field, only a camaraderie that can stem from knowing what you both have been through. The winners are treated to a feast, no matter how poor the village, for the player's blood has brough some exitement into their otherwise dreary and hopeless lives.

I will not spoil the plot here, but needless to say, the young elements of the wandering band of Juggers, which is led by Sallow (Rutger Hauer), will not long be content to fight in backwater villages for little money and poor entertainment (a village of starving peasants can only provide so much).

On the technical side, this is not a brilliant movie, clearly made on a low budget, most of which was probably spent on actors. But movie itself is a great masterpiece, showing more and more of the "world" in which the Juggers live with every time you watch it. Small things will speak volumes and prove true the old saying: A picture speaks more than a thousand words.

Also the action scenes, while they do not contain the speedy cars and flashy wrecks of Mad Max, are still full of adrenalin and will leave thinking about why the game of Jugging is not played already.