The New Barbarians

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The New Barbarians
NewBarbariansPoster.jpg
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by Enzo G. Castellari
Screenplay by
  • Tito Carpi
  • Enzo G. Castellari [1]
Story byTito Carpi [1]
Produced by Fabrizio De Angelis [1]
Starring
CinematographyFausto Zuccoli [1]
Edited byGianfranco Amicucci [1]
Music by Claudio Simonetti [1]
Production
company
Deaf International Film [1]
Distributed by Titanus [2]
Release date
  • 7 April 1983 (1983-04-07)
Running time
91 minutes [3]
CountryItaly [1]
LanguageItalian

The New Barbarians (Italian : I nuovi barbari; also known as Warriors of the Wasteland) is a 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic action film directed by Enzo G. Castellari, written by Castellari and Tito Carpi, and starring Giancarlo Prete and George Eastman. The plot takes place in 2019, following a nuclear holocaust, where two loners among the remains of the starving human race protect a group of pilgrims from a vicious gang bent on genocide.

Contents

Plot

In the year 2019, after a nuclear war, humanity is reduced to a few starving groups. A ruthless gang called "The Templars" constantly raid settlers in an attempt to exterminate everyone in order to purge the Earth. A former Templar, Scorpion, along with his allies, prevents a small band of religious colonists from being massacred by the Templars.

Cast

Production

The New Barbarians was shot outside of Rome in late 1982. [1] [4] When discussing 1990: The Bronx Warriors , The New Barbarians and Escape from the Bronx , Castellari stated the three films were written, prepared and filmed in six months. [5]

For the stunts in the film, Castellari stated that he filmed each scene at three different speeds: 24fps, 55 and 96. Castellari stated that this allowed him to "edit the whole sequence in a more interesting way. It gives much more impact to the entire stunt and it actually looks much more impressive and powerful than it actually is." [4]

Release

The New Barbarians was released in Italy on 7 April 1983. [6] It was released in the United States in January 1984 under the title of Warriors of the Wasteland. [4] [7] It was distributed by New Line Cinema. [1]

Reception

Castellari had positive recollections of making the film, stating that it "was an extremely cheap movie. The budget was incredibly small but I'm quite proud that I succeeded in making a movie shot on the outskirts of Rome." [4] Variety found the film derivative of Mad Max 2 as well as having elements of Hal Needham's Megaforce and other films. [1] Variety felt that Casterllari made a mistake in using slow motion opposed to George Miller's exciting high-speed action scenes, finding that the films car chases "look to be occurring at 25 mph". [1] In Phil Hardy's book Science Fiction (1984), a review found the film to be too derivative of Mad Max 2. [3] The Monthly Film Bulletin described the film as a "shamelessly watered-down, warmed-over" version of Mad Max 2 . [8]

In a retrospective review, AllMovie awarded the film two stars out of five, found that the film captures "the true spirit of the low budget rip-off flicks from early 80's, The New Barbarians is neither smart nor original, but a riot for anyone who gets off on Mad Max and all of its the junky followers." [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Willis, John 1985, p. 439: "Review is of 87 minute version viewed in New York on January 15, 1984"
  2. ↑ "I nuovi barbari (1983)". Archivo Cinema Italiano. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Hardy 1984, p. 382.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Fischer 2011, p. 130.
  5. ↑ The New Barbarians [liner notes] (Media notes). Enzo G. Castellari. Death Waltz. DW025.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ Mannikka, Eleanor. "The New Barbarians". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  7. ↑ Willis, Donald 1985, pp. 158, 204.
  8. ↑ Taylor, Paul (1983). "New Barbarians, The "(I nuovi barbari)"". Monthly Film Bulletin . 50 (588). British Film Institute: 219–220.
  9. ↑ Wheeler, Jeremy. "The New Barbarians". AllMovie . Retrieved November 15, 2015.

Bibliography

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