One of the greatest Italian sci-fi films, set in a dystopian Imperial Rome dominated by the power of television
Violent and spectacular gladiator battles, in a film by an internationally renowned master of cult cinema
I guerrieri dell’anno 2072 is cult Italian director Lucio Fulci’s only sci-fi film. With a respectable budget, the film builds its own distorted and crazy future on two very solid premises: it is set in a dystopian Imperial Rome, with spaceships landing in the New Coliseum; and the world is dominated by the power of television, which keeps the population meek with a show featuring violent battles. There is a long series of homages: Escape from New York, Mad Max, Rollerball, A Clockwork Orange… But that doesn’t stop the film from having its own personality, supported by a smart narrative tension and a remarkable attention to detail in terms of sound and visuals. Fulci revisits the tradition of the sword and sandal genre in an apocalyptic setting, with his trademark taste for splatter. Its most obviously spectacular moment is the motorised chariot race, which clearly references Ben Hur. I guerrieri dell’anno 2072 could be seen as prophetic: it shows that television is destined to cannibalise not only our conscience, but also cinema itself. In fact, Italian cult cinema, over a very short period of time, found itself in a comatose state. I guerrieri dell’anno 2072 is a splendid final testimony and a lucid funeral march for the end of a certain type of cinema.
In a very bleak future, the Seven Seas television network, based in Rome, tries to beat the competition by showing real gladiator battles featuring “contestants” lifted straight out of prisons. One of the best fighters is Drake, who was convicted of killing his wife. In reality, it was a trap to force him to take part in the violent TV show. In order to escape, he must make his way through the power games of the network and beat a supercomputer that controls the production of mass entertainment.
One of the greatest Italian sci-fi films, set in a dystopian Imperial Rome dominated by the power of television
Violent and spectacular gladiator battles, in a film by an internationally renowned master of cult cinema
I guerrieri dell’anno 2072 is cult Italian director Lucio Fulci’s only sci-fi film. With a respectable budget, the film builds its own distorted and crazy future on two very solid premises: it is set in a dystopian Imperial Rome, with spaceships landing in the New Coliseum; and the world is dominated by the power of television, which keeps the population meek with a show featuring violent battles. There is a long series of homages: Escape from New York, Mad Max, Rollerball, A Clockwork Orange… But that doesn’t stop the film from having its own personality, supported by a smart narrative tension and a remarkable attention to detail in terms of sound and visuals. Fulci revisits the tradition of the sword and sandal genre in an apocalyptic setting, with his trademark taste for splatter. Its most obviously spectacular moment is the motorised chariot race, which clearly references Ben Hur. I guerrieri dell’anno 2072 could be seen as prophetic: it shows that television is destined to cannibalise not only our conscience, but also cinema itself. In fact, Italian cult cinema, over a very short period of time, found itself in a comatose state. I guerrieri dell’anno 2072 is a splendid final testimony and a lucid funeral march for the end of a certain type of cinema.
In a very bleak future, the Seven Seas television network, based in Rome, tries to beat the competition by showing real gladiator battles featuring “contestants” lifted straight out of prisons. One of the best fighters is Drake, who was convicted of killing his wife. In reality, it was a trap to force him to take part in the violent TV show. In order to escape, he must make his way through the power games of the network and beat a supercomputer that controls the production of mass entertainment.
