Poor Mad Max

The three scientists Brad, Maury and Stan, working in an underground bunker, are surprised by a sudden power failure. World War III has broken out and turned the world into a wasteland through which marauding mutants roam. After Maury loses his head, Brad and Stan decide to search for other survivors. During an attack by the mutants, Stan is shot, leaving Brad on his own. He meets the beautiful Julia, whose charms he succumbs to, but to his surprise she is also a mutant who is after his bone marrow. Brad is captured and meets Angela, who tells him how she was captured by the mutants. Brad manages to escape with Angela, but do they really manage to escape the mutants?

The very illustrious cover of Urban Warriors once again promises us much more than the film can ultimately deliver, because instead of urban canyons and wildly shooting helicopters, our heroes stumble through an abandoned industrial area. Remarkable is the fact that it only takes eight hours after the impact of a nuclear bomb for civilization to fall apart and a handful of mutants to gain the upper hand. In itself, very little in the film actually makes sense. Brad and Stan find a drivable car and decide without further ado to divide the city into areas and systematically search it (The Last Man on Earth sends its regards). In the end, the two just drive haphazardly through the desert and while Brad arrives at an amusement park, Stan blasts his way through a gang of mutants on motorcycles. In the last third, Brad ends up in front of a tribunal of mutants (and again, The Last Man on Earth sends its regards), but the woman who condemns him before announces a little later that she has now changed sides.

Apparently the mutants need bone marrow, which is mentioned a few times in passing, but is not developed at any point. Amusing is the scene in which the helpful mutant is thrown out of the moving car and lands in a lake and does not appear further in the course of the film. The budget of the film must have been very low, because various scenes from The Final Executioner were recycled here. On the VHS by VPS, you can recognize the scenes quite well, as the aspect ratio changes from full screen to slightly widescreen. Malisa Longo (known and loved from Helga, She Wolf of Stilberg) is also incredibly underused. Her brief appearance has the sole purpose of bringing a few breasts into the film before she thanklessly disappears again. What's left to say? Urban Warriors is a cheap Mad Max rip-off that doesn't expand on its ideas and doesn't have much to offer besides a few car chases.

German VHS features the US version, which is shorter, but has more punch

There are two different cuts of the film. On the Italian VHS, the three scientists run through various corridors for what feels like half an eternity after the power failure, but this has been pleasantly shortened on the German VHS. To make clear that the third world war had broken out, the German VHS shows the scenes of an atomic explosion and a volcano eruption directly after the power failure, which again is missing on the Italian VHS.

The German DVD by Schröder Media is identical to the German VHS by VPS. The US VHS by Cannon Video, which was released as part of the Action Adventure Theater series and has an intro by Michael Dudikoff, is also identical to the German VHS/DVD. Since the opening credits on the German VHS/DVD and US DVD are in English, we suspect that the cuts are an adaptation to the international market, while the original version was released in Italy. Honestly, nobody needs the four minutes of the three scientists wandering through dark corridors, but the scenes of the atomic explosion add a little bit of oomph to the film, so we generally recommend the shorter version.

Picture comparison:

German VHS:

German DVD:

US VHS:

Italian VHS:

Runtimes:

German VHS: 82:17 min.
German DVD: 82:16 min.
Italian VHS: 85:45 min.
US VHS: 85:45 min.

Comparison between the US Version (included on the German VHS by VPS) and the Italian VHS by Playtime Home Video.

[00:05:47][00:02:29]

After the lights go out in the bunker at the beginning of the film, the German VHS shows various scenes of a nuclear explosion followed by a volcanic eruption.

GER: 38 sec.


[00:08:01][00:04:04]

The German VHS has the English opening titles, while the Italian VHS has the Italian titles.

No time difference.


[00:09:15][00:05:19]

After the opening credits, you can see the three scientists running up longer.

IT: 21 secs.


[00:10:41][00:07:06]

The descent of the three scientists is much longer. Brad spots the ventilation shaft they eventually climb into.

IT: 2:20 min


[00:13:06][00:11:52]

After sleep, we see the scientists walking through the tunnel system one more time.

IT: 1:21 min


[00:19:13][00:19:20]

Film tear: The shelf can be seen earlier.

IT: 1 sec.


[00:39:17][00:39:25]

Film tear: Maury is shown earlier as he lies down.

IT: 1 sec.


[01:17:41][01:17:51]

Film tear: Angela is shown earlier on the bed.

IT: 1 sec.


[01:25:37][01:25:47]

The German VHS has the English credits, while the Italian VHS has the Italian titles.

No time difference.