Battletruck

Pure AWESOMENESS!

Battletruck aka Warriors of the 21st Century

Battletruck, New Zealand, 1982

Director:  Harley Cokliss
Producers:  Rob Whitehouse, Lloyd Phillips
Screenplay: Irving Austin, John Beech, Harley Cokliss
Story by:  Mike Abrams
Director of Photography:  Chris Menges
Camera Operator: Mike Hardcastle
Editor:  Michael Horton
Sound Supervisor:  Don Reynolds
Dubbing Editor:  Jamie Selkirk
Ist assistant Director:  Raymond Day
Production Designer:  Gary Hansen
Vehicle Designer:  Kai Hawkins

With: Michael Beck (Hunter), Annie McEnroe (Corlie), James Wainwright (Straker), John Ratzenberger (Rusty), Randolph Powell (Judd), Bruno Lawrence (Wired Willie), Diana Rowan (Charlene), John Bach (Bone), Kelly Johnson (Alvin), Mark Hadlow (Orrin), Ross Jolly (Shotgun), John Banas (Rueben), Marshall Napier (Driver).

35 mm, 97 minutes, PG

An action packed adventure film, set in the all too probable future - a post oil future - a future where countries have become bankrupt and governments have collapsed, heralding a new lawless age... and the Battletruck.  Shot in the rugged countryside of Central Otago in the South Island of New Zealand, Battletruck  is a story of conflict - conflict between Colonel Straker, rogue commander of the Battletruck, who takes what he will, and Hunter the hero, who like a Samurai, finds his code and love of a woman too strong to submit to Straker’s tyranny” - From Battletruck publicity flyer.

"Battletruck  is an all-out chase film, with lots of violence, fast action and stroppy vehicles.  Evil Straker, thoroughly cartoon as he shoots from the hip, is in the end no match for noble Hunter’s cunning.  The vehicles are ingenious and the rest of the production design has futuristic ambience.  The Central Otago Plains are magnificent: brown, dusty and almost lunar in their barrenness [...] Battletruck‘s production exacerbated worries among the local film- making community that New Zealand was in danger of becoming a Hollywood satellite with overseas interests exploiting our cheap actor and crew rates and great locations” - Helen Martin & Sam Edwards, New Zealand Film 1912 - 1996

“Gas is at 4 dollars a gallon here in the U.S. It seems like it’s rising daily. Obviously oil is very important in all of our daily lives but it won’t last forever. Unfortunately, the upcoming Oil Wars predicted by the 1982 post apocalyptic Road Warrior-esqe flick Warlords of the 21st Century, aka Battletruck, directed by Harley Cokeliss is going to jack prices sky high. If what this film says is true, it’ll top out at $59.99 a liter before it becomes a rare commodity that roving bands of soldiers will destroy small villages for.

Battletruck refers to the heavily armored semi truck that carries Straker (played by James Wainwright) and his maniacal military crew in search of oil across the nuclear wastelands that cover North America. When one of Straker’s female members, Corlie escapes, she is rescued by Hunter (Played by Michael Beck – Swan from The Warriors). Hunter is a tough as nails loner that answers to no one but himself. He also drives a bad ass motorcycle with a bunch of stuff piled on to it to make it look futuristic.

Hunter takes Corlie to the nearby village of Clearwater to get settled in and meet up with the townspeople, as he prefers to live alone. There she meets up with Rusty (played by John Ratzenberger – Cliff Clavin from Cheers) who is on her side and wants to keep her in the village, although there is some opposition. After the townspeople adopt her as one of her own, Straker and his gang come in and raid the town looking for her. Hunter decides that he’s going to take matters into his own hands and extract some loner justice on Straker and his men, building a battle truck of his own, with the help of Rusty. Adding to the difficulty, there’s also a rat in the mix that Hunter will have to deal with. Can Hunter save the people and take care of Straker? Only his bad ass motorcycle, mini battletruck and awesome soundtrack can decide that!

I have to say I was a little surprised when I found out that Michael Beck and John Ratzenberger were in this. I didn’t expect a movie called “Warlords of the 21st Century” to have any talent, let alone two guys that I knew of and easily recognized. The acting is pretty good considering the material, and the production work was done really well too.

Some things to notice is that whenever Hunter is riding on his motorcyWcle at high speeds, jumping little rock clusters and gliding around dustry trails, he always wears a black mask attached to his helmet. That way they can mask the identity of the rider, and Beck can appear to be the driver whenever necessary. Another is that the actual battle truck itself is pretty sad looking. I think they could have spent a little more work on it to make it actually look menacing. As it stands, it’s basically a Semi with a ram welded onto the front, and some louvers on the windshield.

Warlords of the 21st Century is a great name, but BATTLETRUCK is even better. I think they should have marketed it as that in the U.S., they would have made a killing. With a name so awesome, it ends up being an average movie with good production values and convincing acting performances by most of the key players.

Oh, and if you’re a fan of Kenny Loggins 80’s music without the vocals, you’ll really love the scene where hunter drives his hunk of shit jalopy on it’s test drive through Straker’s camp. Pure AWESOMENESS! I think they spent half the budget on the explosion in that scene and the ending scene.” - http://www.internalbleeding.net/2008/06/warlords-of-the-21st-century-aka-battletruck

Screenings: Battletruck screened at the mediaplex on 3 December 2009