Ultimate warrior (1975)

Really good postapocalypsemovies arent exactly common. Two thirds of them are low budget exploitation crap (which really doesnt have to be something negative) and the rest semiserious depressive thrillers or dramas. The Ultimate warrior is a rarity, a movie lodged somewhere in between a decent image of what life after a catastrophy might be and an entertaing and violent exploitationmovie.

So, Max Von Sydow is The Baron - the leader of a group of survivors in New York after some sort of catastrophy where all the crops died out. Of course, there are different factions fighting over the scraps of food and supplies that are left, nor counting the people who have started eating each other. The Baron has an ace up his sleeve though, seeds that are resistant to the diseases. He wants to take them outside NY, somewhere where they can be sown and flourish. An opportunity comes when badass Carson (Yul Brunner)comes to town and hires him as a strongman, and to hopefully bring the seeds somewhere safe. But, the internal strifing is growing more and more, not to mention the fact that another camp wants everything they own pretty bad.

Here we have one of those fine little flicks that isnt exactly a masterpiece, but so well made and designed that you get a warm feeling in your stomach watching it. Everything is shot on a studioset in California (fairly obviously so) but the rundown buildings create a perfect atmosphere. Yul Brunner is truly a badass and butchers about half of the cast himself with just a knife. The rest of the cast are excellent with Max Von Sydow a good leader, William Smith as the hunky badguy Carrot and Stephen McHattie in an early role. Everything moves along at a good pace and is always entertaining. I would've liked to know a bit more about the world outside NY, but you cant have everything I suppose. This movie was banned in Sweden when it arrived on the cinemas in the seventies so parts of me had real high expectations and although I was somewhat let down believing that the movie would contain heaps of detailed violence, it is still a really good movie that lovers of postapocalypse will adore.