One of the last theatrical entries of the Italian post-nuke '80s films that almost entirely peaked in 1983, 2020 Texas Gladiators promises plenty with the fact that it was directed by the one and only Joe D'Amato, co-written by George Eastman (a.k.a. Luigi Montefiori), and assistant directed by Michele Soavi on the heels of Endgame, also starring Al Cliver. Violent and barely coherent, this was one of the easiest films to find on VHS in the United States in the '80s thanks to an aggressive solicitation campaign from Media Home Entertainment, with numerous tape editions scattered across Europe as well. Apart from a couple of unspectacular DVDs in Spain and Germany, the film has been extremely hard to see since then and only got a really good presentation in 2024 with a 4K UHD and Blu-ray release from Severin Films (or a standalone Blu-ray), plus a limited slipcase edition adding on a very welcome bonus soundtrack CD marking the first release ever of the infectious electronic score by Carlo Maria Cordio.

After the world has been decimated by war and environmental catastrophes, Texas is plagued by criminal gangs who rob, rape, and pillage, not necessarily in that order. One attack in an outdoor temple against several women turns into an impromptu rescue operation by the buff, shirtless Raiders, a group of renegade arbiters of justice. One of them, Catch Dog (Stephen), attacks one of the women, Maida (Cannibal Terror's Siani), and gets kicked out of the group when their work is done, while she's taken under the wing of leader Nisus (Cliver) who wants to establish something resembling a normal life. Some time later in the industrial Free Town, the Rangers now work at a uranium refinery but come under attack from their onetime colleague, now working for a shadowy tyrant known as the Black One. Casualties and hostages force the Rangers including Jab (Warrior of the Lost World's Muller) and Halakron (Night Killer's Hooten) to spring back into action.

Despite the title, the Texas location has virtually zilch to do with the story or setting of this film apart from giving a vaguely western-style vibe to its dusty desert setting (including a sci-fi saloon and a nod to The Deer Hunter) and good versus evil showdowns. Though the direction is credited to D'Amato, its authorship is a bit fuzzier with him attributing the dialogue scenes (such as they are) to Eastman's direction instead, and as usual, Eastman has been amused but not all that complimentary about his involvement in these sci-fi action mini-spectacles. The film definitely gets points for unpredictability (the synopsis above is a bit vague on purpose), and while there's little doubt how the climax will play out, there are a few surprises here and there to keep you on your toes. Also noteworthy is the sublime Euro-cult cast here including a small but significant role for the reliable Donald O'Brien as our string-pulling fascist and Demons' Geretta Geretta, a striking presence as always.

Few could have predicted that this would be the very first Italian post-nuke film to get the 4K treatment, but here we are with a gorgeous HDR10-augmented presentation on the UHD that goes leaps and bounds beyond anything we've had before. The Blu-ray looks great as well, of course, and you get both the familiar English track with English SDH subtitles as well as the Italian one with English-translated subtitles, both DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono and sounding fine. The biggest extra here is "Shoot Me: The Real Story Of The Italian Texas Gladiators" (16m59s) compiling archival interviews with D'Amato, Soavi, Eastman, and Cliver, chatting about the process of beefing up the screenplay (which was unsurprisingly only 20 pages long at first), D'Amato's direction of action scenes (and the opinion of the self-described "lazy" Cliver about shooting them), the affectionate rapport between D'Amato and the "stubborn" Eastman, and lots more. Then in "Gladiator Geretta" (10m34s), the beloved cult actress looks back at her move to Italian films after going into modeling and making this film after Smithereens(!), which led to reuniting with Soavi on Demons and appearing in esteemed classics of world cinema like Shocking Dark and Rats: Night of Terror. The very action-packed English trailer is also included, featuring very amusing music if you're an Italian crime move fan.

Reviewed on December 20, 2024.