1989’s The Blood of Heroes delivers a bleak film that rises above the formulaic post-apocalyptic entries from the ’80s, and it has some notable talent attached to it.
What Is It?
This post-apocalyptic sports-action film is set in a brutal future where society has collapsed and entertainment revolves around a violent game known as “Jugging.” Rutger Hauer stars as a former champion who leads a scrappy team of outcasts across the wasteland, taking on rival squads and battling toward a chance at redemption in the elite, city-controlled leagues.
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Joan Chen, Vincent D’Onofrio, Delroy Lindo, Anna Katarina
Crew: David Webb Peoples (Writer/Director)
Original Release: October 19, 1989 (Australia), February 23, 1990 (U.S.)
Legacy:
This is one of many post-apocalyptic films that followed in the wake of The Road Warrior’s success, and while it has been mostly forgotten, it delivers a stark tale led by some good performances from its actors and is certainly worth a look.
A Closer Look
After The Road Warrior—the second Mad Max film—became a global hit in 1981, theaters were flooded with post-apocalyptic movies that borrowed heavily from the look and feel of that Mel Gibson classic, many of which were low-budget affairs. You had Warriors of the Wasteland (1983), Wheels of Fire (1985), Steel Dawn (1987), Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988), and more hitting theaters throughout the decade and beyond. Among this group was The Blood of Heroes (aka The Salute of the Jugger), which arrived in 1989 but never garnered much attention. It definitely leaned on Road Warrior’s aesthetic, but it delivered more than just a clone of that groundbreaking film.
Years of war have ravaged the surface of the earth and left mostly wasteland behind. There are small towns and villages, known as “Dog Towns,” where humans scrape by and live a meager existence. However, deep beneath the ground are the Nine Cities, where the remaining wealthy and powerful live. A sport known only as “The Game” has developed, played by teams known as “juggs,” and the goal is to place a dog skull on the opposing team’s goalpost. Each of the Nine Cities has its own team, and the juggers from the surface hope to one day join those underground competitions.
The movie sets up an interesting premise that offers a twist on the typical post-apocalyptic tale. But it is a pretty stark and straightforward film that doesn’t dwell on character development and instead uses the challenges of the sport to advance the story. Some may consider this lazy writing, but it actually works as we get bits of character development amidst the action, very similar to what The Road Warrior did.
And The Blood of Heroes has a heck of a cast that helps fill in the blanks for what might be missing in the script. Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) was entering the point in his career where he was heading up B-movies, but he brought a lot of talent to these low-budget affairs. His character is brooding and hard to sympathize with at first, but we do see his more human side as the film progresses. Vincent D’Onofrio (Men in Black) and Delroy Lindo (Get Shorty) were early in their careers but already demonstrating their acting chops. And Joan Chen (Twin Peaks), as the newcomer to the team, does a good job of holding her own next to her dominating male co-stars.
This film also has some pedigree with its writer/director David Webb Peoples. He co-wrote the script for the sci fi classic Blade Runner and contributed to Ladyhawke (both of which had Hauer in the cast). He also contributed to the first Predator film, and he would later go on to write the scripts for 12 Monkeys and Soldier, as well as Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, one of the greatest westerns ever made. So while the story of The Blood of Heroes takes a bare-bones approach, it was guided by somebody with notable writing chops.
This movie may not have made much of an impression at the box office, and it has since been relegated to the cheesy ’80s post-apocalyptic bin, but it has held up better than many of those low-budget affairs and is worth a look. It may not count as a sci fi classic, but it deserves a better cult following than it has achieved so far.
Why Was There No Sequel?
The Blood of Heroes made less than a million dollars at the box office, likely because it did not get much exposure when it came out. It also never developed much of a cult following, and it is mostly unknown these days. Since not many people were clamoring for more from this property, and the first movie didn’t make much money, there was never a continuation to a second film.
The Story Continues (in Music):
In 2010, the album The Blood of Heroes was released by a drum-and-bass/metal music project that took the same name. It blends heavy percussion with metal, rap, and prog rock, and the songs all relate back to the film. Among those who contributed to the album are Submerged, Justin Broadrick, Dr. Israel, Enduser, Mark Gregor Filip, Balázs Pándi, and Bill Laswell. This group would go on to produce two more albums (so far), both of which brought themes from the movie into the songs.
Should It Be Rebooted?
Yes. There is quite an interesting premise here, and even though the first film just scraped the surface, it established a world that deserves further exploration. A reboot could take the original story and expand on it as well as the specifics of “The Game”. I actually believe this could be turned into a television series that would fit the current streaming format of three seasons of six-to-eight episodes each. The first two seasons could focus on the juggers playing the game above ground while trying to earn a place in the League of the Nine Cities. Then the final season could culminate in the competition underground. And through all of this, the show could develop the characters and the world, and it could turn into a decent sci fi entry. A movie would work as well, but this concept is bursting at the seams, and a television series could do it more justice.
Interesting Facts:
The original title for the film was The Salute to the Jugger, but that was changed to The Blood of Heroes for its release in the United States. That version of the film was trimmed by fourteen minutes, and it is also the version that was originally released on DVD in the U.S. The recent 4K release has the U.S. version, the more complete 104-minute cut, and a Workprint Cut that runs 111 minutes.
Filmed in the desert town of Coober Pedy in South Australia, David Webb Peoples had the following to say about the location:
The deserts in the United States have been filmed a lot and have become well-known. There is nothing in the world like Coober Pedy. On our first survey of Australia, we found Coober Pedy a central exotic type of landscape that has many different surroundings and landscapes, and this has the effect of making you think you’re in a totally different part of the world.
Where Can You Watch It?
The film has been released on DVD, and that is still available at an economical cost. Though note that it is the shorter version, and the 4K UHD set has the complete version of the film. You can also purchase it VOD (the full version) from sellers like Amazon.com. The edited version is streaming for free (with ads) on Fawesome.
