Product Details

• Actors: Yul Brynner, Max von Sydow, Joanna Miles, William Smith, Richard Kelton
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 1, 1992
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300269108
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #238,616 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yul Brynner as a super-samurai post-apocalpytic hero, December 1, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Ultimate Warrior [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"The Ultimate Warrior" is a post-Holocaust action film that came out in 1975 after "The Omega Man," but just before the genre became popular with "Mad Max" and "Escape From New York." The film is set in 2012 in a New York City that was decimated by a biological plague a couple of decades earlier that has created a world in which nothing grows. Now in the decaying city Baron (Max Von Sydow), leads a group that has barricaded a street against a rival gang of thugs, run by Carrot (William Smith). Wanting his pregnant daughter, Melinda (Joanna Miles), to have a better future, Baron hires Carson (Yul Brynner), a super-Samurai, who has been standing outside the public library waiting for somebody to make an offer for his services. Baron has heard of a mythical island off of the coast of North Carolina and wants to relocate his band there. Of course, this means fighting their way out of what is left of the Big Apple. Melinda's husband, Cal (Richard Kelton) is a scientist who knows the secret of growing plants from seeds, so humanity might have a chance after all.

Director/writer Robert Clouse is therefore offering up the first combination Science Fiction/Kung Fu film, which is not surprising since he directed Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon." From that perspective the film offers up the tradition two warring sides with champions that face off to settle the issue. The script is actually halfway decent, although surprisingly the action sequences are the weakest part of the film until the climatic battle between Carson and Carrot. However, the opening scene does a nice job of establishing the world in which this film takes place. The film hinges on Brynner's performance, which is actually fairly complex because we are not completely sure that Carson is a cynical anti-hero; in fact, we suspect he might be the only truly human character in the film. "The Ultimate Warrior" is no where near being the ultimate example of the post-apocalyptic action film, but it is a solid, unpretentious little B-movie. Plus, it has Yul Brynner.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Baldly the Last of it's Kind......, August 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ultimate Warrior [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Ultimate Warrior baldly set precident for other films of similar genres. I had read about this film a while back and had been waiting for a chance to view it. The Ultimate Warrior is far from perfect but brings forth a lot fun that todays watered down made for video flops can't seem to do. This movie seems like a combo of Logans Run, Man Max, and Kung Fu. Wow, where to begin? I personally like Yul Brynner's character, it makes me remember when movies with masculine heros existed. Bynner doesn't play a pretty boy, he is a bald tough guy who has a job to do. I like the independance of the hero character, he doesn't rely on a affirmitive action based sidekick or allow himself to be overtaken by feelings towards [beautiful] woman.... A thinking man of the sorts who smokes cigars and does what is right even if it means chopping his own hand off. I'm not going to ruin the plot of this gem for you, just add it to your collection and pray they don't try making a remake of this post appocalptic rarety.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just release the bloody DVD already.., June 23, 2007

By 

filmbforever "Matt" (Killarney Vale, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Warrior (DVD)

By the time they stop the legal wrangling anyone interested in this film will be dead.

And yes it is an interesting film...but where is the DVD? They must be having a real ball with the pathetic legal dispute that is hobbling the release. Why not transfer the original on to DVD, see how it fares and then squabble over the dollars? The film has a solid story, good actors (hey, there's Yul Brynner and Max Von Sydow working it as hard as they can). The director, Robert Clouse, creates an authentic nuclear winter look and employs his skills as an action / actor's director to give gravitas to a Twilight Zone type story. It needs to be out there and in widescreen because some of these "B movies" offer something new films don't - personality and originality.