Battletruck
| Battletruck | |
|---|---|
Official movie poster (New Zealand version)
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| Directed by | Harley Cokliss |
| Produced by |
Lloyd Phillips Rob Whitehouse |
| Written by |
Margaret Abrams (novel) Irving Austin John Beech Harley Cokliss |
| Starring |
Michael Beck Annie McEnroe James Wainwright Bruno Lawrence John Bach Randolph Powell John Ratzenberger |
| Music by | Kevin Peek |
| Cinematography | Chris Menges |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | New World Pictures |
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Release date
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April 1982 |
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Running time
|
91 min. |
| Country | United States/New Zealand |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3,000,000 USD ($7,445,172.41 in today's currency) |
Battletruck (also known as Warlords of the 21st Century in New Zealand and Destructors in Italy) is a 1982 New Zealand science fiction film directed by Harley Cokeliss (credited under his birth name Harley Cokliss) and starring Michael Beck.
Battletruck is a post-World War III (known in-film as The Oil Wars) futuristic tale of collapsed governments and bankrupt countries heralding a new lawless age. Although filmed in New Zealand and starring a number of New Zealand actors, it was made by an American film company and considered a low-budget Hollywood release.
All remaining reserves of petroleum have finally run out; forcing people to ration the few remaining containers of gasoline left on the earth against mercenaries and warlords. Straker and his men (accompanied by his daughter Corlie - played by Annie McEnroe) find a vast supply of diesel fuel in a compound once thought to be radioactive. When Corlie refuses to execute the previous owners, she runs away from base camp. Hunter (Michael Beck), on his amazing (possibly ex-future-military) motorcycle, rescues the girl and takes her to his farm. After keeping her on the farm on a temporary basis, Hunter sends her off to live in a walled city (known in-film as Clearwater Farm) governed by a strict old-fashioned democracy (similar to the Quakers) where she is quickly accepted by the community. However, she is soon discovered by the mercenaries commanded by her father, Colonel Straker (James Wainwright), who moves to attack the Clearwater community. In the chaos that ensues, Corlie manages to escape back to Hunter's remote hideout.
Straker terrorises the residents of Clearwater, taking their weapons, medicines, and other supplies and handing the women over to his men. Within a short time, one of the residents of Clearwater betrays the Clearwater mechanic/fabricator, Rusty, who knows the secret location of Hunter's hideout. Straker & Co. use torture to get the information out of Rusty, then move in to attack Hunter's base and recapture Corlie. Hunter and Corlie escape on his bike, Straker, in a minor rage, plows through Hunter's place with the truck. Hunter takes Corlie back to the Clearwater people and asks Rusty to build him an armored car to attack Straker's "battle truck". While Rusty and Hunter and a few others are thus occupied, the traitor who betrayed Corlie before knocks her out, puts her in a wagon and heads out to deliver her back to Straker. Hunter tries to stop him, but the traitor sets an ambush for him and wounds him with a crossbow. Believing that he has killed Hunter, he appears at Straker's HQ with Corlie in the wagon and very pleased with himself.
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