The Blood of Heroes
| The Salute of the Jugger | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster by Enzo Sciotti
|
|
| Directed by | David Webb Peoples |
| Written by | David Webb Peoples |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Todd Boekelheide |
| Cinematography | David Eggby |
| Edited by | Richard Francis-Bruce |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
|
Release date
|
19 October 1989 (Australia) 23 February 1990 (USA) |
|
Running time
|
90 minutes (US) 99 minutes (UK) |
| Country | Australia USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | A$10,000,000 |
| Box office | $882,290 |
The Blood of Heroes is a 1989 post-apocalyptic film directed by David Webb Peoples and starring Rutger Hauer and Joan Chen. The film is also known by the names The Salute of the Jugger and Salute to the Jugger. The film has inspired the creation of the sport Jugger. It has also found its way into Amtgard, a live action role-playing game which has been playing the game for almost 20 years.
Produced by Charles Roven and released by Kings Road Entertainment, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic future, where the wars waged in the 20th century have left the world barren and the past forgotten. Most live from hand to mouth in enclaves known as "market-towns" or "dog-towns", scrounging out a bare subsistence harvesting hardy crops, raising dogs as food, and trading in trinkets from the past.
What little entertainment exists comes primarily from a brutal sport known as The Game. It is played by bands of roving teams known as juggs, who challenge local teams. They might be considered professional athletes, as they make their living through the tribute paid by the town people, should they defeat the local team. Their trophy is the dog skull from the town. The Game involves two armoured teams of five attempting to score by placing a dog skull on the opposing team's goalpost. One unarmed player—the "quick"—runs with the skull while being protected by his/her teammates from attack by the opposing team.
However, not all in this time live so sparsely. The Nine Cities, buried deep underground, are home to affluent and powerful members of the aristocracy. Each of The Nine Cities fields its own team of juggs in an organization known as The League, and its membership is maintained with a fresh stream of new players who are proven veterans of the travelling "dog-town" games by their collection of trophy skulls.
Members of The League live in luxury almost equal to that of aristocrats. It is a dream among roving juggs to be good enough to get The League's attention and, with it, all of the luxuries afforded a League player.
The team consists of Sallow (Rutger Hauer), Dog-Boy (Justin Monjo), Mbulu (Delroy Lindo), Big Cimber (Anna Katarina), and Young Gar (Vincent D'Onofrio).
...
Wikipedia