Confused film memory #04838509847502
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But seriously: help, cinebuff flisties. For years I've had this memory of a post-apocalyptic violent city-based American film, probably mid-to-late 70s, which had:
1. Richard Kelton (Ficus in Quark) as a gang leader's 2IC, a gardener/boffin
2. An image of him wearing blue futuristic sunglasses on top of a building
3. The bad gang guy having red eyes? or possibly red sunglasses?
4. Kelton's character ultimately betraying the hero to a rival gang somehow
5. Yul Brynner dangling off a building with something cutting into his wrist, and cutting his own hand off to escape
I've always thought it was The Ultimate Warrior. Having just rewatched that (yay), it's definitely got 1 and 5 (albeit in a subway shaft, not on top of a building), but not 2, 3 or 4. It also doesn't look as "futuristic" - tribal, punky, garish - as I'd been thinking it was - quite sedate, design-wise.
Clearly I must have seen something else bloody and futuristic (probably also involving gang battles over food) around the same time, and am confusing the two. Looking at Kelton's filmography, nothing else seems to fit - so it must have been some other curly-haired vaguely-handsome boffiny type - possibly wearing denim overalls (?) or white coveralls at some point. But for the life of me I can't think what it could be :(
Anything spring to mind? the blue sunglasses image is really strong, somehow, and I'm pretty sure it involved the hero travelling through dangerous territory, etc.
Oh well. Never mind that - TUW is great on its own - Brynner, von Sydow, lovely weird unsettling electronicy sort of score, great sets, lovely bleak design. Thoroughly enjoyable.
===
But seriously: help, cinebuff flisties. For years I've had this memory of a post-apocalyptic violent city-based American film, probably mid-to-late 70s, which had:
1. Richard Kelton (Ficus in Quark) as a gang leader's 2IC, a gardener/boffin
2. An image of him wearing blue futuristic sunglasses on top of a building
3. The bad gang guy having red eyes? or possibly red sunglasses?
4. Kelton's character ultimately betraying the hero to a rival gang somehow
5. Yul Brynner dangling off a building with something cutting into his wrist, and cutting his own hand off to escape
I've always thought it was The Ultimate Warrior. Having just rewatched that (yay), it's definitely got 1 and 5 (albeit in a subway shaft, not on top of a building), but not 2, 3 or 4. It also doesn't look as "futuristic" - tribal, punky, garish - as I'd been thinking it was - quite sedate, design-wise.
Clearly I must have seen something else bloody and futuristic (probably also involving gang battles over food) around the same time, and am confusing the two. Looking at Kelton's filmography, nothing else seems to fit - so it must have been some other curly-haired vaguely-handsome boffiny type - possibly wearing denim overalls (?) or white coveralls at some point. But for the life of me I can't think what it could be :(
Anything spring to mind? the blue sunglasses image is really strong, somehow, and I'm pretty sure it involved the hero travelling through dangerous territory, etc.
Oh well. Never mind that - TUW is great on its own - Brynner, von Sydow, lovely weird unsettling electronicy sort of score, great sets, lovely bleak design. Thoroughly enjoyable.