One of the less optimistic types of film to come out of the Cold war era was the post apocalyptic dystopian drama. With the nation poised on the brink of nuclear devastation the public were primed for stories that show a rugged few individuals managing to survivor the destruction in hopes of rebuilding. The subtle message here was that anyone would be alive for long after an all out nuclear exchange between the United States of America and our diametrically opposite foes, the Soviet Union. In 1977 there was a lot of anticipation for the film version of a science fiction cult classic, ‘Damnation Alley’ based on the popular novel by Roger Zelazny. Although there was much in the way of fan buzz this dark story of a bleak future was displaced in the box office by a film that registered a much more optimistic view of what lies before us; ‘Star Wars’. Of course what happened then is a matter of history. Fox had though the slightly larger budget afforded to ‘Damnation Alley’ in combination with a proven fan base for the novel would make this the summer blockbuster. In the wake of the juggernaut film by George Lucas ‘Damnation Alley’ was relegated to a footnote in the cinematic annals best remembered as a cult classic much the same as the novel that started it all. I remember going to see this film back then; of course I also stood on like for that outer space flick as well. I then caught ‘Damnation Alley’ it was late at night on one of the newly emerging cable movie channels. In all that time this film has remained a personal guilty pleasure. It is not the best of this genre by any means but it contains solid performances and one of the all time coolest motor vehicles ever devised for use in film. I was elated when I received the announcement that Shout Factory was releasing a Blu-ray version of this movie. at long last I can retire that well worn video tape made so long ago and enjoy this film with video and audio better than when I watch in my local theater. Shout Factory is perhaps one of the better distributors when it comes to regaining the favorite movies and television shows from our youth and the high definition release of this particular one is most welcomed.

The story begins with the worse nightmare shared by a generation; the full scale exchange of nuclear weapons. Deep with a missile deployment silo in California two Air Force officers are on duty; Lt. Jake Tanner (Jan-Michael Vincent) and Major Eugene "Sam" Denton (George Peppard. In typical Hollywood archetype deployment the younger officer is unconventionally inclined contrasting with the more traditionally slanted older man. One fateful day the worst case scenario they trained for and prayed they would never happen did; they detected enemy missiles on their way to targets within our borders. The pair of officers follows the protocol set before them turning the launch keys to unleash their portion of the doomsday retaliation. The detonations had a larger destructive force than anticipated. The planet has been thrown off its normal axis drastically altering the weather patterns creating violent storms that enshroud the hemisphere. Mean while the lingering radiation causes many types of insects to mutate into larger, deadly varieties. There is no more chain of command but Tanner and Denton remain behind for two years until one last radio signal in Albany is detected. Tanner official resigned but decides to embark on the journey with Denton. To get there they take a pair of all terrain vehicles call Land masters. These vehicles are heavily armored, riding on eighteen wheels and able to take a 60 degree incline. Their only hope of getting there is to navigate ‘Damnation Alley’, a thin strip of land between two areas of exceptionally high radiation levels. Along with Denton and Tanner are the only other survivors of the base; two airmen, Keegan (Paul Winfield) and Tom Perry (Kip Niven).

While the movie is still fun to watch in a ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ sort of way if you are a fan of the novel you will be disappointed. The original story was deeper, an indictment of the collapse of society that inevitably would follow a nuclear war. This was in response to the propaganda prevalent at the time that a nuclear exchange would be survivable. Instead in order to get the most out of this film you have to forgo any deeper meaning and take it on face value as a Sci-Fi action flick. There are some pretty bad special effects but this was made just before the dawn on the digital effects age. The scene with the giant scorpions is the most obvious use of matting and superimposition in film. Younger audience members will be turned off but older folk with a film history that included the fifties creature features will be reminded of effects even worse than shown here. Still, we enjoy those flicks not so much in spite of the bad effects but on a very real level, because of them. Realism wasn’t the point, escapist fun was. Besides what really sticks in our minds about this film is the ‘Landmasters’. The eighteen wheels were arranged in a triangular configuration that allowed it to handled anything it rolled over not to mention it was cool. Decades later the Christopher Nolan ‘Tumbler; Bat mobile would utilize a similar arrangement.

The film looks great in high definition and the audio has been re-mastered with care. It surrounds you completely pulling you into this strange world and back before state of the art effects were common place.