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Damnation Alley (1977) More at IMDb Pro »

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
BEST SCI FI VEHICLE DESIGN!!!, 18 October 2002
Author: ebranz from MTL

Wowza!

Now this movie aint great (far from it) but it aint horrid either. Just yer basic post nuclear sci-fi apocalypse survival flick.

Survivors get from point A to point B with a bunch of trouble in between. The trouble actually doesn't add up to much (look for roaches!) and the acting and storyline are at a minimum....BUT!!!!!!

The following things kicked ass!:

Beginning!--->creepy slow suspense as the world faces nuclear destruction!

Score!--->Great music sets the tone for the scenes (saving many)

Sky FX!--->tripped out! The skies are the best looking I've seen in any apocalyptic movie...way cool!

The SUV!!--->They actually built this thing! it works and works great! No scale model here, although I'm sure its looks are best viewed on the outside, but its done well, not cheap, handles the road great, and if i could find one, I'd buy it (look carefully at wheel design....amazing!)

Dats it, Dats all. B-movie sci-fi fun. No brainer..great for 2 for 1 rental, follow it with something that will get brain workin again.

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11 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
So sad this was the only film adaptation of Roger Zelazny's fantastic oeuvre, 13 January 2006

Author: Dan Harkless from Irvine, California

A stogie-chewing George Peppard heads a team that welds together an armored vehicle out of spare parts, taking satisfaction when a plan comes together.... Jan-Michael Vincent mans an AWOL missile-firing government vehicle copiloted by a cranky white-haired guy....

Capsule descriptions of "Airwolf" and "The A-Team"? No, you'd be better off watching an episode of either of those shows, but unfortunately I'm describing "Damnation Alley", the wildly unfaithful movie adaptation of the novel by brilliant Sci-Fi author Roger Zelazny.

Now, I'm sure few Zelazny fans would disagree that "Alley" is one of the least of his works, but this film takes Zelazny's somewhat decayed fruit and manages to squeeze onto the floor whatever juice it had in it, leaving only the decay.

All that remains of the book is the basic setting, the cross-post-apocalyptic-country road trip plot device (though with the book's suspenseful motivation for the trip replaced by a vague "let's see what's over there"), the "Run the storm or dig in?" scene, and a main character named Tanner. Well, I *guess* you can call him the main character. Just as Tanner and Denton take equal turns driving the truck (no, I will not call it a "Landmaster" -- Zelazny never would have given it such a dorky appellation), not even needing to tussle over the usual single steering wheel, Vincent and Peppard seem to be given completely equitable screen time in which to shine, an opportunity they each squander in equal measure.

Notice I did not say *Hell* Tanner. No, this is not the novel's violent last-of-the-Hell's-Angels anti-hero, but instead a pretty mild military boy who's, well, kind of cocky I guess, and, uh, likes to ride a dirt bike... (cue faux expectant look). But at least Tanner is inspired by the book. The rest of the characters are, well, uninspired, and purely the invention of the screenwriters.

And as for the setting, it's close enough to be recognizable, but is not the world that Zelazny was exploring in the book. Different post-apocalypse stories have chosen to stake their respective posts at different points along the timeline, from "28 Days Later" to the far-flung dystopias of "Planet of the Apes" and "The Time Machine". In the novel, Zelazny looked at the world a generation after the holocaust, an interesting point to examine, where government has established control again in the remaining population centers, and the recognizably ordinary lives people can lead in these pockets of safety is in sharp contrast to the nightmare world that lays down the road apiece. Instead of keeping this setting, though, the authors of this film decided to go with a world maybe a year or two after the bombs, which presents a much less interesting vantage than any of the time-points noted above. But even life at this point along the eternal road could have been interesting to examine, had the movie taken the time to do so. Unfortunately it did not, so I must respectfully disagree with those commenters who said that this was one thing the movie did well. What we get instead is mostly some people riding around the country and encountering dangerous situations that could be successfully transplanted to any time period.

I likewise must disagree with those that said that the movie did a good job portraying the experience of the military officers who witnessed the end of the world at the beginning of the film. While I realize that military personnel are trained to remain calm and productive under pressure, these folks witnessing the huge barrage of nuclear warheads showering down upon America didn't appear to be under pressure at all! People were milling casually around or sitting and doing their usual paperwork while the world ended! Pretty much the only expression of angst or concern we get is when Jan-Michael puts his head in his hands at the end of the sequence, but his portrayal could serve equally well for some other movie's 50th-billing character Man With Headache.

Other random things I must criticize: George Peppard's accent isn't particularly badly done, I guess, but it sure is annoying.

When the one reasonably likable character makes an exit, the other characters seem not to care very much, and seem not to display any sign afterwards that they remember such a character had ever been around.

As others have also alluded to, one of the most anticlimactic endings ever.

But the film is not wholly devoid of charm. The sky effects are indeed pretty neat-looking, and I'm sorry I didn't get to see them on the big screen, though the near-complete failure to try to maintain registration between moving (or even stationary!) ground and sky elements is very jarring and fake-looking.

Speaking of the sky, the film also does a commendable job of recreating the bizarre, scary, and vengeful weather depicted in the book.

The score is certainly not among Jerry Goldsmith's best work, but it's better than the material it underscores, and it has some kewl analog synth squawks you don't get to hear in his other work.

The truck is also pretty cool, though the stretchy material connecting the two halves looks comically flimsy in the harsh environments the truck rides through. Not surprised to hear that's the one element that does not survive on the show vehicle today.

But I have to say that if you insist on watching a movie where the main characters venture out from one of the remaining safe pockets of humanity in a dangerous post-apocalyptic world in their heavily armored, missile-firing truck, and occasionally drive dirt bikes out of the back of it, you would do much better to watch George Romero's "Land of the Dead" instead. (If the Landmaster or other elements of "Damnation Alley" provided any inspiration to "Land of the Dead", it's by far the best thing this bastard child of Zelazny has given to the world.)

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12 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Don't worry, those superimposed giant scorpions won't bite you, 3 July 2006
Author: vandino1 from United States

So, you've managed to survive world devastation by being inside a missile silo (after you and your fellow soldiers have reacted so stoically to the sight of incoming missiles on the screen that it might as well have been a Russian pizza delivery), but then you discover that all it takes to wipe out your giant military bunker is a sleepy soldier dropping a cigar onto a Playboy magazine (a "hot" centerfold being an aiding factor in the flames). Aw, hell, Tanner, now you gotta hit the road. Of course, it's only been a couple of years after those radioactive nukes were dropped and the sky looks freakishly dangerous (as in VERY RADIOACTIVE), but thankfully with a lot of sunscreen and a convenient monster truck at the ready, you can head off confidently in your pursuit of a taped signal coming from Albany, New York, and hopefully there you'll find a home able to withstand the lethal force of a burning porno magazine. The leader of the expedition looks suspiciously like George Peppard, but his southern accent makes you wonder. Along for the ride is Paul Winfield, to give the black audience their token, always with the caveat that the black supporting actor in horror/sci-fi films will NOT get the girl and will NOT survive. The girl will be played by Dominique Sanda, and she, along with Jan Michael Vincent and Peppard, will provide enough wooden acting that this film will more resemble a mission of hauling lumber rather than people to Albany. Especially after the lively and un-wooden Winfield misses the rest of the ride in order to provide nutrition to an army of "killer cockroaches" (many of whom are suspiciously riding on conveyor belts--or perhaps that form of cockroach mass transit is a post-nuclear evolutionary development.... okay, just cheap effects). But what trip through the lonely desert is complete without some "human cockroaches" who are in the mood to devour Miss Sanda. Get out yer banjo's, Sonny-Jim, it's the Mountain Man Raping Hour. Oops, forgot to mention the ugly kid (Jackie Earle Haley) that got picked up by our heroes along the way. He knows how to throw a rock and helps save the day (and Miss Sanda's virtue). Unfortunately, the kid only throws rocks at the actors and not at the director or writers, who are more deserving (of really big rocks, I might add). I assume original author Roger Zelazny would like to toss a few himself for the stealing of his title (well, they certainly DIDN'T steal his book... but then Zelazny's novel had the nerve not to provide the producers with Killer Cockroaches or Truck-Stop Rapists). Aw heck, even with those two odd set-piece detours, this trip is resembling nothing more than a weekend drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (with an acid-trip sky, so perhaps it's more like Hunter Thompson's weekend drive). Why not finish it off with a big storm scene and throw a toy version of that monster truck into the studio tank. Well, it's been a long trip and Peppard has mapped it out (calling his route 'Damnation Alley' hence the cool title) and all have accepted it, even though Peppard hasn't been out of that bunker since the holocaust but somehow knows this carefully defined route (and is unperturbed by the notion that the gasoline they'll need during the trip would have turned to varnish after sitting for years). At the end of it will be Albany and people and a big banner that reads YOU MISSED US, RUSSKIES! Wouldn't you be shocked to discover that you were sitting in that bunker all that time when you could've been in Albany where not only is there no devastation, but time has gone backwards and the city now resembles the land of Andy Hardy or Leave It To Beaver? Surprisingly, you also discover this is actually a 20th Century Fox film, instead of the usual cheesy AIP/New World Roger Corman film-slop that it resembles. And Fox thought THIS was the big sci-fi film on its slate for 1977. Woe to those who saw this when it opened a few months after Star Wars (myself sadly included). But now it's cheesy relic that is only a reminder of what NOT to do, sci-fi filmwise. Still, there is some accidental twistedness to this saga, especially when you first see Vincent roaring through the dunes on his motorbike with a passenger strapped to him. We see at one point it's a real woman, but Vincent tosses her off to escape from those process shot scorpions (the filmmakers "process" being state-of-the-art....back in 1910) and we find out it was a mannequin (can you say "goof"?). Then later, Vincent does a bike stunt with Sanda aboard and skids to a stop, and we notice that the stunt rider has a female mannequin for a passenger, not a stunt double. Strangely, this mannequin gives one of the better performances. And sadly, in the days before straight-to-video sequels, we never got to see 'Damnation Alley 2: Tanner's European Vacation.'

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
A post-apocalypse road film..., 5 July 2001
Author: joseph t from ohio, usa

The beginning of this film really shakes you up. The careful, measured tones coming from the missile base loudspeaker announcing the progress of "the war" belie the fact that at that moment scores of millions of people are being atomized as the bombs fall.

However, the aftermath seems to be typical post-nuclear mis-adventure, with the survivors from the base starting out on a cross-country road trip. The "Landmaster" vehicles add a jazzy and technie touch to the otherwise predictable trip. Wild weather, crazed hermits, and killer cockroaches require a little suspension of disbelief, but still keep the pace going.

Fans of "The A-Team" will like seeing George Peppard in a lead role, as the by-the-book superior officer who tries to keep the non-conformist junior officer (Vincent) in line. Dominique Sanda adds some nice eye candy as the token female member of the intrepid band of pilgrims, rescued by Peppard and company from the ruins of Las Vegas.

Overall, a pretty good film if you are looking for an evening of distraction and non-reality, if you can get past the opening sequence.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
If Irwin Allen Combined Mad Max, Deliverance & Them, 31 March 2006

Author: Shanbo 5150 from United States

This notoriously hard to get (at least legitimately) movie follows the travails of five nuke apocalypse survivors in the late 1970s. Their task is to drive their armored personnel vehicle cum Winnabago from Bakersfield CA to Albany NY. On the way they stop off in Vegas, Salt Lake City and Detriot bumping into maniac mutant cockroaches and some radioactive hillbillies along the way. 99% of the time the sky is a swirling orangish red that transfers its Gatorade hues to most sequences in this movie. The locations are all dust, sand and rock... this is after all Damnation Alley and the Earth has been tilted off its axis. An absolute trash B movie that I'm sure many of those associated with would rather forget, it is nonetheless hugely compelling. After viewing you can appreciate the cult classic status of this film, yet to not be entirely sure why that is so.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
I Guess The Premise Was Good, 18 November 2002

Author: Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute , Scotland

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

***** minor spoilers *****

Without doubt the best scene in DAMNATION ALLEY is the one set in the control room as the airforce men stand in stunned silence as the major cities of the USA are nuked . I don`t think as some critics have said that this scene is bland , it`s because the people in the control room are shocked that world war 3 has broken out and realise that civilisation has ended, it`s a very understated and haunting scene. Alas however as soon as the exposition subtitles come up ( And very purple prose they are too . They match the colour of the sky ) the film quickly falls apart . Two of the characters have now left the airforce which doesn`t strike me as being logical . After a major event , and they don`t come much more major than global thermonuclear conflict I`d have thought , wouldn`t martial law be introduced ? If so would servicemen be allowed to leave the forces when they felt like it ? And aren`t any men on the base related to anyone ? This really stuck in my mind that no one ever mentions loved ones who must have been wiped out during the war . Maybe they were married to the guests on THE JERRY SPRINGER SHOW ? If so I guess nuclear holocaust does have its plus points

The film then turns into an epic quest adventure but if you`re expecting LORD OF THE RINGS don`t hold your breathe because it all becomes both silly and boring B movie stuff with the only point of interest being the line about killer cockroaches which made me laugh out loud . And I felt cheated by the upbeat happy ending . Strangely enough if you look up the resumes of the two screenwriters you`ll find they have a very good track record of writing intelligent involving scripts so what went wrong here ?

One last point . Watch the scene where Jan Michael Vincent is riding about the desert evading the crap superimposed mutant scorpians . He`s supposedly driving around with a mannequin on the back of his motorbike but if you look closely just before he throws it off you can quite clearly see it`s an actress/ stuntwomen of latino/native American ethnicity

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
I didn't think that it was that bad., 11 August 2007

Author: Scott LeBrun from Winnipeg, Canada

After the Third World War has reduced the United States to a barren desert wasteland, two Air Force deserters, Denton (George Peppard) and Tanner (Jan-Michael Vincent) set out on a post-apocalypse road trip (in their impressive, fortified tank/van), with colleague Keegan (Paul Winfield). Ultimately, they run into other isolated individuals like Janice (Dominique Sanda) and Billy (recent Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley) as they make their way to what they think is civilization.

Although user comments here assert that this is a flawed adaptation of the Roger Zelazny novel, I can't make the same assertion not having read the book. All I can say is that for a film of its type, I enjoyed it, and not just on a so-bad-it's-good level. While in the end it's not that involving or stylish or memorable a film, it provides for some acceptable entertainment. Some of the special effects (the giant scorpions near the beginning, and the light show in the sky) are admittedly poor, but all in all I think it's an interesting enough film visually. I liked looking at it, and would have appreciated it even more had I been able to see it in widescreen.

Jerry Goldsmith contributes another of his excellent scores, and the cast does good enough work, although Sanda is on the dull side, Peppard on the hammy side. Vincent I liked because at least this is from the earlier years of his career when he was considerably more bright-eyed and animated. Winfield is solid as always and leaves the picture too soon. Haley was likable as well.

One sequence good for squirm inducement involves hordes of armor-plated cockroaches, which swarm around our heroes. It was good for producing the expected visceral response.

The opening picture showing the progress of the nuclear war is actually chilling for being presented in a rather flat, undramatic way - the military men just can't believe what they're seeing, and are not panicking in the slightest.

I liked this picture - it's certainly nothing great, but it was entertaining enough for me.

6/10

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Good Idea, Poor Execution, 7 September 1999
Author: kent-36 from California

Based on the post-apocalyptic novel "Damnation Alley" by Roger Zelazny, the film version shares almost nothing with the book other than the title.

In the film, a band of World War III survivors from the 123rd Strategic Missile Wing in the California desert set out across a devastated America in an armored, 12-wheeled "Landmaster" vehicle in search of a faint radio signal from Albany, New York. Along the way, they encounter freak storms, ragged survivors, and yes, those infamous "killer cockroaches."

"Damnation Alley" definitely has its strong points, most notably the first 20 minutes, which features perhaps one of the most chilling depictions of the start of World War III , as the crew of the 123rd SMW watches helplessly as the war begins and ends in a matter of minutes before their eyes.

On the down side, the film also has a wealth of weak points, most of which are after the survivors begin their journey. Inane dialog, bizzare laser effects, and plot inconsistencies abound, as do wooden performances by George Peppard and Jan-Michael Vincent. Paul Winfield is the only standout in the film, and he is offed by the infamous "killer cockroaches" in a scene that leads to the best line of the film: "Tanner, this is Denton... This whole town is infested with killer cockroaches!!!"

It seems as if many scenes in the film that would have helped it play better may have been left on the cutting room floor (and in fact, publicity stills from the film do show scenes not included in the final release), and the inclusion of these scenes may have turned this mediocre film into something better.

Good idea, but poor execution.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A true post-nuclear disaster., 17 July 2001

Author: jrs-8 from Chicago

"Damnation Alley" is a dumb film. I can't say it any plainer then that. It takes place after a nuclear disaster. There are only a handful of survivors left. George Peppard leads the pack looking as if he can't wait for "The A Team" to come along.

The survivors make their way around in a trumped up camper. Jan-Michael Vincent plays the standard hunky hero. This was near the end of his successful run in the 70's. Movies like this did him in (though he would bounce back nicely the next year in "Hooper" with Burt Reynolds).

One scene that is well done and worth noting is when the crew is overtaken by a deadly breed of cockroaches. It was quite effective on the big screen with stereo sound but, sadly, loses much of its potence on television.

The special effects are mostly cheap looking with obvious sets in many scenes.

"Damnation Alley" is not even a good time waster. You'll be so busy laughing at its silliness or shaking your head at the effects that it is likely to make you feel as empty as the world its characters inhabit.

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15 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
My eyes tear up when I think of this film..., 18 February 2001

Author: Doug Marshall (justplaindoug@yahoo.com) from Kansas City, MO

Okay first of all, forget the egghead, moviegeek, fanboy rumblings you will read about this movie. They are taking things way too seriously. This is my all time favorite "B" movie. Bar none. This movie has it all, cheesy effects(I will say that the weather effects were beyond top notch, though), classic acting(come on Jan-Michael Vincent and Paul Winfield? It doesn't get any better!), and a great "B" storyline.

Damnation Alley starts out with a lot of intensity...okay it meanders like a drunken parapalegic, but once we get beyond that we realize that lo and behold-the world- *poof* she is gone. World War III is done and over in less time than it took to get Normal, Ohio off of FOX. We then jump right into the world after the war, which apparently show us that the only people surviving nuclear winter will be "B" actors-go figure.

George Peppard, Jan-Micheal(Hiccup!)Vincent, and Paul Winfield head off on a road trip to stop a home made porno from reacing George's girlfriend in...wait...that's not right. Oh yeah, they go to Albany, NY-the last bastion of civlization (snicker snicker) And on the way they meet many strange settings...well George and "Hard Livin'" Jan-Michael do...Paul gets offed by a bunch of blood thirsty cockroaches-see I told you the only thing to survive would be "B" actors.

They soon meet up with a slu..I mean a woman of questionable repute in Las Vegas and a young man who I believe to be that possum looking kid from deliverance. After running into the local branch of NRA in a secluded ozarkian setting they make their final run to the promised land....Albany, NY. I won't give away the ending...yeah like it's a shocker...but I do recommend you see this classic "B" film.

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