FORTRESS (1992) Retrospective / Review

FORTRESS (1992) Retrospective / Review
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[@OliverHarper]

Get the new German Blu-ray release of Fortress here goo.gl/5Fmfxj

[@kelvottomatpelaajat3797]

Oliver Harper Finally we are getting some proper blurays in Europe! That Escape from new york upscale bugs me still! Damn you Britain! 😂

[@DrQuagmire1]

man, hadn't seen this movie in almost 25-years

[@Blankford777]

God I loved catching this movie on late night cable. Where can I get a blu ray region A copy in the US?

[@_DANZIG_]

DO THE 13th WARRIOR !!!!

[@OliverHarper]

Yeah I had to import the Shout Factory release to get a decent transfer.

[@kri249]

I loved the shit outta this movie as a kid. I bought it recently when I found it on DVD and was surprised it had Jeffery Coombs and Vernon Wells. In fact I was surprised this was shot in my country Australia. Say anything negative you want about it. Any flaws are nullified by the fact this is pure enjoyment.

[@nathanchalmers9857]

I bloody love this film, it's so much fun and underrated- has a 5.9 on IMDB atm and that is bullshit. Solid 7/10.

[@haruruben]

This is such an under appreciated movie- oh snap, is that 1992 touch screen interfaces? And Clarence Boddicker!!! Nice!!

[@romanfox5368]

Mathy Don STNG did touch screen firt.

[@dsandoval9396]

Can you fly, Bobby?

[@jonasrivers3675]

There was real world touch screens in the 1960s lmao. As for the invention of the concept, I'm betting you'll be looking for some obscure late 19th century science fiction novel/novella/article.

[@haruruben]

Roman Fox whats STNG?

[@dsandoval9396]

@@haruruben Star Trek Next Generation?

[@swishpronoob]

It's like a bigger budgeted The Outer Limits episode.

[@letsgoBrandon204]

Jeffrey Combs is great

[@SteveSpikes]

I had the honor of meeting Jeffrey Combs . . . excuse me, Jeff, at a convention a few years ago. We got to talking about FORTRESS, and how Christopher Lambert is as blind as the proverbial bat, and that's why you see him in those "extreme close-ups" for the movie posters. In short, if you have a chance to meet Jeffrey Combs, take it.

[@mdrumt]

I watched this when I was a kid, I found the intenstinator quite disturbing.

[@loosepotato1415]

Omg same my dad let me watch this. that part scared the hell outta me

[@shawnfreeman4684]

Same with me, this along with Total Recall. I was never able to remember the name of Fortress though as the re-runs weren't as prevalent

[@shoddyworkmanship4934]

I love Stuart Gordon's work, especially his horror flicks.

[@spencerballesteros4424]

Congrads on 80,000 subscribers Oliver! Come people this man deserves 100,000! Lets get him there!

[@OliverHarper]

Thanks Spencer! Just passed 80K today.

[@papi3d]

Fortress!...I remember seeing this in theaters with two of my best friends. I only went because my buddy said he "loved these kind of films"... but I was hesitant because from the poster I got a "B" movie feel...I was VERY pleasantly surprised!... except for the ending which felt very rushed... now I know it was cut...I'll have to check out the longer ending. Thanks for the review!

[@joesam7744]

A retrospective on 'Wedlock' would be nice.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

I've got Wedlock on DVD. Not a great film, but still a good film. Even though the concept of a explosive collar which will explode if you escape beyond the perimeter of the prison was ripped off from The Running Man.

[@danielmankowski922]

Totally agree. A great little gem from Rutger Hauer. Remember watching on HBO when they called it Deadlock

[@dsandoval9396]

Gonna say it... Saw a movie Lambert was in called "Beowulf", loved it. ...of course, I was baked out of my mind at the time.

[@apophisjones4361]

I watch it as a teen , we had fun watching it . It is in my classics collection .

[@danielwilliamson6180]

Liz May Brice whom played Elena in Fortress II: Re-Entry went on to play Pat Kerrigan in the ITV prison drama Bad Girls.

[@Hollyweeds]

I love Christopher Lambert and I didn't know this movie existed.

[@TheVileOne]

A good 90s Christopher Lambert movie you should do is The Hunted ;)

[@LennyNero2019]

Love this movie, watched it as a child in the mid-90s on VHS, then got a DVD, and all the Blu-ray versions as they came out, includingthe Germanone with a cyborg bust - one of my all-time favorites! Also really like your videos, they're like full-fledged 'making of's, but I gotta wonder who is the full story retelling for in the middle? For those that seen the movie it's pointless - I scan through it - and for others you spoil the movie entirely! At least add a warning and chapters so this part could be skipped easily.

[@buttondiet]

Fantastic! I remember seeing this in the cinema when I was very young! I'd love to see you do a retrospective on Richard Stanleys 'HARDWARE' :)

[@briansergeant]

Christopher Lovell looking forward to Hardware. Remember seeing the trailer on the VHS of Wild at Heart my parents rented many moons ago!

[@dickdurkin2895]

Oliver, please consider giving "Ravenous" your Retrospective treatment at some point in the future

[@bruce6rt]

Dick Durkin I second that.One of my favourites!! Awesome atmosphere and oh man that soundtrack!

[@jahredsplitfoot]

i always found the legal griping from IPC a little hypocritical being that they contractually demanded that all writers & artists signed over all creative rights to them in order to be published at the time. They effectively paid the real imaginative minds peanuts and raked in the profits.

[@Slavik07]

Great review again Oliver! And Fortress was part of my childhood so I love this movie.

[@jordanthomas4379]

The best Paul Verhoeven movie, that Paul Verhoeven didn’t make.

[@grimmer2005]

Isnt that big truck also used in Universal Soldier?

[@jackcho634]

Lambert always reminded me of Thomas Jane

[@ThomasK96]

Oilver harper will you ever retrospective review a Chuck Norris movie? Maybe Hellbound?

[@marccadec6978]

An excellent film very enjoyable,I still have the uk vhs and have no desire to so called upgrade

[@ectoplasmicentity]

Never heard of this movie. I think I'll have to check it out.

[@angeltread]

you should do a retrospective on Freejack

[@SlyBeast]

What the heck is this schlock? I've never heard of it but need it in my life immediately.

[@gorillaau]

It's a fun movie to watch, if a little clumsy in places.

[@66cuda]

I first rented this on vhs when it first came out from the werehouse it had Jeffery combs is why I rented it, I did enjoy it

[@danielwilliamson6180]

A shame Christopher Lambert never did a movie with Jean Claude Van Damme.

[@miguelacosta4699]

Do No Escape with Ray Liotta, please.

[@BattleDragon88]

Please, do Space Precinct

[@FallouFitness_NattyEdition]

Ahh, so this is where Outlaw Star got the inspiration for the space prison episode from.

[@mikeperry7335]

80s till early 90s sci-fi is my weakness

[@Grandmastergav86]

Lambert is inherently likable, it's a shame he never really got a big break.

[@klodek14]

Same with Rutger Hauer. Whenever I see Lambert, I think of Hauer and vice versa.

[@SultanSamet]

Maybe a bad agent ? Or no agent? Or no one really cared for him in the US ? Oliver Harper is right: He IS really beloved in Europe (and Turkey) but mostly for his Highlander role. The same for Jean Claude Van Damme. (And Rutger Hauer too, belive it or not) .... Europeans had a good taste, but hollywood never delivered.

[@Grandmastergav86]

DunnoKnowles Highlander is meh, Mortal Kombat was a fun potboiler what was that last one? Oh The Sicilian? Can't say I've heard of it.

[@robertwill23]

He should have focused more on acting in Europe not in Hollywood that gave him only action b-movies. I think language was one of the obstacles for major breakthrough in Hollywood. I advice you to watch Lambert in Claire Denis' White Material (2009). He was very good in it acting-wise. I think because he wasted his first half of film career on chasing Hollywood breakthrough instead of developing acting talent in European dramas, he didn't succeed anywhere that much (not in Hollywood action not in french cinema).

[@SuperPeterok]

He has a douchebag face though. It may be that.

[@Rendezman562]

never realized how much chris lambert looks like thomas jane? especially in this film!!

[@amstrad79b]

lol true!

[@jayburgh]

Holy shit Rene you're spot on with that observation.

[@pauliedibbs9028]

lol and here I am thinking it was Thomas Jane... Looks exactly how Jane did in the early 2000's (Punisher).

[@Rendezman562]

@@pauliedibbs9028 haha, totally!!

[@Larry]

I can't believe you missed this so many times Oli, it was another Saturday night staple on Bravo for years. But I do love these movies set in a closed environment, Die Hard Etc. Makes you wish Warner Bros would realize the potential of a Batman: Arkham Asylum movie.

[@mazimadu]

Hey, it is that video game guy.

[@davidwyatt2330]

As much as I agree with you about wishing for a Batman: Arkham Asylum movie, I have doubts that a movie adaptation would match the same atmosphere present in the game from being able to directly play and guide Batman through Arkham, to step in his footprints, as it were. If it were close to the atmosphere of the game, the Killer Croc sewer part would probably also be the scariest 'monster' scene in a movie in years.

[@Grandmastergav86]

The best film set in a semi-closed environment(at least for the most part) is City Hunter...so much fun

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

Larry Bundy Jr ~ FUCKIN HELL EDGY ONE... YOU ARE EVERYWHERE I GO....loved this film.

[@BigBaldBassist]

There were loads of hidden gems on Bravo and Sci-fi channels back in the day. Literally shaped my movie taste for years to come

[@JKurayami]

I absolutely love this movie. I am not a fan of remakes now-a-days. But It is odd to wonder why this hasn't been opted.

[@-MrFozzy-]

I’d love to see a remake! Can see The Rock in it!

[@-NateTheGreat]

"Set in the future of 2017..Oh my God that is now!"

[@J.Panxer]

There is not a big enough like button! I thought I was the only one who saw this movie.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

Vhs glory ! They don't make them like this...

[@malmstring]

That's right. They can't make similar movies this good anymore. Doesn't matter how much money they throw at them.

[@alliesfrench]

I just love every review you do, Oliver. It's great to finally have a movie reviewer who points out the good and the bad, and appreciates film as entertainment. Well done!

[@danielwilliamson6180]

I've watched Oliver's retrospective reviews with great interest. Olivier should be a member of Imdb.com. I've member a member since 2012 and submitted lots of trivia on films, TV shows and video games.

[@KevinStriker]

The greatest film Paul Verhoeven never made.

[@Tx556]

Are you going to do a retrospective on "No Escape" 1994?

[@OliverHarper]

I've been asked by 5 different people today asking for No Escape! haha Is there something in the air that folk have a desire to see me cover the film?

[@shanecochran2491]

Oliver Harper ,No Escape very underrated Martin Campbell film. That film got him the GoldenEye gig

[@glenmcculla6843]

I was about to ask this. I now have Lance Henriksen and the word "Absalom" floating through my head.

[@Tx556]

Oliver Harper I'll bet it was the general "prison island" vibe and it's super under rated. I believe it would perfectly for your format.

[@Zerofightervi]

Oliver Harper No Escape is definitely worth working your magic on, some great actors, interesting premise of an island prison with no guards but different factions.

[@hailtothechin955]

Freejack doesn't get enough coverage.

[@silverscreenreviews8521]

Anyone else thinks Christopher Lambert looks a lot and I mean a lot like Thomas Jane?!!!

[@Ilnath]

Thomas Jane looks like Christopher Lambert....

[@silverscreenreviews8521]

Ilnath well yeah we’re go with that if you like 👍🏻

[@romanfox5368]

No.

[@turridanrobo4051]

Hey Oliver, could you pleace do a review of - Space Truckers - some day?

[@vavra222]

Second that!

[@saltygrasshopper]

Lol yes!

[@haloseven7]

I remember it being released in theaters in Hungary in 92, I was 10 and it was a huge deal, all of my friends went to see it. Still a favorite!

[@kwato]

Looks like I'm watching fortress tonight

[@clonusmaximus4600]

My strongest memory of this movie was it being on TV in my bedroom while I was in bed struggling with a really bad case of the flu. I kept waking up from a fevered nightmare influenced by the movie. To this day I don’t know which parts were the actual movie and which were my fly dream.

[@Constantine_IA]

The attempted prison male rape scene,scarred me as a teen....and then I saw American History X ...I WILL NEVER GO TO PRISON!

[@philrob1978]

A great cult "rental" movie back in the day, haven't seen it for many years but it's very memorable for its performances and RANDOM INTESTINATIONS! As likeable as Lambert is in it, Kurtwood Smith absolutely owns it. Great insightful work as always Oliver :)

[@psammiad]

Looks hilarious. They should've called it "The Intestinators!"

[@simonandsimon2352]

Dreadful '90s flick, gave it a 2/10 on IMDB. Christopher Lambert...yeesh...one of the all-time worst actors to have made it. "Wooden" doesn't even begin to describe. Also why does he whisper his lines throughout the movie, like he's at a tennis match?

[@spoonhanz]

Good movie. Shame the sequel was absolute garbage.

[@d4lta575]

Yep, just watched both films yesterday

[@eddysandland58]

I liked F2:RE-ENTRY!!! AS A 13/14 year old!!! But I can't get it on Any Free Movie Chanel's!!!

[@nerfherder3553]

Christopher Lambert is truly High tier on the actor list for me I truly adore him as a person and I love his cocky attitude he has behind his signature laugh that's in just about in every movie he's in.

[@brorjordas1979]

A big cult classic for me. Had this one on VHS myself. And being a big Lambert fan - I'm glad Arnie did not star this movie. Lambert has always been so good in many movies, B-movies or not. Love his nasty laugh n grin.

[@speeta]

When you watched this movie as a kid, you shouldn't have been watching an R-rated film, let alone one this stupid.

[@epocheon2901]

Lambert: Shang Tsung you know having a fortress goes against the rules of mortal kombat...

[@OnlyThe1Son]

lambert was huge in the 80s and 90s... I mean he had some big movies.. and as a cross over star from france into hollywood he made some fantastic Video classics.. and some Theatrical classics.. so he was one of the many stars to keep the TOP shelf of the video stores packed! this was a great film when it came out...

[@Abidon88]

After watching this and Robocop I realize that Red Foreman was taking it easy on Eric...

[@Gorkab]

At 17:04 a Windows screen with the "Hauppauge TV" video capture program, which was a cheap way of having a capture on your PC back then!

[@willthorburn1985]

I actually enjoyed the sequel.....because it was so laughably bad

[@BooshmanLee]

The new bluray looks like a nice upgrade to the Hungarian widescreen DVD. I really loved this movie when I rented it in my teens. Getting wrecked at your mates with some bevvies, and a smoke. Several rounds on Goldeneye, then off to the video shop to see whats in. Movies like Fortress and Virtuosity were fast favourites.

[@ozzyg82]

Fun times

[@timefilm]

I got to visit the set of Fortress when it was in production. I wrote a letter to the producer and pitched an idea of a sequel set on a space station. I never got a reply.

[@CliffuckingBooth]

I both loved and was terrified by those battle androids when I was a kid

[@mothman2514]

Connor McLeod VS Red Forman.I can dig it.

[@adampoll4977]

Well... now you have to review Subway?

[@TehDangle]

Guns don't kill people

[@RonJohn63]

I remember seeing "Fortress 2" on TV, and it was watchable.

[@ballistictestmusic]

Arnold would get his own prison movie in Escape Plan years later.

[@romanfox5368]

Richard Maaranen 5hat movie seemed like it was ripping something off.

[@jensdroessler3575]

I get the feeling that if Arnold had been actually cast it would have been made into a sequel to Running Man.

[@inti665]

Wow I've been waiting for this review. Thanks

[@thewhitepanther6052]

Great movie. I saw it on late night tv when i was a kid.

[@10072018]

OMG I loved this movie. It's the perfect B movie, bad enough that you forgive the cheepness, good enough that it's fun viewing multiple times.

[@freemantle85]

Thanks Oliver, I remember seeing many years ago a clip of sci-fi film on Channel 5 where a man and a pregnant woman go in Mexico. I use to think it was a Mad Max film but now I know what that film really was.

[@blaster5800]

Literally the only good movie Lambert did, besides Highlander.

[@johnnytopgun6414]

I feel he acts quite well when not in English. He deserved a big break. I hope they do a highlander but with him taking Connery's role

[@CassiniProjekt]

Christopher Lambert dangling from wires in space as the frame rate drops with Pam Grier? That's a high recommendation, going to watch it now.

[@michaelbrindley4363]

Love this movie. Thanks for making a retrospective on it! My friends and I always make jokes about intestinating one another...

[@JustJohnny]

Must be an inside joke.

[@michaelbrindley4363]

Just Johnny ha, yes it is. Years ago we used to have b movie weekends...this one stuck with us and jokes came out of it.

[@ravissary79]

This is such a strange little gem. It's a very high quality B film. It's got soul, sincerity and gravity, but it's also cheap, simple and clearly lowbrow. I would never have heard of it if it wasn't for Fangora magazine, which I wasn't allowed to read at the time.

[@Jptoutant]

I really loved this, back when i was 8 years old. I think I drew that triangle gun in a few of my schoolbooks. Its still a really pleasant movie

[@Booth81]

Very underrated film. Its strengths are far greater than its shortcomings. Though, as much as I like Kurtwood Smith, I would have loved to have seen Jeffery Combs as Poe. They both make great villains though, so I won’t complain much.

[@jaxxh6529]

rayden... mortal kombat

[@simplythebest2k]

While the acting is b as it the b movies of the time suggest the plots are richer than that of movies today. Today they slap humor and call it a success but the plots are messes.

[@iliaPayne]

Every time I see Lambert (one of my favorite actors charisma-wise) I think of Mean Guns. That film is probably to this day one of my favorite movies EVER. No jokes. That overexposed, tinted blue, badly choreographed, nonsense film with mambo ost. II get something from that film I cannot even explain. From Lambert's character Lou.

[@fultonjohnsonaton5096]

When this film came out, seeing it as a kid , it was very entertaining. It's funny i always compare and confuse this movie with Ray Liotta's No Escape, which is maybe 1996. Same film , one in a jungle prison, the other in a hi-tech futuristic prison. Both Great VHS action 90s movies carried largely by the charismatic leads lol.. Nothing close to Predator, Aliens or Die Hard obviously.

[@thisaccountisdead9060]

Trying to find another film (one of these films you remember from ages ago but no hope of finding) and came across Timebomb (1991) starring Michael Biehn in a sci-fi film. Looks like a laugh only a third of the budget of Fortress. Don't know how good it is. But it's Michael Beihn. The film I was looking for was a film revolving around "super trucks" - like Firefox on a v.low budget striaght to VHS in the 1980's/or early 1990's.... I just remember there was a good scene in-which a colleague died in the arms of his buddy on a remote highway that touched me right behind the old rib cage - no idea what the film was called, probably shit.

[@alexandrebotev5038]

I already got it this German Blu-Ray release it says High Definition "jetzt in HD" or something similar. There's also one on label '84 with photo book combination on ebay.com, just like the same as '84 Split Second!

[@tigerheart3824]

Great little film with a fantastic cast and Stuart Gordon's customary joy of kicking against authority. Also, in what seemed to be a tradition for SG, his wife is the voice of the computer.

[@RoboArdy]

That Big Gun was in the movie SOLO with Mario Van Peables

[@partsunknown1679]

Still one of my absolute favorites on KZbin I love your channel and probably have watched every video once a year since they came out

[@danielwilliamson6180]

Fortress is a great film. One of the most violent movies ever made.

[@OliverHarper]

Most violent movies ever made??? Not really Daniel haha

[@danielwilliamson6180]

Really?? I thought it was when I first saw it. The violence in the movie is pretty bloody and graphic.

[@Soulfly415]

I gues the director was a big fan of Paul Verhoeven.

[@travellingshoes5241]

Yes Daniel. This was the most violent movie ever made. Until 'Paul Blart Mall Cop 2' came out.

[@taistelutomaatti]

9:30 But... That doesn't make any sense! Surely a policy like that would only appy to living children.

[@mmickle6191]

Fortress is pretty good, they really should've piggy backed it alongside Highlander sequels to get more eyes on it. Lambert with his eyes is great, but it's Kurtwood Smith that's legendary here. I've seen Fortress 2 as well, it is pointless, but I did enjoy it too.

[@electronicmaji]

Seems really clear the Narkina 5 prison complex from the Andor TV series is really influenced by this film.

[@shanecochran2491]

Oliver check out The Hunted 1995 Christopher Lambert. A new Blu-Ray from shout factory came out recently

[@bocagoodtimes1460]

I still love the look and feel of this movie! "Crime does not pay"

[@bobbigboy5867]

Your retrospectives are absolute works of art! Keep up the awesopme and enjoyable work!

[@ScotsDestroyer]

i must have watched this 10 x plus. the days when you couldn't watch all the movies of the world at will. did the same with die hard 3, terminater 2, star trek generations and so much more. i think people dislike everything so much these days because they have so many options. its just consume everything at once.

[@LeChave]

Remember seeing this only once at the cinema, but didn't remember any of the scenes. Thanks for the review, I'll try and check out the bluray.