Ravagers, Post-Apocalyptic Drama from the 70s

Ah!  Nothing beats it.  Post-apocalyptic epics from the 1970s.  Unlike many of these fine cinematic achievements, the one we will look at today was not made in Italy, but right here in the U.S..  Shot in Alabama, 1979's Ravagers,"  directed by Richard Compton, has an all-star cast that includes Richard Harris, Ernest Borgnine, Art Carney, and Ann Turkel.  Fortunately, these films always give us plenty of carnage, battles, and apocalypse-babes.

Falk (Harris) is a lone scavenger living in a big city many decades after the world went bang.  He is possessive of his love-toy, Miriam (Alana Stewart).  Then a sadistic band of foragers arrive, known as The Ravagers.  Their leader (Anthony James) sees Miriam from a distance and orders an attack.  They'll beaut up Falk, leave him for dead, and ravage Miriam to death.  When Falk wakes, he attacks The Ravagers, killing one of them.  Now the sadistic men are after Falk.  On the run, Falk cannot seem to shake his evil pursuers.  He'll meet and befriend a crazy old army guy known as The Sargent (Carney).  This now duo will pass through a gypsy-like town where they eet dancing girl Faina (Turkel).  Faina falls in love with Falk and joins him and the Sargent on their merry quest for somewhere where plants grow and women have children.

The Ravagers are pursuing and bent on murdering Falk.  After the trio meet Brown (Woody Strode), they are brought to a beached cargo ship where Rann (Borgnine) leads a colony.  This colony seems to enjoy abundance but are confined to the ship.  Uh oh...The Ravagers have followed.  All out war will occur.  Faina will try to marry Falk and Borgnine will laugh a lot.  But wait!  Is there a land of plenty out there waiting to propel mankind into the future?  Falk is skeptical but his buddies, and Faina want to leave the cargo ship and find it.

Will The Ravagers try to do to Raina what they did to Miriam?  Is there a colony of hope where plants grow and children are birthed over the horizon?  If Falk refuses to marry Raina, will Borgnine or Carney step in for him?  Violent and grim, this post-apocalyptic film is a lot of fun with a nice cheese factor.  For some 1970s post-apocalyptic gluttony, see "The Ravagers."