DAC Episode 281: The Random Canon #10 - The Blood of Heroes (1989)

Also released under the baffling but evocative title The Salute of the Jugger, this is the strangest post-apocalyptic sports movie you’ll ever see. Rutger Hauer, Joan Chen and Vincent D’onofrio star in this tale of ambition, despair and beating people up over a dog’s skull. John Kenneth Muir called it “the Rocky of the dystopian genre,” and that’s about the best capsule summary you can get.

Adam and Aidan talk about its resemblances to Mad Max, the intricacies of The Game and its players (known as Juggers), and the elusive extended cut that adds several context-changing minutes at the end of the film. So skip your Rollerball. Do not go Beyond Thunderdome. And toss that ancient VHS copy of Robot Jox. The Blood of Heroes is here to kick your legs out from under you, whip you with a chain and steal your dog skull from your very hands. Listen below or find us on your podcast thingy of choice.