Book Review: Saluting The Blood of Heroes – Behind the Apocalyptic Film.

BearManor Media has released Danny Stewart’s latest film study, which offers a deep dive into David Webb Peoples’ The Blood of Heroes (aka The Salute of the Jugger).  Peoples is best known as a screenwriter (Unforgiven, Blade Runner, 12 Monkeys, Ladyhawke, Leviathan), The Blood of Heroes being his only directorial effort. Author Stewart has already released a book-length study on the film Soldier, which Peoples wrote and Paul Anderson directed.

This study is as in-depth and revealing as the previous Soldier, with layered insights about the film, its influences, and the apocalyptic movie sub-genre.  Every detail is given thorough information, including salutes to noted actors like Ruger Hauer, Delroy Lindo, and Vincent D’Onofrio. 

The author doesn’t simply assess The Blood of Heroes, he offers a history of the apocalyptic film reviewing such examples as Rollerball (1975), Mad Max (1979), and The Terminator (1984). 

Since the focus of the book is The Blood of Heroes, perhaps the strongest chapter is an in-depth interview with writer-director David Webb Peoples, which offers great cinematic insight that is invaluable. 

As the book continues, the author breaks down The Blood of Heroes with a review, while further chapters offer fascinating comparison-contrast discussions of this film with other apocalpytic movie examples.

This book is academic without being dry, intelligent and also entertaining, and as thorough a film study as can be had. Danny Stewart’s book is among the finest cinema studies of the year.

Saluting The Blood of Heroes can be ordered at this link:  BLOOD/HEROES