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Damnation Alley
1977 Movie Poster
Directed by	Jack Smight
Produced by	Jerome M. Zeitman Paul Maslansky
Written by	Roger Zelazny (novel) Alan Sharp & Lukas Heller (screenplay)
Starring	Jan-Michael Vincent George Peppard Dominique Sanda Paul Winfield
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography	Harry Stradling, Jr.
Editing by	Frank J. Urioste
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	October 21, 1977
Running time	95 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Damnation Alley is a 1977 film, directed by Jack Smight, loosely based on the novel by Roger Zelazny of the same name.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 The Landmaster 4 Sound 360 5 DVD Release 6 External links

Lt. Jake Tanner (Jan-Michael Vincent), an unorthodox Air Force officer, shares ICBM silo duty at an Air Force missile base in California with cut-and-dry Major Eugene "Sam" Denton (George Peppard). When the United States detects incoming nuclear missiles, Tanner and Denton "turn the key" to launch a retaliatory strike, initiating Doomsday. After launching their entire arsenal of nuclear missiles, Tanner and Denton witness nuclear devastation rain down upon the United States.

Fast forward two years: the Earth has been tilted off of its axis by World War III, radiation has mutated insect life, and the earth is constantly wracked by storms of unprecedented severity that engulf entire hemispheres. Military order at the Air Force base has broken down, Tanner has resigned his commission, and Denton is considering undertaking a trip to Albany, New York to discover the source of a lone radio transmission. Before the decision to abandon the base can be made, a rocket fuel gas explosion kills all but four men on the base—Denton, Tanner, Keegan (Paul Winfield) and Airman Tom Perry (Kip Niven).

They set out across the United States in two Air Force "Landmasters" (giant 12-wheeled armored personnel carriers capable of climbing 60-degree inclines, as well as being able to operate in water) across "Damnation Alley"—described as "the path of least resistance" between areas of intense radiation, and other perilous phenomena. In their journey, they pick up two survivors, fight crazed and savage shotgun-toting mountain men who have reduced to barbarism and cruelty, and encounter voracious, mutated "killer cockroaches" before reaching their destination.

The original story of Damnation Alley was seriously compromised from the outset. Right from the first draft of the script, the film bore almost no resemblance to Zelazny's novel (which prompted the author to request his name be removed from the credits). Despite being budgeted at $17,000,000 USD (a very large budget at the time), cheap special effects (sub-par even by 1977 standards, including "killer cockroaches" being dragged by strings), lackluster acting, and flat direction rendered the film a B-movie.

Damnation Alley was in post-production an inordinate amount of time (10 months) due to the difficult process of superimposing optical effects on the sky in eighty percent of the shots (to simulate the aftereffects of nuclear war). It was during this post-production period that 20th Century Fox released their "other" science fiction film. The studio had planned to release only two science fiction films in 1977: Damnation Alley was intended to be the blockbuster.

The other film — in which 20th Century Fox executives had very little confidence — was Star Wars.

Star Wars became a massive hit, and forced Fox to readdress Damnation Alley. In a panic, the release date was delayed further, directoral control was wrestled from Smight, and large sections of the film were edited out by the studio. The film was finally released on October 21, 1977.

Main article: Landmaster

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the film was the Landmaster vehicle, which features a hinged center section, and a unique rotating 12-wheel assembly. The "Landmaster" was custom-built for the film at a cost of $300,000. (Currently, the Landmaster is undergoing a full restoration after being stored in a deteriorating condition for two decades, and is on the car show circuit in the United States).

The Landmaster should not be confused with the superficially similar but simpler Ark II.

A few big-city premiere engagements of Damnation Alley were presented in Sound 360, a high-impact surround sound process.

Jerry Goldsmith's score made good use of the wide stereo separation afforded by Sound 360, particularly in the opening theme, with fanfares emanating from each side of the theater in turn.

The film is scheduled to be released on DVD in 2007, after over 20 years of being out of print. Anchor Bay Entertainment had been planning a release for three years, but the DVD rights were taken back by 20th Century Fox, who is currently working on the official DVD release.

• Damnation Alley at the Internet Movie Database
• Damnation Alley at All Movie Guide
• Enthusiast website about the Landmaster