The Warriors (Ultimate Director's Cut)

If you have not already heard of this movie, you will want to check it out!
This is the classic of all classics.
The "Gone With The Wind" of Gang movies, and action movies in general! The Special features, the suspense, the drama, and most importantly... the fight scenes!
Two of my favourite quotes come out of this movie, from the clanging of the tins with him calling "Warriors, come out to play! Warriors come out to play! WARRIORS come out to play!!!" So I leave you asking yourself two questions, When will I buy this, and "CAN YOU DIG IT!?!"

Walter Hill ( 48 hrs, Hard Times ) shows his directing flair for action, drama and style in this crackling 1979 movie about a Coney Island gang falsely accused of murder and fleeing from their accusers....including the other NYC gangs and the New York City Police Department.

Hill successfully adapted the moderately popular novel by author Sol Yurick who worked with the NYC Dept of Welfare in the 1950's. Yurick used the basis of ancient Greek history and the torturous trek home by Greek soldiers after their leader , Cyrus the Younger, was killed in the Persian Wars...and simply updated the setting to modern day NY and it's raging gang warfare embracing the five boroughs !

Set amongst a hostile, nocturnal world of neon lit train stations, baseball bat wielding gang members and lethal, gun toting women "The Warriors" moves along at a frenetic pace with a fine selection of young actors taking the lead. Michael Beck plays the cool headed, "war chief" Swan, seeking to get the other members back home to Coney Island alive and in one piece. James Remar is unforgettable as the woman chasing, hot headed Ajax...always out to prove his manhood with his fists. And David Patrick Kelly is perfect as the murderous, but ultimately cowardly leader of the Rogues.

Attending a combined gangs meeting deep in the South Bronx to hear the Gramercy Riffs plans to control the streets of New York, the Warriors are wrongly accused of the shooting death of their charismatic leader, Cyrus. The finger of blame pointed their way, they flee via any means they can and upon their way back to home base encounter violent opposition from the low life Orphans, the shaven headed Turnbull AC's, the face painted Baseball Furies, the seductive all female gang, the Lizzies and even rifts within their own ranks lead to trouble.

The film was roundly savaged by several sections of the community (mainly law enforcement & welfare groups) upon it's release for apparently inciting gang violence and it's poor depiction of inner city street kids, and yes, there were several nasty incidents at theatre's upon the film's release, but these have been blown well out of all proportion. Although, I must say when the film was released in my country (Australia) it was already riding a wave of notoriety, and attracted "bad boys" in their droves to watch this "infamous" gang flick. When viewed in the cold light of day, the film is actually fairly cartoon like in it;s depiction of urban violence and most anyone who cop's a hiding seems to be left just rubbing his head and moaning (a la Daffy Duck) in discomfort !

Interestingly, out of a on screen line up of strong young talent, very few of the cast went on to any sort of fame & fortune in Hollywood. James Remar has had the most success (with about 70 movies under his belt ) and has continued his motif of tough, aggressive leads in films like "48 Hrs", and plenty of "straight to video" action fare...plus he even crops up regularly on "Sex and the City" & "Third Watch" re-runs ! It's good to see that hard hitting Ajax never left New York ! Actor Marcellino Sanchez who played graffiti artist "Rembrandt" died from cancer only a few years after the films release, and David Patrick Kelly has continued in roles as evil, criminal types...see him in "Commando", "The Crow" & "Wild at Heart" !

I think "The Warriors" occupies quite a sentimental place in my film heart, as I was in my late teens, and hanging around with a group of testosterone filled guys when this film came out, and could somewhat identify with these on screen tough guys and their night time exploits...but I'm much more civilised now !

A colorful, exciting and fast paced film...albeit corny in places with that silly love story sub plot with bee stung lipped, Deborah Van Valkenbergh...it is one of the better made and better remembered teen gang movies !

Directed by Walter Hill
Starring Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly
93 minutes

Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Audio:
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

The future is ours...if you can count.

I have a small pile of unwatched Blu-rays, but last night I was in the mood for something I already knew. After much deliberation, I went with The Warriors.

I like to analyze why I enjoy certain movies so that I can understand myself more, but this one is tricky.

I know that I don't like watching violence or people getting beaten up, unless there's a point to it. I certainly don't think it's cool to watch a fight or someone being hurt. I have no fascination for gangs in general. The acting isn't up to much and dialogue is limited. I couldn't pick out a selection of scenes that were meaningful or memorable. So why do I enjoy watching this movie?

I do like the setting. Released in 1979, it was intended to have a somewhat futuristic look. It still seems dated to me though.

The first 15 minutes sets up the story so I don't think talking about it is much of a spoiler. The gangs are requested to attend a meeting by Cyrus, the leader of the biggest gang. Those attending are allowed to send nine members from their gang and weapons aren't allowed. Cyrus points out that members from rival gangs are standing together without anyone getting wasted. He also observes that there are 60,000 gang members in New York and only 20,000 police. Instead of fighting over a few yards of turf, the combined force could take over the city. That's an interesting idea. Unfortunately, gangs being what they are, one of the gang members (Kelly, Twin Peaks) hasn't obeyed the truce and shoots Cyrus, killing him. He points at the Warriors, claiming they did the shooting.

So the nine gang members are surrounded by rival gangs, weaponless, fifty miles from home. Both the police and the rival gangs are after them. The story shows what happens when they try to make it back to their home turf. Nine innocent men on the run; Hitchcock would be proud.

As I said, that's the first 15 minutes. The remainder of the story deals with the journey home. Will they all make it? Will any of them?

The soundtrack adds something and a local radio station monitors the progress of the Warriors. The original music by Barry De Vorzon fits in well and makes the whole thing an atmospheric experience.

Various encounters with other gangs and the police ensue. The gangs all have their own colors and way of doing things.

It's such a simple story, but it works. It's become something of a cult classic over the years in the same way that Escape From New York has.

I'm still not sure why I like it so much. Do I place myself in their position? Is it nostalgia for my childhood? Most of the characters are merely sketches, although some have a bit more depth. There are quiet periods where we just see the Warriors walking around, although the scenes are filled with tension because a threat could appear at any time.

After all that, I'm still not sure.

Would I recommend this? Sure. It's not what you would think just by looking at the title or the cover. If you can see it for free, it's worth checking out. Maybe you'll have the same reaction as me.

This is a surprisingly good transfer for a movie of its age and limited budget. The sound quality is a little lacking, being just DD 5.1.

Overall 4.5/5