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The Warriors [1979]
![The Warriors [1979]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JG4BY42PL._SL160_.jpg)
On the DVD: This is a good movie to test the dark end of the spectrum. It's in 1.78:1 and only in mono, but that somehow works for what's little more than a lot of running around in the dark. The only extra is the original trailer.--Paul Tonks
RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £4.00 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1979, The Warriors seemed like a frighteningly realistic possible future for The Big Apple. The film's depiction of multiple street gangs no longer content with occupying their own territories was an uncomfortably real issue across New York City. A deceptively simple plot begins with a truce gathering representatives from all the gangs at a meeting. Would-be leader Cyrus has a vision. Unfortunately a member of the Rogues shoots him before we learn what it is, and then pins the blame on the Warriors. With anything up to 60,000 gang soldiers and 20,000 police on their trail, the seven Warrior members beat a hasty retreat any which way they can back to Coney Island. What's really going on, as per Sol Yurick's original novel, is a subtle examination of the seemingly contradictory traits of loyalty and nobility that occur in a close-knit group. Explosions of violence and a disregard for bystanders are secondary to what the characters mean to one another. All this brotherly love is presented with some truly amazing production design and cinematography: though dark, this is a world of colourful night-lights and even more colourful gang uniforms. Historically, this is a movie way past its sell-by date (it certainly won't instigate real life violence now as it did when released), but thematically it remains a worthy exploration of all those unspoken codes of honour.
COME OUT TO PLAY
Review date: 2007-09-07 Rating: 10 out of 10
THE GREATEST FILM EVER MADE
NO MORE TO SAY
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Reviews
One gang could run this city!
Review date: 2007-08-05 Rating: 8 out of 10
Nine delegates from every gang from every neighbourhood across New York meet in an empty stadium to hear a speech on taking control of the city from a messianic and enigmatic overlord known as Cyrus.
The Warriors: Cleon, Swan, Ajax, Vermin, Cochise, Snow, Cowboy, Fox and Rembrandt travel all the way from Coney Island to be a part of this massive gathering with dozens of other rival gangs. Things go very, very wrong!
As you are probably aware, so called "unseen editions" and "extended editions" are pretty common on DVD and are usually lousy films with some extra filler thrown in to fool unsuspecting buyers. This is not the case with The Warriors. Like Daredevil or Aliens, this is one of those "director's cuts" that really makes a difference.
First and foremost are the comic book transitions and the new opening. Writer/director Walter Hill felt that his original presentation of the film was a little lost on the audience of the time and its subsequent cult status on video. This new cut draws parallels with the 4th century BC legend of Anabasis, in which an army of Greek mercenaries are left stranded after their leader Cyrus the Younger has been killed. If they can make it through 1000 miles of hostile territory to the ocean, they will be safe.
The Warriors, as you know, must make it through all the tough neighbourhoods of NY to Coney Island after they are wrongfully blamed for the assassination of mega-gang boss Cyrus. A loose, but truly inspired connection.
Back in the Seventies, there weren't just certain neighbourhoods in New York that you avoided. The whole damn city was infested with crime and scum. The gangs were plentiful and they really did OWN the streets. The scenario of all gangs joining together to form one big Uber-gang may seem far fetched today, but if Mayor Giuliani had left the city to decay then NY's future might well have ended up this way. But the fact that the Big Apple is a helluva lot safer these days doesn't lessen the overall impact of The Warriors.
As I mentioned, the Greek history inspiration is clever. But the film is also based on a Fifties novel by Sol Yurick and director Hill took a comic book approach to bring it to life. He was aware of the film's silliness, but coupled with the sense of adventure and episodic battles, a pulp fiction take could make it seem believable. For all we know, maybe there was a gang called The Baseball Furies, who went about with painted faces, beating invaders to a pulp. These were wild times.
The Director's Cut also makes the photography and editing more apparent. Hill frames the movie to look like comic book panels and, as usual, Freeman Davies' (Hill's favourite editor) cutting gives The Warriors a sleek and fast-paced look.
Hill is an action director of considerable talent, who is often overlooked. Films such as 48 Hours (and it's under-rated sequel), Southern Comfort, Trespass and Last Man Standing have never been massive hits, so his hardcore style is only familiar to fans of his work, rather than general movie audiences. Which is a shame!
Now is the time to rediscover The Warriors and be reintroduced to a cult classic. I know a lot of people are purists and will decry the Director's Cut as a cheap stunt to make more money, but I honestly think it's the superior, definitive version.
Judge for yourself; you might just agree with me.
The HD-DVD features a brilliant 1.85:1 1080p picture that is so clean and colorful you'll think that the film is just fresh out of the cinemas and not 28 years old. Ditto for the sound. Originally a plain stereo movie, the DVD comes with a remastered Dolby Digital Plus sound design and it's amazing. The songs come through loud and full of life and the dialogue natural. The sound effects were never that sophisticated, but there's loads of ambience to be had and you'll still be surprised at how good the movie sounds without ever seeming artificial. A decent amount of extras are also included.
May be disappointing if your new to this film.
Review date: 2006-04-07 Rating: 8 out of 10
Right first things first, I got interested in the film after playing the brilliant game (one of the best games ever in my opinion) I was really wanting to check out the film. The film overall is good but was a little disapointing. The film really lacks on violence but at least the action looks real. The film only has about 4 gangs who you actually meet and find out who they are. The rest are only seen briefly and some not at all. The game, and I'm sure the novel, explains how the Warriors were formed and introduces you to every gang. The film misses this out which is quite important. It just throws you into the start of the meeting and you dont find out whats going on right away and how it all started, therefore dont care that much when the cetain events take place. The fights are cool but really lack brutality and the number of the fights are very limited. The final battle was very lacking and didnt have much of a payoff. The game though solves all these problems and way more. In the game you have to fight gangs like the Hi-hats in very cool ways and I was really looking forward to seeing them fight in the film as I heard they're in it. I was disapointed as you only see them briefly. When the Warriors say their 'the best' I'm not really convinced but in the game its very different. Probably because you bop every single gang in the city but the movie's limited and for the fact that most of the gangmembers (Warriors included) look like teenagers or very young adults. Its not really Football Factory kind of gangmembers is it? Who are more believable as vicious members of gangs.
What the film has though thats good is style. I thought it was very stylish and remerable, especially Ajax. The Baseball fury chase was cool and really stood out. The music is brilliant and acting very good, considering its in the late 70s.
A word of warning. If you play the game first and then watch the film you will probably be disapointed. If you grew up on the film then you should really play the game as it really takes the film to a new level and expands on it. This feels like a game version of a remake.
The film is great but I found it a little lacking. Hopefully Tony Scott will remake this with the same story but really add to it cause this really needs a movie remake. We've got a game thats better. Now its time for a better version of the movie.
Be lookin' good, Warriors ... all the way back to Coney ...
Review date: 2006-03-27 Rating: 10 out of 10
"Now look what we have here before us ... We've got the Saracens - sitting next to the Jones Street Boys. We've got the Moonrunners - right by the Van Courtland Rangers. Nobody is wasting nobody ... Can you dig it?"
Walter Hill's seminal gang drama, based on Sol Yurick's novel (itself loosely based on Xenophon's 'Anabasis'), and often described as a "sick exploitation movie about urban violence." Could also be an 'urban Western,' as Hill was clearly influenced by Leone's millenial 'Dollar Trilogy' (hard stares, short on dialogue), and Sam Peckinpah's stylized and spectacular slow-motion action scenes. No doubt there were also a nod and a wink to West Side Story ... only without the nancy-boy prancing & dancing ...
Here's a message to all you boppers out there ...
Almost-respectable - certainly politically-correct, by their multi-racial membership - the Warriors (Cleon, Swan, Fox, Ajax, Snow, Cochise, Cowboy, Vermin and Rembrandt) are a Coney Island gang who, along with most other gangs in New York, travel to the Bronx, where Cyrus, leader of the Grammercy Riffs, has A Dream. And ... A Plan: instead of petty gangs pettily bickering over petty little pieces of turf, the combined force of 60,000 gang 'soldiers' outnumber the city's 20,000 cops ... if they get organized.
Who are the Warriors? ... I want all the Warriors ... Send the word ...
For no apparent reason, Luther (David Patrick Kelly) of the Rogues shoots Cyrus dead. The police break up the gathering. The Warriors are accused of the shooting and must leg-it back across the length of New York to Coney Island - without getting japped by all the other FM-tuned boppers out there. The Turnbull ACs, the Orphans, the Basebull Furies, the Lizzies, the Punks (in overalls), and the Rogues are out-run, out-bluffed, out-witted or out-bopped by the Warriors, until sunrise - and the elegiac Truth - dawns on the beach. Oh, and Swan (James Beck) wins The Girl, too.
The Baseball Furies dropped the ball, made an error. Our friends are on second base and trying to make it all the way home ...
New York City's authorities were not best pleased with this film. Both gangs and spray-can graffiti were already A Problem in many parts of the Big Apple, Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles, and The Warriors quadrupled this social phenomenon almost overnight - the police had their hands more than full. The notion of these gangs forming a unified front - 'getting organized,' such as the well-drilled para-military discipline of the numerous and all-Black Grammercy Riffs, complete with war-chief and consiglieri - was as genuinely worrying then in 1979 as it is now. And yet the film's notion was pretty close to prophecy - a decade later the 'Grammercy Riffs' became the well-drilled para-military discipline of Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam ...
The most memorable scene is probably actually a sound: Luther's rattling bottles along with the whining and nasal taunt, ... "Warriors ... come out to play-ay ..."
THE WARRIORS was particularly successful in Europe. Displeased as many American municipal authorities were, a spate of similar 'exploitation' films followed: THE WANDERERS , THE BRONX WARRIORS and others that nowadays would be straight-to-video fayre. But thanks to Barry deVorzon, Genya Raven, Mandrill, Johnny Vastano, Arnold McCuller, Kenny Vance & Ismael Miranda, Desmond Child and Joe Walsh ... THE WARRIORS had the best soundtrack!
one of the greats
Review date: 2006-02-04 Rating: 10 out of 10
this is a fantastic movie plenty of action. the fight scenes in this movie are brilliant and once youve watched it youl want to see it again and again.the movie was made brilliantly very realistic and the soundtrack isnt bad either.if you have never seen this movie get it and watch it you wont be dissapointed.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
David Harris
Brian Tyler (II)
Michael Beck
James Remar
Dorsey Wright
Creators:
Michael Beck (Primary Contributor)
James Remar (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Paramount Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Entertainment
EAN: 5014437806734
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-07-02
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 89 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1979-02-09
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