The Warriors (1979)
Studio: Paramount
Cast: Michael Beck (Swan), James Remar (Ajax), Dorsey Wright (Cleon), Brian Tyler (Snow), David Harris (Cochise), Tom McKitterick (Cowboy), Marcelino Sanchez (Rembrandt), Terry Michos (Vermin), Deborah Van Valkenburgh (Mercy), Roger Hill (Cyrus)
Director: Walter Hill
Jeff Krause
Plot summary
In a dark, futuristic New York City, a group of gang members must make their way home with an entire city trying to hunt them down.
Review
One of the best things about writing for my own classic movie site is I get to pick the movies I review. The Warriors is not a movie that ranks up there with most of the other movies you will find reviewed on this site or on the American Film Institute’s top 100 lists. It is not a film with great acting performances, deep subject matter or transformative directing or special effects. On the other hand, it is a fun movie that has become cult classic, especially among people who saw it when originally released in theaters.
The movie opens with several short scenes introducing the Warriors, a gang from Coney Island. The gang is talking about attending a meeting called by Cyrus, the leader of the largest gang in the city. Cyrus is a charismatic leader who wants the gangs to join together and run the city. Each gang is allowed to send nine unarmed members to hear him speak. As he excites the with his dreams of tens of thousands of gang members joining together and asking them “Can you dig it?” a shot comes from the crowd and kills him. The meeting dissolves into panic as the police crash the party and gang members flee in every direction. During the chaos, the gang member who shot Cyrus accuses the Warriors and their leader Cleon is killed.
The remaining gang members must now make it back to their home turf in Coney Island with the police searching for any gang members they can find and every gang in the city out to avenge Cyrus. Along the way, they battle gangs like the Turnbull ACs, the Orphans, and the Baseball Furies. They are pursued through the subways and streets by the police and lured into the lair of the Lizzies. When they finally reach Coney Island, they are met by the gang that shot Cyrus in one final confrontation.
The Warriors was based on a 1965 novel by Sol Yurick. The novel was itself based on the Anabasis by the ancient Greek writer Xenophon. The story was the account of 10,000 Greek mercenaries who, after being stranded deep in Persia had to fight their way home. Elements of Xenophon’s story, character names and other bits of Greek mythology are woven in the Warriors. In the Anabasis, Cyrus was the Persian pretender who initially hired the 10,000 and whose death precipitated their march home through enemy territory. Also in the Anabasis, Cleon was one of the original leaders of the 10,000 but died in one of their first battles. The names and costuming of the gangs the Warriors battle on their way home also weave in elements of Greek mythology. The Baseball Furies are the vengeful Erinyes (Furies) of myth and the Lizzies are the Sirens who lured sailors to their doom.
The Warriors has a dark, comic book feel. With the exception of the final scene, everything happens at night in a mostly deserted city or its mostly empty subway system and, other than the subway restroom fight, every scene was filmed on location in New York City. The well-chosen locations and nighttime setting give the film it’s dark and bleak futuristic feel. That said, the setting is not New York, it is a stylized, futuristic, and violent comic book version of the city. There are almost no guns in the film. Instead, the gangs have a melee weapon of choice or must improvise when confronted. The stylized fight scenes, graffiti and costuming contribute to the comic book effect.
I am certain none of the cast of The Warriors was even remotely considered for an academy award for their role in the film. The most memorable performances are probably those of James Remar and David Patrick Kelly. Remar plays the gang member who seems to angrily question every decision while making many bad ones of his own. Kelly steals the few scenes he is in with his portrayal of a psychopathic gang leader who starts the whole thing by murdering Cyrus and blaming the warriors.
Elements of Greek mythology and creative filmmaking aside, The Warriors was not well received by critics at the time. Some critics thought the film glorified gang violence and several violent incidents at theaters rightly or wrongly contributed to this negative impression. However, it was popular at the box office, grossing $16.4 million versus a budget estimated to be somewhere between $4 million and $7 million.
It was only later that the film came to be appreciated as a cult classic. By 2003, the New York Times placed the film on its list of “1000 Best Movies Ever Made.” Entertainment Weekly ranked it 16th on its list of “Top 50 Greatest Cult Films” as well as 14th on its list of “25 Most Controversial Movies Ever.” Rotten Tomatoes currently shows an 87% approval rating for the film based on 47 reviews. One surprising fan of the film was President Ronald Reagan who phoned actor Michael Beck to tell him how much he had enjoyed the film’s screening at Camp David.
There is no question that The Warriors was an over-the-top violent film for it for its time. It has lost some of that edge in the forty plus years since its release. Whether it glorified gang violence as many critics claimed, is another matter. For me, the film is about a group having to commit violence in order to reach the peace and safety of home. All of the violence is brought on by others trying to stop them from reaching that peace and safety.
If you have never seen The Warriors, don’t expect to be overawed by any aspect of the film. The film does not leave you pondering the great mysteries of life. On the other hand, you probably won’t feel you have completely wasted an hour and a half of your life. At a minimum, you will be entertained by the action and find yourself hoping the Warriors can make it home. Perhaps, after reading this, you will also appreciate some of the other aspects of that make The Warriors a cult classic.
Why You Should Watch It
The Warriors is a dark, futuristic fantasy and was among the first films to be inspired by comic books. Today’s superhero films but even more so franchises like Underworld, Blade and Resident Evil owe something to this film.
Walter Hill directed or produced some of most interesting and memorable films of the late 70s and early 80s. His other directing efforts included Southern Comfort, The Long Riders and 48 Hours, all of which featured an interesting storyline with over the top violence and all released in the short span from 1979 to 1982. His production credits include Alien and Aliens.
Things to watch for
At one point during the filming, actress Deborah Van Valkenburgh broke her wrist. She disappears from the film for a bit while the Warriors split up. When she appears later, she claims she stole the long sleeve jacket she is wearing. The jacket covers her right wrist for the rest of the movie.
The opening nighttime scene where we see the Warriors talk about the upcoming meeting was a reshoot. The original opening occurred in daytime and featured Cleon telling each of the gang members why he was selecting them to represent the Warriors at the meeting. It was cut because the editors felt it did not work with a film shot mostly at night.
Did You Know?
Sol Yurick, the author of the 1965 novel was a New York City social worker. He wrote the novel as a rebuttal to what he saw as the romanticized version of gangs portrayed in West Side Story.
Director of photography Andrew Laszlo campaigned for an early scene featuring a sudden rainstorm. The rain allowed him to wet down the streets and create interesting light reflections throughout the rest of the film.
Walter Hill was fond of using the plot device where a group leader is killed early in the film, causing disarray and forcing the remaining members to adapt. In the Warriors, gang leader Cleon is killed near the beginning. In Southern Comfort, Sergeant Poole is the first member killed and in Aliens, Sergeant Apone is taken in the first confrontation with the alien hive.
Rating (14)
Overall (4) Underappreciated when released, the film has become a cult classic over the years.
Star Power (3) You won’t find any big names or Oscar worthy performances here but you will see a glimpse of a period where Walter Hill was one of the most creative directors in Hollywood.
Movie History (3) Later superhero films and comic book film franchises owe a lot to the ground broken by this film.
Innovation (4) Creative use of scenes and lighting are easily overlooked while we focus on the well-choreographed fight scenes. One of the first live action comic books placed on film.
