The Warriors (1979)

In a future, dystopian New York City, turf gangs and cops rule the streets. When one gang leader tries to bring all gangs together against the cops Coney Island's The Warriors are framed for his murder and the entire city turns on them.

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

Sol Yurick (novel), David Shaber (screenplay),

Stars:

Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Beck	...	Swan
James Remar	...	Ajax
Dorsey Wright	...	Cleon
Brian Tyler	...	Snow
David Harris	...	Cochise
Tom McKitterick	...	Cowboy
Marcelino Sánchez	...	Rembrandt (as Marcelino Sanchez)
Terry Michos	...	Vermin
Deborah Van Valkenburgh	...	Mercy
Roger Hill	...	Cyrus
David Patrick Kelly	...	Luther
Lynne Thigpen	...	D.J.
Ginny Ortiz	...	Candy Store Girl
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Policewoman
John Snyder	...	Gas Station Man

Storyline

Cyrus, the leader of the most powerful gang in New York City, the Gramercy Riffs, calls a midnight summit for all the area gangs, with all asked to send nine unarmed representatives for the conclave. A gang called The Warriors are blamed for causing gang violence at theaters, but now it looks as highly stylized and pulpy as Hill intended. The plot finds a New York gang having to cross the territory of rivals in order to get to their own 'hood. And so The Warriors begin their long journey from the Bronx back to Coney Island. The second-in-command, Swan, takes charge, though the hot-headed Ajax openly voices his desire to be acting gang warlord. The Warriors slowly cross the dangerous Bronx and Manhattan territories, narrowly escaping police and other gangs every step of the way.

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Plot Keywords:

warrior | night | new york city | fight | street gang | 

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Taglines:

They outnumber the cops three to one.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les guerriers de la nuit

Filming Locations:

72nd St. IRT Station, 72nd and Broadway, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 6,309,835 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is a "collective hero" movie, in which the protagonist actually consists of nine people acting (more or less) as one. Walter Hill uses this gimmick frequently; other movies he has made that work this way are Southern Comfort and The Long Riders.

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Goofs

In the beginning of the movie, the warriors board a D train leaving Coney Island. When the train leaves the station, in the far shot of Coney Island, they are on a B train.

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Quotes

Cropsey, Rogue Lieutenant: [at the candy store] We set?
Luther: We're set alright. Somebody should pick their ass up. The Riffs sent out the word. They want 'em alive. We don't.
Cropsey, Rogue Lieutenant: Sooner someone grabs 'em, the better.
Luther: What's the matter? Ya afraid the Warriors are gonna shoot their mouths off before they get wacked?
Cropsey, Rogue Lieutenant: Yeah, right! I'm worried! I just don't want the Riffs down on my head!
Luther: No sweat. They're lookin' for the Warriors, remember? We can do some lookin' too... Oughta make you feel better.

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Crazy Credits

In the original version, the end credits are followed by 3 minutes of black screen as the Joe Walsh song "In the City" plays.

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Connections

Referenced in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series: Both of You, Duel Like You Want to Win (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Last of an Ancient Breed"
Composed by Desmond Child
Performed by Desmond Child and Rouge

User Reviews

Let's Get Down To It Boppers...

Just a couple of points to add to the general accolades above:

Here in England the BBC have twice shown a version of The Warriors with a prologue scene, edited from the released movie but restored to a point prior to the opening 'Wonder Wheel' shot. It shows Cleon (an otherwise very underused character), sitting on the Boardwalk in the late afternoon sunshine waiting for his eight footsoldiers to show, while his girlfriend pleads with him not to go to the Bronx. When the others arrive and line up he designates their roles, including the "Swan: War chief and second in command" alluded to later in the movie. Ajax gives an early sign of his belligerent nature, voicing his disapproval with bringing a boombox-guy and a graffiti-artist: "They'll only slow us down", but seems happy to be labelled as "Heavy Muscle" along with Cochise. Much of the dialogue from this scene is re-used in the credit-sequence, with the shots of Coney and the gathering forces intercut with short interchange between Warriors. However, the prologue scene ends unforgettably with a crane-shot of the nine striding up the Boardwalk and into the distance, casting long shadows on the decking and with Cleon's girlfriend trailing in their wake. Over this, a slow sixties surf-tune booms out as the waves wash against the shore. Bloody wonderful.

Unfortunately I have never found a store-bought version which includes this material - DVD community, do you know?

Another thing I heard was that the original idea was that the movie was set "Sometime In The Near Future", but Walter Hill dropped the idea of having a caption stating as much at the start of the film. This explains some of the discrepancies with the actual New York gangland, being more about delinquent youth and 'Colours' than Organised Crime syndicates and shiny suits.

Third - a fantastic action movie full of colour, vim and attitude, but which also never fails to break my heart every time I watch it. There are a couple of scenes like this - mostly Deborah Van Valkenburgh's - but the main one is with Swan and Mercy on the Subway as the High School 'Preppies' complete with ruffled shirts and massive lapels sit down opposite, their laughter and smiles soon fading as the contrast becomes blindingly obvious to them as well as us. Walter Hill plays this scene perfectly: with no dialogue as such, and with Swan and Mercy not even looking at each other as he takes her hand from her hair and places it firmly by her side. Och, goosebumps even thinking about it!

Finally, having also read the original 'Anabasis' (I had to) when I was studying Ancient Civilisations of the Med at University, as a piece of pure drama The Warriors could shove a bat up it's ass and turn it into a Popsicle. Can You Dig It?!