The Warriors (1979)

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

Sol Yurick (novel)
David Shaber (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 February 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

They outnumber the cops three to one.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Warrior | Night | New York City | Fight | Street Gang

Cast

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
Edward Sewer	...	Masai
Gwynn Press	...	Prom Couple
Jodi Price	...	Prom Couple
Jeffrey Scott	...	Prom Couple
Carl Brown	...	Prom Couple
Ron Ferrell	...	Gramercy Riff
Fernando Castillo	...	Gramercy Riff
Hubert Edwards	...	Gramercy Riff
Larry Sears	...	Gramercy Riff
Mike James	...	Gramercy Riff
Gregory Cleghorne	...	Gramercy Riff
George Lee Miles	...	Gramercy Riff
Gerald G. Francis	...	Gramercy Riff
Benny Harding	...	Gramercy Riff
Eddie Prather	...	Gramercy Riff
Kevin Stockton	...	Gramercy Riff
Joel Weiss	...	Rogue
Harold Miller	...	Rogue
Dan Bonnell	...	Rogue
Dan Battles	...	Rogue
Tom Jarus	...	Rogue
Michael Garfield	...	Rogue
Chris Harley	...	Rogue
Mark Baltazar	...	Rogue
J.W. Smith	...	Turnbull A.C.
Cal Saint John	...	Turnbull A.C.
Joe Zimmardi	...	Turnbull A.C.
Carrotte	...	Turnbull A.C.
William F. Williams	...	Turnbull A.C. (as William Williams)
Marvin Foster	...	Turnbull A.C.
Johnny Barnes	...	Turnbull A.C.
Ken Thret	...	Turnbull A.C.
Michael Jeffrey	...	Turnbull A.C.
Paul Greco	...	Orphan
Apache Ramos	...	Orphan
Tony Michael Pann	...	Orphan
Neal Gold	...	Orphan
James Margolin	...	Orphan
Chuck Mason	...	Orphan
Andy Engel	...	Orphan (as Andre Engel)
Ian Cohen	...	Orphan
Charles Serrano	...	Orphan
Charles Doolan	...	Orphan
Jery Hewitt	...	Baseball Fury (as Jerry Hewitt)
Rob Ryder	...	Baseball Fury
Steven Chambers	...	Baseball Fury (as Steve Chambers)
Richard Chiotti	...	Baseball Fury
Tony Latham	...	Baseball Fury
Gene Bicknell	...	Baseball Fury (as Eugene Bicknell)
T.J. McNamara	...	Baseball Fury
Steve James	...	Baseball Fury (as Steven James)
Lane Ruoff	...	Baseball Fury
Harry Madsen	...	Baseball Fury
Bill Anagnos	...	Baseball Fury (as Billy Anagnos)
John Gibson	...	Baseball Fury
Lisa Maurer	...	Lizzie
Kate Klugman	...	Lizzie
Wanda Velez	...	Lizzie
Dee Dee Benrey	...	Lizzie
Jordan Cae Harrell	...	Lizzie
Donna Ritchie	...	Lizzie
Doran Clark	...	Lizzie
Patty Brown	...	Lizzie
Iris Klein	...	Lizzie (as Iris Alahanti)
Victoria Vanderkloot	...	Lizzie
Laura Delano	...	Lizzie (as Laura De Lano)
Heidi Lynch	...	Lizzie
Craig R. Baxley	...	Punk (as Craig Baxley)
A.J. Bakunas	...	Punk
Gary Baxley	...	Punk
Konrad Sheehan	...	Punk
Eddie Earl Hatch	...	Punk
Tommy J. Huff	...	Punk (as Tom Huff)
Leon Delaney	...	Punk
Irwin Keyes	...	Police
Larry Silvestri	...	Police
Sonny Landham	...	Police
Frank Ferrara	...	Police
Pat Flannery	...	Police
Leo Ciani	...	Police
Charles McCarthy	...	Police (as Charlie McCarthy)
Tony Clark	...	Police
Victor Magnotta	...	Police (as Vic Magnotta)
Dennis Gregory
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pamela Poitier	...	Lincoln - Cleon's Girl (scenes deleted)
Richard Alleman	...	Nazi (uncredited)
Joseph Bergmann	...	Baseball Fury (uncredited)
Brian Colbath	...	Nazi (uncredited)
Steve Garfanti	...	Gang Member (uncredited)
Harold Jurkiewicz	...	Orphan (uncredited)
Antone Pagan	...	Gang Leader on Subway Stairs (uncredited)
Frazier Prince	...	Bopper-Gang Member (uncredited)
Charles Silvern	...	(uncredited)
Robert Townsend	...	Baseball Fury (uncredited)
Thomas G. Waites	...	Fox (uncredited)
Albert Zavurov	...	Guy in the Park (uncredited)
Charles Zucker	...	Straw Hat (uncredited)

Directed by
Walter Hill

Writing credits
Sol Yurick		(novel)
David Shaber		(screenplay) and
Walter Hill		(screenplay)

Produced by
Laurent Bouzereau	....	producer (Ultimate Director's Cut)
Freeman A. Davies	....	producer (Ultimate Director's Cut)
Lawrence Gordon	....	producer
Walter Hill	....	producer (Ultimate Director's Cut)
Frank Marshall	....	executive producer
Joel Silver	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Barry De Vorzon

Cinematography by
Andrew Laszlo		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Freeman A. Davies		(as Freeman Davies Jr.)
David Holden
Susan E. Morse
Billy Weber

Casting by
Howard Feuer
Jeremy Ritzer

Art Direction by
Don Swanagan
Robert Wightman		(as Bob Wightman)

Set Decoration by
Frederic C. Weiler		(as Fred Weiler)

Costume Design by
Bobbie Mannix
Mary Ellen Winston		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Frank Bianco	....	hair stylist
Mike Maggi	....	makeup artist (as Michael Maggi)

Production Management
John Stark	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Barth	....	second assistant director (as Bob Barth)
Peter Gries	....	second assistant director
David Sosna	....	assistant director (as David O. Sosna)
Bruce Greenfield	....	dga trainee (uncredited)

Art Department
William Kane	....	property master
William Lucek	....	chargeman scenic artist
Brian Murphy	....	illustrator (Ultimate Director's Cut)

Sound Department
William M. Andrews	....	sound effects editor (as William Andrews)
Sean Hanley	....	dialogue editor
Jack C. Jacobsen	....	sound mixer (as Jack Jacobsen)
Al Mian	....	sound mixer (as Alan Mian)
Alan Robert Murray	....	sound effects editor (as Allan Murray)
Lee Osborne	....	sound effects editor
Tex Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
George Watters II	....	sound effects editor
Arthur Bloom	....	boom operator (uncredited)
James Perdue	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Edward Drohan	....	special effects

Stunts
Craig R. Baxley	....	stunt coordinator (as Craig Baxley)
David Copeland	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Russell Engels	....	gaffer (as Russel Engels)
Peter Garbarini	....	camera operator
John Thomas Kennedy	....	key grip
Michael Stone	....	camera operator (as Mike Stone)
Michael Burke	....	electrician (uncredited)
Michael Ginsburg	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Ron Zarilla	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sylvia Fay	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
William Loger	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Phyllis Smith Altenhaus	....	assistant editor (as Phyllis Smith-Altenhaus)
Lisa Zeno Churgin	....	assistant editor (as Lisa Churgin)
Rick Fields	....	assistant editor
George Trirogoff	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John Caper Jr.	....	music editor
Joe Ferla	....	additional music co-supervisor
Paul Griffin	....	music arranger: additional music
Rob Mounsey	....	music arranger: additional music
Kenny Vance	....	music supervisor: additional music
Rocky Davis	....	musician (uncredited)
George Doering	....	musician (uncredited)

Other crew
Sam Bernstein	....	production accountant
Neil Canton	....	assistant: Mr. Hill
Laurie Deitz	....	assistant: Mr. Gordon
Gail Geibel	....	production office coordinator
A. Kitman Ho	....	location manager (as A.K. Ho)
David Streit	....	location manager
Giboney Whyte	....	script supervisor
Stephen A. Glanzrock	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Penn Jillette	....	knife thrower: main titles (television version) (uncredited)
Dan Perri	....	title designer: main titles (uncredited)
Rob Ryder	....	location scout (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1980) (France) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1983) (USA) (TV)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1985) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (1985) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Esselte Video (1985) (Finland) (VHS)
• Paramount Pictures (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Nelonen (1998) (Finland) (TV)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Finnkino (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-edited)
• Paramount Home Entertainment Finland (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (HD-DVD)
• CIC-Taft Home Video
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1985) (Greece) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (198?) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)

Other Companies

• Dan Perri  title design
• Modern Film Effects  opticals
• Sylvia Fay/Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting (uncredited)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Finland:(Banned) (1979) | Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) (2001) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (video rating) (1985) (cut) | France:-18 (cut) | France:X | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | West Germany:18 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2005) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | France:-16 (re-rating) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Sweden:(Banned) (1979) (original rating) | Sweden:15 (1979) (re-rating) | USA:R (MPAA #25367) | Argentina:16 (re-rating) (2004) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) (1985) | Argentina:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

During the opening credits of the T.V. version, the knife that is thrown into the board was thrown (off camera) by Penn Jillette.

Goofs:

Continuity: When walking, the girl is wearing high-heel sandals. However when she is running with the Warriors as they are chased by the cops in the subway station, she is wearing "practical" shoes.

Quotes:

Masai:Riffs!
Gramercy Riffs:[shouts] Yeah, right!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Trash of the Titans (#9.22)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

You're Movin' Too Slow

Back in time

I just finished watching The Warriors again and it always brings me back to that time. A time where you relied on friends and a brotherhood to keep you safe. A time where we took care of our own. I was born in Brooklyn and I remember going to the theater in Williamsburg with my older cousin to see this movie. Back then they had double features. We stayed and watched The Warriors for the second time. To me it is a simple movie of survival against all odds with no one but your brothers watching your back. Even the crime syndicate had rat's snitching on each other back then. Look at the end of the movie and see how the Rouges reacted even when faced with their destiny. They all stuck together. This is by far one of the best films of that era. And still today on DVD it is as fresh as the day it was released. I even turned my best friends wife into a fan. I truly believe this movie can reach all types of people. Kudos to the writers and producers and actors and everyone involved in this film.