 Director Walter Hill claims his turf with The Warriors: Ultimate Director's Cut! It's the stunning, must-see version of the classic film, loaded with special features that pack extra punch. The Warriors are ready to fight their way back to Coney Island, but standing in their path are some of the baddest, out-for-blood gangs in New York City. It'll take every bit of street smarts and every weapon they can find to make it back alive! 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 killing Cyrus as he gives his speech. They now have to cross the territory of rivals in order to get to their own 'hood. The Warriors slowly cross the dangerous Bronx and Manhattan territories, narrowly escaping police and other gangs every step of the way. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com} Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Casey Broadwater on July 2, 2009 -- I like to think I'm a nice guy, so I'd like to present, for your amusement, three steps to an enjoyable, laugh-filled evening: 1. Invite over three or four of your funniest friends. 2. Have a case of cold beer at the ready. 3. Pop in The Warriors and let loose with the MST3K-style remarks. There are certain films that I like to watch alone, certain films that close me off inside their hermetically sealed worlds, but The Warriors is not one of those films. Director Walter Hill's camp, comic-bookish, cult classic demands to be watched with a group, preferably one that can take the film for what it is—a fun but dated romp through New York City's boroughs. With its cartoonish violence and way over-the-top costuming, it's hard now to imagine that The Warriors was controversial in 1979, and harder still to believe that the film spurred three killings and numerous acts of vandalism in the week following its release. Then again, we live in an age when gang violence has been largely overshadowed by white-collar crime, leaving The Warriors looking like a strange relic from a barbarically hyperbolized past. The titular Warriors are a vaguely Native-American themed gang in an exaggerated New York that has been overrun by hundreds of other flamboyantly attired posses. The film opens with a massive rally staged by ambitious kingpin Cyrus (Roger Hill), leader of the city's biggest crew, The Gramercy Riffs. Cyrus has a grand plan to unite New York's gangs under a single anarchic banner and overtake the city. In the middle of his impassioned speech, however, Cyrus gets gunned down by Luther (David Patrick Kelly), the nihilistic leader of a rival gang, The Rogues. Luther pins the murder on The Warriors and suddenly our feather-haired heroes are trapped miles behind enemy lines. If the story sounds familiar, it's because it's loosely based on ancient Greek writer Xenophon's epic story Anabasis, about a Spartan general caught deep in Persian territory. Not ringing any bells? Anyway, The Warriors, led by Swan (Michael Beck), hotfoot it home to Coney Island, picking up Bronx trollop Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) along the way and trading fisticuffs with a handful of gangs that are out to get them. It was never Walter Hill's intention to create a realistic film, and though he says The Warriors is inspired by a comic book sensibility, modern eyes will likely see videogame parallels in the film's run-fight-run plot, which takes the characters through progressive "levels" of New York neighborhoods, each culminating in what amounts to a boss fight. If you're looking for a down and dirty bit of the old ultraviolence though, be forewarned. It's quick paced, but for a film about so-called warriors there's actually not a lot of violence, and the few battles we do see are pretty tame affairs that would barely look out of place in Westside Story. In fact, for the majority of the film, we see our heroes calling their adversaries wimps (or worse) and then promptly running away. The film could easily be called The Sprinters and no one would be the wiser. The film's biggest issue, however, is that it constantly sets up intriguing premises that go unfulfilled. Going blind into The Warriors and seeing Cyrus' speech, you would initially think the movie would be about a bad-ass uprising of the city's gangs, systematically overthrowing each district by going head-to-head with the woefully outnumbered cops. What we get instead are a bunch of lightweights fleeing the scene. There's also an interesting power struggle between Swan and Ajax (James Remar) early in the film, but this dynamic is quickly abandoned when Ajax assaults a woman and gets hauled off by the cops. Characters are routinely abandoned or undeveloped, and one is even thrown in front of a speeding train as a way of writing him out of the script. Still, there's a lot of fun to be had in watching The Warriors, especially if you're the kind who likes to crack jokes at the film's expense. There are whole scenes that are flat out unintentionally hilarious, like the gang leader on roller skates that's supposed to be trailing Swan ominously. I mean, is there anything less intimidating than a man on roller skates? What is he going to do, deliver Swan a burger? Between the ridiculous costumes and the deliciously cringe- worthy one-liners, the film revels in a kooky insanity that the actors play with poker-faced seriousness. It's the perfect recipe for a guys-night style film, and in that, The Warriors doesn't disappoint. Who would've thought The Warriors could look so good? This Blu-ray release stands bandana- wrapped head and brawny bare shoulders above its DVD counterpart, and I have no problems recommending it to anyone looking for some shallow but entertaining fun. So grab a few friends, pop a few bottle caps, and let the good times roll. Cast Notes: Michael Beck (Swan), Deborah Van Valkenburgh (Mercy), James Remar (Ajax), Dorsey Wright (Cleon), Brian Tyler (Snow), David Harris (Cochise), Tom McKitterick (Cowboy), Marcelino Sánchez (Rembrandt), Terry Michos (Vermin), Roger Hill (Cyrus), David Patrick Kelly (Luther), Lynne Thigpen (Radio deejay), Ginny Ortiz (Candy Store Girl), Mercedes Ruehl (Policewoman in Central Park), John Snyder (Gas Station Man). User Comment: PantherMonterey from Hermosa Beach, CA, 6 November 2004 • I was working in a movie theater when The Warriors first came out, and remember well the flick and the hype surrounding it. Here's a few notes to clear up some misconceptions that many other commentors seem to have. The flick was NOT ever intended to be an accurate portrayal of New York gang life, although there were some realistic elements. At the time it was generally accepted that it took place in the future, although nothing in the movie supports this. At best it can be considered an urban fable that takes place in a sort-of-imaginary world. You know, like Pulp Fiction (you think 90s LA gangsters dressed like that??). Second, the film itself was not accused of inciting violence. Problem was, it was a VERY popular film with gang members, who would show up in force. Two rival gangs would show up at the same theater, and... you can figure the rest out yourself. One guy was killed on the first weekend the movie was playing in New York; after that, the distributor hired off-duty police for security at every theater across the country that showed the flick. In the small-town Midwest where I lived, this served more as advertising hype than anything else. Finally, it was widely known back in the day that The Warriors was based on the ancient Greek nonfiction tale Anabasis, written around 370 BC by the Spartan general Xenophon (it's also published under the title The Persian Expedition). In this classic tale, a battalion of 10,000 Spartan mercenaries join the Persian emperor Cyrus for a war in Asia Minor (i.e. Turkey). Cyrus's army is defeated, the Spartan leaders are captured, and the remaining force must make their way across country, fighting various hostile tribes along the way, experiencing their own internal power struggles, until they reach the safety of the sea. I'm shocked that only one reviewer seemed to be familiar with this; in the 70s almost nobody talked about the movie without mentioning it. Great flick, by the way, and it holds up extremely well over time. Summary: A short history lesson -- The Warriors was based on the ancient Greek Spartan tale Anabasis. IMDb Rating (07/24/14): 7.6/10 from 334,322 users IMDb Rating (04/01/08): 8.2/10 from 70,977 users Top 250: #164
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