Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Michael Beck, James Remar, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, David Patrick Kelly
Primary genre: Action
Secondary genre: Thriller
Not the slightest bit outdated, The Warriors, a tense action thriller based on the 1965 novel of the same name, aims to tackle one of the Big Apple’s (back in the day) main problems: gangs. By the late 70s, packs of criminally inclined misfits were normal elements of NYC’s daily life. Yet The Warriors is not seeking to be a crime epic on the heels of The Godfather (1972) nor to perform a social commentary under dramatic intentions. Instead, director-writer Walter Hill delivers a chase movie involving some of society’s deviants and their cool as ice clothing.
“Waaaarrrrrriiiorsss, come out to pla-i-ay!”
Opening with a groovy montage that culminates to a gang assembly in the Bronx, things quickly take a turn for the worse as The Warriors are framed for a crime they (ironically) did not commit. Armed only with their spry bodies, willpower and wits, this nine-strong team has to do lots of fighting, and running, starting the Bronx and descending all the way to their turf in Coney Island. Thus, the Warriors embark on a modern Odyssey through the concrete sea of NY under the fantastic cinematography of Andrew Laszlo (Southern Comfort (1981), First Blood (1982)) where they have not only to prove their innocence but to avoid rival gangs, cops, and femme fatales and stay alive, of course.
The stakes are high for our boys and Hill’s script, interestingly, manages to invoke a sense of sympathy from the audience’s part towards this antihero group which adheres to a strict set of rules, roles (e.g., scout, enforcer), and code of honor. It helps that each one of these youths looks and acts in a different manner (e.g., the hot-headed fighter, the ladies’ man) with interesting touches that elevate these characters from being one-dimensional cardboards of attitude, especially towards the end. Led by an intense and charismatic Michael Beck and supported by breakout performances from James Remar (Cruising (1980), Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)) and the bastard that is David Patrick Kelly (The Crow (1994)), The Warriors is an effective action thriller that gets the job done in its uber-simplistic story.
Shot entirely at night, Hill emphasizes a sense of underlying menace and urban isolation even for those who are tough, particularly inside NYC’s complex subway system, influencing John Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1981) mood two years later. And while there is not (or can’t be) much substance for a film that features criminal gangs, its style and strong momentum make up for it, especially in its numerous (and aggressively staged) fight sequences with aesthetically distinct gangs. Let’s say you won’t look at baseball - or subway bathrooms - the same way again.
The Warriors continues to this day to command respect from several filmmakers due to its one-liners (e.g., “Warriors, come out to play-ay!”) and iconic shots (“Can you dig it?“) resulting, rightfully so, in several visual and verbal homages: from Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) and Ronny Yu’s Warriors of Virtue (1997) to Minions: Rise of Gru (2022) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), a testament of the movie’s decades-long enduring appeal to a number of cinephile generations. It is an expertly paced story that does not waste a second on self-indulgent debauchery, nudity, or gratuitous violence. Most importantly, there is a bit of heart deep down all this bravado and macho filled shenanigans. Come out to play indeed.
One of the most influential films of the 70s
+Urban Odyssey
+Laszlo’s cinematography
+Aggressive fight sequences
+Moody atmosphere
+Sense of urgency
+One liners
+Distinct characters
-More style than substance