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The Warriors is directed by Walter Hill and stars Michael
Beck, David Harris, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Paul
Greco, Lynne Thigpen and Deborah Van Valkenburgh. The screenplay
was written by Walter Hill and David Shaber. The musical
score is by Barry De Vorzon. The film itself is based loosely
on the 1965 novel of the same name by Sol Yurick. ***
The Warriors is set in the not-so-distant future in
a semi-dystopian version of New York City. In this time
and place, gangs are trying to fight each other for control
of the city – and there are literally hundreds of gangs.
The gang members of the city outnumber the cops 5 to 1.
Cyrus, leader of the Riffs, the most powerful gang in the
city, calls a meeting with delegates from each gang to discuss
a truce so that they can have joint control over the city
and overthrow the police. The Warriors from Coney Island
are one of the gangs invited. Unfortunately, things go terribly
wrong when a murderous psychopath kills Cyrus and pins the
crime on the Warriors. It’s up to the Warriors to make it
back to Coney in one piece – but with every gang in the
city now pitted against them, it isn’t going to be easy.
***
Let’s not kid ourselves, The Warriors hasn’t exactly
aged too terribly well. The synth-heavy musical score, the
outrageous costumes of the gangs (we’ve got gangs dressed
in Indian-style vests, like mimes, like pimps, punk rockers,
greasers, baseball players, the list goes on…), you get
the idea. But is it still a fun movie to watch, 3 decades
after its original release? You bet. ***
If you’re looking for deep storytelling, a realistic
portrait of gangs in late-1970s New York, or a truly epic
film, you aren’t going to find it here. But The Warriors
delivers as a colorful film (both in terms of its characters
and dystopian sets) with plenty of fast-paced action and
an easy-to-follow plot. It’s a small movie, simple and to
the point, and as a result it never feels bloated for any
of its 90-minute duration. ***
One thing people tend to overlook about this movie is
the performances given by its young actors. Not many of
them went on to major acting careers, which is a disappointment
because they breathe life into these characters as few others
could have. Everyone is perfect for their respective role,
no matter where in the film they fit. And while not many
of the actors here had long, successful movie careers ahead
of them, many of them did find success in other areas –
Paul Greco, who has a brief but memorable role as Sully,
the leader of the Orphans, became the bass player for the
band Chumbawamba (you may remember them best for their 1997
hit Tubthumping, which couldn’t be escaped when it came
out.) ***
The Warriors is good cheesy fun. 30 years later, with
the arrival of this Blu-Ray release, it’s well worth revisiting.
This isn’t a realistic film or a deep one, but it doesn’t
have to be. It’s fun to watch, and that’s what counts. Sure,
it’s dated as hell, but if you ask this reviewer that just
adds to its charm. ***
This disc represents the Directors Cut of the film
that Walter Hill and Paramount put out in 2005, which adds
an intro and some comic-style frame transitions to a few
scenes. It runs about a minute longer than the original
theatrical version as a result. Disappointingly, the theatrical
cut is NOT included here – this would have been a great
opportunity for seamless branching to include both cuts,
but no such luck. ---
Image and Sound:
As a cult classic of sorts, this is not the sort of
movie I would have expected much out of in 1080p, aside
from maybe a slight upgrade over the standard definition
counterpart. Boy, was I wrong. This isn’t just one of the
best back-catalogue titles I’ve seen on Blu-Ray, it’s one
of the best-looking movies I have seen on the Blu-Ray format,
period. Paramount has cleaned pretty much all the dirt and
damage from the frame, and it looks pristine from start
to finish. Grain is noticeable throughout, and aside from
a few minor moments near the end of the movie, it never
spikes to an uncomfortable level. Even the darker scenes
of the movie (and set mostly at night, this film has plenty
of them) don’t tend to get bogged down in the grain level.
Audio is slightly less-impressive due to the fact that Paramount
didn’t include a lossless track, but it’s a more-than-competent
audio track that doesn’t disappoint – it just feels a bit
underwhelming compared with the beautiful visuals. All things
considered though, this is a damn good transfer. I NEVER
expected a movie like this to look so good in 1080p.
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