I'd like to take a moment to recognize what I think is one of the greatest and most important pieces of American theatrical work ever made. This is not some star-studded, well- coerced, eat-at-the-hearts of the audience type movie; No. This is a gritty, rough-edged movie starring the right actors at the right time. And, they're all virtually unknown. This is a movie for guys that like movies, but girls love it, too (I've met a few)!
The Warriors, directed by famed macho-movie maker Walter Hill, is a tale about a New York streetgang from Coney Island. Nine chosen delegates travel all the way to Eastchester, NY by subway to attend a huge meeting of a hundred gangs all with the same number delegates. Put together by the biggest gang in the state, the Gramercy Riffs, the meeting was supposed to be about union and truce with a united takeover of the whole state; a radical attempt by their charismatic leader, Cyrus. Instead, an even more radical, yet sociopathic leader of another gang, the Rogues, shoots Cyrus down to send the meeting into a chaotic free-for-all just as the police, who have been staking the place all along, begin their raid.
Through the melee, the Warriors leader, Cleon, goes to check on the status of Cyrus. There, the vile culprit of the Rogues accuses Cleon and the Warriors of the dastardly deed, in which Cleon is overtaken by the Riffs and beaten to death. Now the Warriors, lead by the assured 2nd in command, Swan is charged with getting the gang back to Coney Island. Knowing the police are after them, but clueless to the manhunt beset upon them by all gangs at the word of the Gramercy Riffs, the Warriors have to battle their way back home.
The movie faced harsh criticism when it premiered in February of 1979. There were numbers of reported incidents involving violence and gang-related activity surrounding area theaters that were showing the movie. After promotion of the movie dwindled to merely nothing and having been pulled in some locations, The Warriors' success went into some box office obscurity which may have been considered a bomb. However it had gained a huge underground and international cult following.
After watching this with my 9 year old nephew, I realize there has to be a cut off point. Some kids just arent disciplined enough to view such a flick. They just don't have that filter. Not to say my nephew is this kind on kid, but there is more to the story than just the violence. Now my daughter, the little angel that she is, memorized Cyrus' opening monologue at about four years old. There is no cursing, nothing absurd; it's a motivational so to speak, can you dig it?
I don't recal the first time I saw this movie, but I know I was probably younger than most parents would prefer their child to watch such a film. It's not really all that bad, to be honest. Besides a few derogatory remarks, some f-bombs, and a bit of rough, male/female content (but no nudity), it is a perfectly dark and violent movie for viewers of all ages!
I say this because The Warriors has something that a lot of other movies lack; realism. Imperfect characters with very little to say. A dire situation with only one way home. No fancy gadets, no elaborate game plan. Just adrenaline and tunnel vision, it's rather desaparate and primal. You don't have to have grown up on the other side of the tracks to empathize with what is going on. It's a beautiful meadley of vision and sound, choreography and creation. It's a transient tale of getting back home. It's the Wizard of Oz. It's Finding Nemo. It's also, kick-ass and in countless viewings of it, it never gets old. It's timeless and that makes it a classic.
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