The WarriorsIt's pretty amazing what you can accomplish when you're life is on the line, and your only chance to survive is to fight across miles of territory to get back home. For the Warriors, one of many colorful gangs in the film of the same name, their mission in the wake of the unfortunate conclusion to a street tough conference in the Bronx is to get back to Coney Island--their home turf--and away from the rival gangs trying to waste them, convinced that the Warriors wasted the president of the biggest gang in the city. Practically the whole of New York City is out for the Warriors' blood, and if they stop running, they're dead.
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Director Walter Hill's The Warriors is a colorful and imaginative action film about a city filled with gangs, decked out in colorful outfits and with distinct identities identifying their tribe. The film is an adaptation of the novel by Sol Yurick, which is itself an adaptation of "Anabasis" by Xenophon, a tale describing a group of Greek mercenaries stranded deep behind enemy lines, forced to fight without traditional leadership to return to the safety of the sea. The Warriors belongs in another world, a kind of New York City which never experienced the massive gentrification and elimination of gangs and turf wars by and large. In this world, the gangs are not only rampant, but they amass to sixty-thousand soldiers, if Cyrus (Roger Hill) can be believed. Cyrus' conference in Pelham Bay Park is a promise to the lost and misguided masses of soldiers of the night, that if they can but count, but recognize the strength of their number, they can claim the power which belongs rightfully to them, and stop living in a world which treats them as criminals...never mind that they are criminals. Like all displaced youth, the gangs rally behind the charismatic Cyrus, who promises them a better life and one free from the oppression of the police and a society which rejects them. But as history has shown with influential leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, no dream goes unchallenged, and some will reject the idea with lethal resistance. The Warriors become fugitives not only from the law, but from their own kind, forced to face off against the rival gangs, each with their own colorful gimmick and mannerisms. From the Baseball Furies and their KISS-styled war paint, to the seductive and sneaky Lizzies, each gang fights to bring the Warriors in, upon order from the Riffs, to see justice done for Cyrus' assassination...all while the Rogues, led by Luther (David Patrick Kelly), a kind of denim vest-clad Richard III, chuckle and smirk from the sidelines at the chaos they have wrought.
The Warriors is packed full of action into its narrow hour-and-a-half frame, full of brawling and chases, cutaways to scenes of the Riffs and the Rogues plotting how to get the Warriors. The film is filled with selections of music which underscore the tension and the dire situation for the gang from Coney Island, while the score itself is a pulsing synth and guitar mix, rushing through the movie's veins like a shot of adrenaline, the endorphins pumping as the Warriors sprint from station to station. When gang warlord Cleon (Dorsey Wright) is apprehended early, warchief Swan (Michael Beck) is forced to manage the group. Swan is a cool leader, who keeps his head under pressure. He doesn't much care for others trying to rouse his emotions, which he keeps locked down for the most part, though this is tested when he encounters Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh), a promiscuous tagalong from a small time gang, who takes a shine to the Warriors, and Swan in particular. Although a young, presumably uneducated hood, Swan is perceptive and has a keen mind; he understands that if he and his tribe are to return safe, they must play it smart and avoid risks that they can't guarantee, a strategy which rankles Ajax (James Remar), the most aggressive member of the group, who actively looks for fights, and even seems to invite danger. It's interesting that in almost all scenes with Swan and Ajax, Swan is running in the front, and Ajax brings up the rear. Although it might be said that Swan is simply a better runner, I see this stylistic choice as representing that Swan clearly understands how outmanned they are and knows their best strategy is to flee until they can dictate the odds in their favor. Ajax isn't interested in running--and comments on this several times--almost as though he wants his enemies to catch up to give him an excuse to hit someone. Realistically, a group like the Warriors--or any gang--should not endear much sympathy from us, considering their métier is to rob, steal, assault, and vandalize the community--but the best way to watch The Warriors is to consider it as something of an alternate universe, where the cops represent a kind of massive gang themselves, and the purpose of Cyrus' get together was to organize a revolution. In this world, the disenfranchisement of youth has gone so far, that the prospect of sixty-thousand gang members shouldn't really be that shocking, because it is their world now, thus casting the Warriors--and the other gangs looking to organize into a coalition--in a sympathetic light, and Luther and his Rogues as "terrorists". The Warriors is a highly concentrated dose of brawling and street fighting, filled with colorful fights and exciting music. Little time in the film is devoted to exposition of who these characters are or where they came from, and little dialogue is shared between Mercy and Swan, leaving their romance a sparse one, yet somehow tender and passionate. The devotion of The Warriors to stick with its strengths keeps it lean and avoids filler, which would leave it bloated and dull; it wears its colors well, and marches through with confidence, so we stick with the fight to the finish line.
Recommended for: Fans of brawling action films with oodles of colorful costumes set amidst a nocturnal New York City, it the "dangerous to go out at night" days, subways layered with graffiti and dimly lit alleys; a seriously cool adventure.
The Warriors is packed full of action into its narrow hour-and-a-half frame, full of brawling and chases, cutaways to scenes of the Riffs and the Rogues plotting how to get the Warriors. The film is filled with selections of music which underscore the tension and the dire situation for the gang from Coney Island, while the score itself is a pulsing synth and guitar mix, rushing through the movie's veins like a shot of adrenaline, the endorphins pumping as the Warriors sprint from station to station. When gang warlord Cleon (Dorsey Wright) is apprehended early, warchief Swan (Michael Beck) is forced to manage the group. Swan is a cool leader, who keeps his head under pressure. He doesn't much care for others trying to rouse his emotions, which he keeps locked down for the most part, though this is tested when he encounters Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh), a promiscuous tagalong from a small time gang, who takes a shine to the Warriors, and Swan in particular. Although a young, presumably uneducated hood, Swan is perceptive and has a keen mind; he understands that if he and his tribe are to return safe, they must play it smart and avoid risks that they can't guarantee, a strategy which rankles Ajax (James Remar), the most aggressive member of the group, who actively looks for fights, and even seems to invite danger. It's interesting that in almost all scenes with Swan and Ajax, Swan is running in the front, and Ajax brings up the rear. Although it might be said that Swan is simply a better runner, I see this stylistic choice as representing that Swan clearly understands how outmanned they are and knows their best strategy is to flee until they can dictate the odds in their favor. Ajax isn't interested in running--and comments on this several times--almost as though he wants his enemies to catch up to give him an excuse to hit someone. Realistically, a group like the Warriors--or any gang--should not endear much sympathy from us, considering their métier is to rob, steal, assault, and vandalize the community--but the best way to watch The Warriors is to consider it as something of an alternate universe, where the cops represent a kind of massive gang themselves, and the purpose of Cyrus' get together was to organize a revolution. In this world, the disenfranchisement of youth has gone so far, that the prospect of sixty-thousand gang members shouldn't really be that shocking, because it is their world now, thus casting the Warriors--and the other gangs looking to organize into a coalition--in a sympathetic light, and Luther and his Rogues as "terrorists". The Warriors is a highly concentrated dose of brawling and street fighting, filled with colorful fights and exciting music. Little time in the film is devoted to exposition of who these characters are or where they came from, and little dialogue is shared between Mercy and Swan, leaving their romance a sparse one, yet somehow tender and passionate. The devotion of The Warriors to stick with its strengths keeps it lean and avoids filler, which would leave it bloated and dull; it wears its colors well, and marches through with confidence, so we stick with the fight to the finish line.
Recommended for: Fans of brawling action films with oodles of colorful costumes set amidst a nocturnal New York City, it the "dangerous to go out at night" days, subways layered with graffiti and dimly lit alleys; a seriously cool adventure.