Mountain FogRETROSPECT: THE WARRIORS (1979)
February 17th 2009 10:10
The Warriors: A long way from home.
Released in 1979, The Warriors was initially noted for allegedly sparking violence in the cinemas where it first played. Paramount prematurely pulled the advertising campaigns for the film to appease those who saw the picture as a call to dystopian violence and The Warriors was seemingly pushed aside and forcibly forgotten by highbrow critics and intolerant conservatives. Over time, however, the engaging comic book stylings of The Warriors at first garnered cult status, then grudging admiration and finally, now 30 years later, the motion picture is regarded as something of a minor classic. It’s respect well deserved for this kinetic, frenetic and highly stylish film.
It’s the 1979 near future and New York is slowly being taken over by hundreds of well-organised (and well dressed) gangs. The police force is struggling to cope and in an attempt to finally bring the city to heel, Cyrus (Roger Hill), the leader of the biggest crew of all, the Gramercy Riffs, has called a meeting. Nine members from each of the most powerful gangs in city are invited to the Bronx to take part in the gathering and the Coney Island-based Warriors are part of the mix. At the meet, the charismatic Cyrus gives an impassioned speech to an eager throng numbering in the thousands, explaining his grand plan for the squabbling gangs to come together and take over the city.
Unfortunately, Luther (David Patrick Kelly), leader of the misanthropic Rogues, has different ideas and mid speech, he ruthlessly guns down Cyrus. Unfortunately for the Warriors, one of their crew witnesses the assassination, and Luther is quick to push the blame onto the pragmatic Coney Island operators. So begins are mad dash for safety, as the Warriors try to navigate their way back across the city. Meanwhile, the Riffs have put out the call for vengeance, leaving every gang in the city baying for Coney Island blood.
It’s a simple setup with ancient roots, being based upon the Greek work, Anabasis, in which the writer Xenophon tells the true tale of his accompaniment of the Ten Thousand, a large army of Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger, who aimed to seize the throne of Persia around 400 BC. While Cyrus's army was victorious at Cunaxa in Babylon, Cyrus himself was killed in the battle, rendering the victory irrelevant. Leaderless, stranded deep in enemy territory and without supplies other than what they could obtain by force, the 10,000 had to fight their way northwards through Kurdistan and Armenia to the safety of the Black Sea, making ad hoc decisions about their leadership, tactics, and destiny as they went. The Warriors sticks closely to this ancient Greek blueprint, right down to some of the different names and purposes of the opposition gangs, such as sirens who appear in the form of the all-girl gang, the Lizzies, and the nomenclature of the Baseball Furies, based upon the well-known Greek deities of vengeance.
There are many elements that make The Warriors a fantastic film, but it’s the combination of a lean script, muscular direction and efficient editing that really provide the basic framework around which so much brilliant work been constructed. The first frame pops up on the screen and things are immediately propelled forward; as the opening credits roll the characters are quickly sketched out for the audience and the nature of their journey from Coney Island to The Bronx established. The sheer distance they are travelling from home is also cleverly shown as stations rush past and members of the crew chart their progress along the labyrinthine New York subway system. The result is that by the time the credits end and we are at the meeting in the Bronx, the audience knows exactly what’s going on, who’s there and why, and the high stakes involved. It’s a great piece of filmmaking and sets up beautifully the dangerous journey back home that is about to take place.
Michael Beck as Swan in The Warriors.
And this is only the starting point when it comes to describing the great work that has gone into this film. Indeed, it’s like everybody involved in the picture read the script and just ‘got it’ immediately, so of-a-piece is The Warriors. Andrew Laszlo’s rich night time photography captures a wet New York dripping in darkness and primary colours. It jibes brilliantly with some inspired lighting, framing the characters and their antagonists in spooky tones that tell of danger around every corner.
Danger there is in spades, too, with some of the most artistically vivid and beautifully over-the top-gangs ever. The Rogues; the Electric Eliminators; the Turnball ACs; the Orphans; the Baseball Furies: they’re all on the Warriors’ tail and packing some of the most imaginative costume design ever conceived. The Baseball Furies in particular are truly frightening, with their baseball outfits, bats and menacing two-tone face paint.
Don't mess with the Baseball Furies.
The relatively young cast on The Warriors also rise to the occasion. Michael Beck has ice in his veins as Swan, the ad hoc superior of the Warriors while James Remar is all spike and punk as Ajax, the muscle of the group who wins the audience’s admiration and sympathy despite his antagonistic claims on leadership and reckless actions that will eventually hand him a fate in keeping with the ancient Greek origins of his name. Elsewhere, David Patrick Kelly chews scenery and spits it out as the nihilistic Luther. All of the minor players are great in their own way; even if the performances are sometimes a touch wooden they still capture the trash-talking machismo of the different gang members perfectly.
Of course, directing all this machismo is Walter Hill, a man who is at his best when working with such testosterone-laden material. He gives everything a brilliantly modern and ever-so-slightly surrealistic tag, the result being a film that doesn’t feel 30 years old. The fight scenes in particular are mesmerising, over the top bone crunchers. One that takes place in a station men’s room is particularly dynamic in its comic book framing and brutality.
Ultimately, The Warriors is a film that operates successfully on more levels than you would initially suspect. So many aspects are so well thought out, but it’s the skill of the storytelling on show that resonates most, from the beautifully simple implementation of the setup right through to the radio DJ who taunts and tracks the Warriors’ chaotic progress from one danger-laden borough to the next. A fantastic piece of celluloid that perhaps still isn’t shown quite the respect it deserves, yet with each passing year draws more and more people into its unique corner of popular culture. Perhaps just pray that Hollywood bum director, Tony Scott, rethinks his ridiculous idea of a modern LA remake.
As an extra note, when it comes to picking up the DVD of The Warriors, try getting your hands on an original cut of the film. Walter Hill's director's cut is currently doing the rounds and isn't quite as snappy, due to the addition of some rather redundant comic book drawn frames in the scene transitions. If there's a disc available that lets you watch the original version, make sure you pick that up instead.
Check out the original trailer for The Warriors below:
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Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Dig it out, man - it's like 90 minutes long; you could almost watch it in your lunch break. It really is great stuff.
Until then, let the shaming begin!
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Mrs M
Mum's Word
I saw this when I was way way too young. Irresponsible older siblings.
And it should be left alone. No remakes necessary.
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Warriors... LA... Tony Scott... buh
Comment by MVD
One need only compare the trailers for "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" (1974 and 2009) for further evidence. The city's physical plant may look similar in both, but the primal heart is gone from the remake. For better or worse.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight