The Warriors

Plot synopsis:
As night falls over Coney Island, Cleon (Dorsey Wright), leader of the Warriors, meets up with eight of his most trusted lieutenants to travel by subway to the faraway Bronx. They will be attending an event called by a man named Cyrus, described as "the one and only." Throughout the city, other gang delegations are seen entering the subway in their full colors. As the Warriors speculate about the event during their subway ride, we learn that Cyrus, leader of the largest gang in the city, the Gramercy Riffs, has called a truce of all the gangs in New York. He wants an unarmed delegation of nine from each gang to come to a mass meeting to hear what he has to say. Some of the Warriors are excited at the prospect, while others are skeptical.At Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, the meeting is well-attended with over 100 gangs represented. The charismatic Cyrus (Roger Hill) takes the stage and delivers a spellbinding speech. He says that, instead of fighting each other over turf, they could unite to form an army of 60,000 soldiers, compared to only 20,000 police in the whole city. He punctuates his points with "Can you dig it?" to the crowd's wild response. Outside the meeting area, the police are seen silently moving in.Most of the crowd is enthralled with Cyrus' vision, but one member has his own agenda. Luther (David Patrick Kelley), the psychotic leader of a gang called the Rogues, has snuck a gun into the gathering. At a high point in the speech, Luther fires at Cyrus, killing him instantly. When Cyrus falls back, there is a brief stunned silence, followed by pandemonium. The crowd was so fixated on Cyrus that hardly anyone saw who fired the shot, but Luther turns to see that Fox (Thomas G. Waites) of the Warriors witnessed the assassination, so he points the gun to kill Fox. Just at that moment the police spotlights come on, blinding Luther.Cleon walks towards the middle of the chaos, to see whether Cyrus survived. Luther begins screaming to the crowd, "That's him! The guy who shot Cyrus!" Another member of the Rogues also claims to have seen Cleon shoot Cyrus. Cleon denies it, but Luther continues to scream "The Warriors did it! The Warriors did it!" and charges at Cleon. Cleon holds his own in a fight against the Rogues, but then the Gramercy Riffs, martial arts experts, step in and bring Cleon down with kicks and elbow hits. Cleon presumably has been killed.The other Warriors break through a wooden fence to make their escape, winding up in a cemetery as the rest of the police rush into the park and the various gangs flee. They take a head count and determine that everyone is there except for Cleon. Swan (Michael Beck), who as war chief is the second-ranked member after Cleon, states they are going to the subway, to catch a train back to Coney Island. A member named Ajax (James Remar) gives Swan some trouble when he asks: "Who made you leader?" Swan advises him to make his move, but the remaining members intervene, telling Ajax to calm down and urging everyone to stick together. Ajax backs down for now, and they make their way toward the subway, worrying whether the truce is still on. If it isn't, they will have to "bop" (fight their way) across other gangs' territories, vulnerable because they are wearing their colors and are not "packed" (armed).Meanwhile, the Gramercy Riffs' new leader, Masai (Edward Sewer), addresses the Riffs at their underground hideout. He wants the Warriors, alive if possible. The Riffs inform a local DJ (Lynne Thigpen), and she puts the word out on the radio, urging all local gangs to be on the lookout and capture or kill the Warriors, "the gang that broke the truce", for the Riffs. She dedicates the song "Nowhere to Run" to the Warriors. As the song plays, gangs throughout the city are getting ready to hunt down Cyrus' assassins.The Warriors wait for a train outside an elevated train station, so that they will not be ambushed on a open platform. Ajax complains that they are acting like "wimps," but the others' caution is justified, since a school bus filled with a tough-looking skinhead gang known as the Turnbull ACs begins patrolling the area. When the train arrives, the Warriors make a break for it and barely make the train ahead of the gang. Masai is informed of the Turnbulls' failure. Meanwhile, Luther gets a telephone update from an informant and learns that the Riffs have put the word out on the street that they want the Warriors alive. The Rogues don't want the Warriors taken alive, for fear of the stories they might tell. Luther tells his crew that they can do some looking too.The celebrating Warriors' journey home is cut short when a fire on the tracks delays the train. They have no choice but to make their way to the next station on foot. That route takes them directly through the Bronx territory of a small gang known as the Orphans, who did not attend the gathering at Van Cortlandt Park and apparently don't know of the contract out on the Warriors. After determining the Orphans' numbers to be at least 30 versus their eight, Swan decides a diplomatic solution would be best. He brings Fox with him to meet with the Orphans' leader (Paul Greco). After a bit of tough posturing, the leader accepts the explanation of the subway fire, buttered up a bit by Fox's respectful comments, and tells them they can move through the territory if they come in peace. However, his girlfriend Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) begins taunting him with chicken noises and cutting comments. The leader's manhood is now insulted, so he orders the Warriors to remove their gang colors if they want to proceed through their territory. Swan refuses in no uncertain terms, and the Orphans leave while the Warriors march on.The curious Mercy tails the Warriors, and gets caught by Ajax. She claims to want some real action. Just then, the Orphans show up again, packed and ready to rumble. They throw some tough words around, but Snow (Brian Tyler) produces a Molotov cocktail, which Swan throws at a car near the Orphans. The Warriors take off past the flaming vehicle. The car explodes, the Orphans fail to pursue, and the Warriors hightail it to the next station with Mercy. She seems determined to stick around for the ride.The DJ passes on the news of the Orphans' defeat.Luther gets another update that the Warriors are making their way through and that the cops are out to get every gang in the city. When asked why he seems so happy about this situation, Luther responds "I'm having a good time!"The train at the 96th street station is not moving and the frustration of the Warriors, especially Vermin (Terry Michos), is obvious. A police officer walks by the car, and they take off running. During this escape they split into three separate groups. Fox and Mercy run down the platform. A cop comes from behind one of the pillars, and tackles Fox. Fox yells at Mercy to run away, and in the struggle the cop tosses Fox onto the tracks, where he is killed by an oncoming train. Mercy is running in the other direction and doesn't see Fox's death.Vermin, Cochise (David Harris), and Rembrandt (Marcelino Sanchez) manage to evade the police and board a subway train to Union Square, the agreed upon meeting place if they are split up. Ajax, Swan, Snow, and Cowboy (Tom Mckitterick) also outrun the police and exit the station at the front door, only to find a bigger potential threat - a group of men in baseball uniforms, their faces painted, leisurely swinging baseball bats. The Baseball Furies have been waiting for them. The four Warriors take off running down the street. The chase continues into Riverside Park. Swan and Snow split to the side, leaving Ajax and Cowboy running forward. The Furies fail to see the split, and follow Ajax and Cowboy. Swan and Snow circle to the Furies' backs. Cowboy can no longer run, so Ajax turns to face his foes, with Swan coming up from the rear. In the ensuing melee, Ajax's and Swan's fighting skills shine. They succeed in wresting control of bats and eventually in laying out all of the Furies.The DJ announces the Baseball Furies' defeat and disparages all the gangs for their poor performance.Meanwhile, Vermin, Cochise and Rembrandt have arrived at Union Square to wait for the others. They see a group of six young women giving them "come hither" looks. Cochise and Vermin can't believe their luck in finding attractive chicks who seem to want to party with them, naively failing to realize that the women are lesbians. Only Rembrandt, the youngest Warrior, senses the danger. They go to the group's clubhouse and the leader (Lisa Mauer) identifies them as the Lizzies, an all-girl gang and says that they want to get down with the Warriors because they have heard of their reputation. Cochise and Vermin waste no time heading off to couches with their choice of girl. Rembrandt stays aloof and says that they need to get back. He notices the women exchanging glances, but before he can react, the door is locked and the leader pulls a gun and says "So you guys are the famous Warriors? The guys who shot Cyrus." Rembrandt shouts a warning and the three crash through a door, dodging bullets to escape. Rembrandt informs the others of what he has learned; that the women thought the Warriors shot Cyrus. They finally realize that every gang in the city must be looking for them.Swan and his crew continue walking through the park. They pass a lady on a bench (Mercedes Ruehl), who gives her best smile. Ajax decides to play games with the woman, and won't be dissuaded even after the others press on him the need to get home. Ajax disparages the others' manhood and turns back toward the woman. A few minutes later, Cowboy and Snow decide to go back to look after Ajax, and Swan continues to the station alone. The woman turns out to be an undercover cop, and Ajax is arrested when he tries to assault her. There's nothing Cowboy and Snow can do, so they make their way to Union Square.When Swan gets back to the 96th street station, he finds Mercy still hanging around. A cop spots them, and the two wind up running into a tunnel. Holed up in an underpass off the tracks, Mercy comes on to Swan. He insults her and says he wants to find something better. Mercy declares that Swan isn't any better than her. Swan continues on to Union Square and Mercy follows him. The Punks, who's leader wears roller skates, spot Swan on the subway platform and hang around waiting for their chance.Meanwhile, Snow and Cowboy have made it to Union Square and meet up with Cochise, Rembrandt and Vermin. Swan sees his fellow Warriors and signals them to lead the Punks into the men's room. They hide in the stalls, and ambush the Punks with Rembrandt's spray paint. The ensuing battle, which Mercy joins on the Warriors' side, is another victory for the Warriors.Back at the Riff's headquarters, Masai is told that there is a new witness who saw who really shot Cyrus.The six remaining Warriors board the final train home, with Mercy still in tow. Two young couples in evening dress coming from a school prom present such a contrast to Swan and Mercy that Swan takes pity on Mercy and clumsily signals that he accepts her.Upon arrival at Coney Island, the sun has risen, and the journey is seemingly over. The Warriors and Mercy walk through the deserted Coney Island streets, only to realize that Luther and the Rogues are following them in a car. With no time to contact other members to come to their defense, the Warriors take shelter under a dock. Swan now has a switchblade he took from the Punk leader; the others arm themselves with what's around: Furies baseball bats, crowbars, hockey sticks, two-by-four pieces of wood, etc. Luther makes an ominous rattling sound with beer bottles and chants "Warriors, come out to play-ay!"Swan leads his crew and Mercy out to the beach, and the Rogues follow. Finally face to face, Swan asks Luther why he killed Cyrus, to which the crazed Luther replies: "No reason. I just... like doing things like that." When Luther pulls a gun on Swan, he manages to flick his knife into Luther's wrist, disarming him. At that moment, the Gramercy Riffs appear in force on the beach. Swan asks whether the Riffs are still looking for the Warriors, to which Masai replies, looking at Luther, that they have found what they're looking for. Masai praises the Warriors as "good, real good," and makes an exit path for them. They file out to the screams of Luther's death agonies.As the DJ announces that the alert is cancelled, the six surviving Warriors walk down their hometown beach, Swan hand-in-hand with Mercy. They are glad to have made it home, but are also emotionally defeated because they know that they and all the New York City gangs are back where they started from: nowhere.

Tags: suspenseful, realism, murder, cult, violence, revenge

Review:
Bloody wonderful.Unfortunately I have never found a store-bought version which includes this material - DVD community, do you know?Another thing I heard was that the original idea was that the movie was set "Sometime In The Near Future", but Walter Hill dropped the idea of having a caption stating as much at the start of the film.
This explains some of the discrepancies with the actual New York gangland, being more about delinquent youth and 'Colours' than Organised Crime syndicates and shiny suits.Third - a fantastic action movie full of colour, vim and attitude, but which also never fails to break my heart every time I watch it.
Walter Hill shows his directing flair again for action, drama and style in this crackling 1979 movie about a Coney Island gang falsely accused of murder and fleeing from everyone....including the other NYC gangs and the New York City Police Department.
Attending a combined gangs meeting deep in the South Bronx to hear the Gramercy Riffs plans to control the streets of New York, the Warriors are wrongly accused of the shooting death of their charismatic leader, Cyrus.
I decided to give it a second chance, and it instantly became one of my favorite movies.The Warriors tells the tale of a "futuristic" New York City, in which, it seems, everyone is either associated with a gang, a cop, or just in the way.
From here on out, the Warriors are on their own as they must travel from the Bronx to Coney Island by any means necessary, traveling by train and by foot, through other gang territory.Now a days, the violence in the movie may not effect some, but seeing as how it was made in 1979, I can see where the controversy comes from.
"Listen boppers", this is a great gang flick that has a small crew chased down by every gang in NYC after they are wrongly accused of killing Cyrus (the local crime boss) at the Bronx Zoo. The Warriors have to make it from the Upper Bronx to Coney Island with every gang in town trying their own unique ways of knocking them off.
The Warriors, headed by Swan (Michael Beck), framed for killing Cyrus, a gang leader that would've united all of them, have to get home to Coney Island while all the rival gangs are gunning for them in this slightly surreal, slightly futuristic classic.
Followed by a video game based on it by Rockstar that looks simply amazing and a planned remake that will in no way even hope to be as half as good as the original (It won't even have the great Baseball Furies, I mean, come on now!!) My Grade: A+ Director's Cut DVD Extras: An Introduction Walter Hill; A little over an hour long documentary cut into 4 featurettes (The Beginning: From Novel To Screen, The Battleground: Casting the Warriors, The Way Home: Making The Warriors, and The Phenomenon: Releasing the Warriors); Theatrical trailer; Video Game Trailer; and Trailers for "P Diddy's Bad Boys of Comedy", "Airplane: Don't Call me Shirley Edition", "Hustle & Flow", "Macgyver", "George Lopez: Why you crying?", & "the Godfather".
The gangs of New York reunite in Riverside Drive Park, there a leader is murdered and the Warriors (Michael Beck, James Remar,Wright, Brian Tyler, among others) are accused of crime (Roger Hill).
They must return Coney Island throughout a surrealist city transformed into a phantasmagoric labyrinth full of urban tribes and finally confronting a nasty gang leader (David Patrick Kelly).This exciting picture packs noisy action, thrills, tension ,suspense, fights and lots of comic book style violence.
The problem with this new DVD version is Walter Hill's insistence on re-editing the film into a comic book story, complete with comic strip scene changes ala sin city and other such nonsense that totally removes the edge and strength of the original theatrical edit.
This is a film with an action packed, adult themed feel that requires a sharp, hard delivery the way it was originally.It almost seems as if he did this edit out of some weird ambition to keep up with the new video game's look, or to capitalize on the whole Spiderman/Batman/sin city style of movie making that is so popular now, which I think is a grave mistake.
The warriors as it was first released in the theaters and on video and initially on DVD is the version you really want-it contains all the drama, intensity and new york sleaze this movie shows to perfection.
Basically, It is a film about a gang trying to make it home to Coney Island in the midst of the New York City darkness.
but I still feel here in my middle age that these are still cool films to be adored and cherished.I have just sat thru The Warriors again for about the hundredth time in my life, and it still entertains me as much now as it did back then, sure it's dated, sure I see more cheese than I thought it had back then, but I also see a visually tight movie that actually delves interestingly into the lives and psyche of young gangers.The plot is simple, all the gangs of New York City are called to a meeting where they are called to unite to take over the city, the leader of the gang known as The Riffs is a guy called Cyrus who is the one calling for the unity.
This journey is excellent as we are introduced to a number of gangs trying to get the better of The Warriors, the fights are well choreographed, the clothes are wonderful, and some of the dialogue is now teenage folklore.The film was criticised on release for glamorising gangs, but I fail to see how this opinion was formed, if anything the film has a sad streak running thru it when you analyze the main characters on show, but be that as it may, the films triumph is getting the will of the viewer to see the unfairly tarnished Warriors make it home to Coney Island, and the climax of the film is both poignant and punch the air great, 8/10..
STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits Night time in New York and all the major gangs of the night, from Coney Island to The Bronx, are out in full force.
"The Warriors" is a film that takes place in New York City during the hellish hours after dark, when the gangs emerge to roam the streets and search for their prey.One of these gangs, named The Warriors, agree to attend a gang meeting orchestrated by the enigmatic Cyrus (Roger Hill).
They flee for their lives into the night, and soon every gang in New York City is looking for them.First things first: this movie is cheesy.
Its polished big budget remake is coming out next year (2006), and I personally feel it will fail because part of the success of this original film is that it IS low budget, poorly edited at times and simply a lot of fun to watch.It is very reminiscent of John Carpenter's 1976 low budget classic "Assault on Precinct 13." It achieves its thrills through heavy suspense; as the Warriors prowl the streets heading back to their home turf we never know when a rival gang will appear out of nowhere and attack.
The movie is now a video game by Rockstar Entertainment, and it's one of the few movies for which a video game actually seems to make sense - it feels very much like a level progression where bad guys attack the good guys, who have to use their brawn and brains to overcome them.Is "The Warriors" a great film?
The book becomes a film by Walter Hill and is called "The Warriors." In this modernized version an extraordinary gang leader named Cyrus, (Roger Hill) also called, 'The One and Only' calls for a summit of every important gang of New York.
****SPOILERS**** "Nine guys no weapons" thats the word going around on the mean streets of New York City about the conditions for the big gang pow-wow up in the Bronx that "The Warriors" a Coney Island street gang took the subway from their home base in Southern Brooklyn to attend.Cyrus, Roger Hill, the leader of the city's biggest street gang "The Riffs" will be the main speaker laying out the strategy for the gangs of New York eventual take over of the city.
Unjustly accused by the real killer of Cyrus of murdering him "The Warriors" are on the run for the entire film from the upper reaches of the Bronx to their home in Coney Island, the longest trek on the NYC subway.
Walters & James Remar.One of the best movies ever about survival on the streets of New York City or any other big urban metropolis for that matter with a heart thumping run-for-your-life by the gang from Coney Island through the streets and on the subways of New York while being attacked on all sides by murderous street gangs and police alike.
The movie "The Warriors" is more like a movie about a group of soldiers then that of an urban street gang who's trapped behind enemy lines, and being attacked by the enemy forces from all sides, as they try to make it safely back to their home base in Coney Island fighting for their lives every step of the way.
By the end of the movie with the sun rising over the sands and ocean of Coney Island and "The Warriors" back home vindicated and free from gang attacks they come to realize after that night of horrors that thy just lived through things will only get better because the worst that they could have ever imagined to have happened was now behind them.
Very much like that film I just mentioned, it is an enthusiastic, well-produced (and corny) Sunday morning satire, this time about New York City street gangs.The movie opens up with a congregation of gangs in Brooklyn.
The rest of the movie consists not of their attempts to clear their good name, but running for dear life as every other gang in New York tries to hunt them down."The Warriors" is silly, uncontrived, and purposefully devoid of logic.
Therefore my note doesn't reflect only the movie's qualities, but it's impact to my love for film, as well.The Warriors follows a Coney Island gang fighting it's way home through the whole New York City in one night.
Beavis & Butt-Head would love this movie: one gang wrongfully accused of murder must fight its way through New York to get back home.
"When an important gang leader gets assassinated at a large meeting meant to unite all gangs, The Warriors of Coney Island are accused of murder and forced to make a long run for it, back to their turf, meanwhile having to fight off several gangs chasing them, in the end to face off against the actual killer." That's it.Michael Beck plays Swan, the leader of the bunch.
The long journey back home of The Warriors begins."The Warriors" is a cult movie directed by Walter Hill with the story of a gang falsely accused of murdering a charismatic leader that spend the night trying to get back home.
Secondly all these hardcore gangs are actually getting change and paying for their train tickets, yeah, that's bad-ass that is.Have to say I was disappointed with this film, especially with the super soft gangs who looked like there where all racing home to mummy, a comfy bed, glass of milk and their teddy bear.I was expecting a bleak future styling, maybe something along the line of Escape from New York, all I got was the futuristic look of the 70s, allot of empty streets and some subways that always turned up on time.The only redeeming character was the Baddie Bottle fingers..
Swan, (Michael Beck) is the leader of the Warriors and he has to fight his gang back to Coney Island, but standing in their way are some of the worst cold blooded gangs in New York City.
This is not only one of my favorite scenes in the film, but it's one of the pure cinematic moments in any gang movie (not to be confused with gangster, more like the gangs of the 50s, think West Side Story only 100 times more stylized and potentially violent), adding just that nice extra layer onto what these Warriors represent.Walter Hill, drawing from Greek history of the Spartans in Persian territory (and no, it's not 300), as well as heavily with comic-books (this is probably more-so with the director's cut, though it's only in the transitions that this is more than obvious, otherwise it's more intrinsic), crafts his film out of the blood, sweat and lack of tears that go on in the middle of the New York City night with these not-so-bizarre gang wars.
The premise is simple: the Warriors got to go back to Coney Island after falling into a huge gang gathering in the Bronx that goes to s*** when the supposed future all-of-NYC gang leader (Roger Hill as Cyrus, a very notable one-scene turn full of power) is shot down by a whacko (David Patrick Kelly, wonderfully one-note as a bad-ass heel), who pins the murder on the Warriors.
But it deftly mixes two aspects, one being the nature of the period in New York City, of the complete lack of real order of law (the cops sometimes get them, sometimes not, it's usually good/bad luck, as with the comic note with Ajax's arrest scene), and where it could be conceivable that after hours on the streets all hell could break loose; one could see this as being somewhat in relation to the world of Death Wish, albeit in this film the gangs not being centered on going after civilians, yet still same city, same wretched crime problem of the 70s.
The other being the atmosphere of a down n dirty comic book, loaded with juicy one-liners (some of the best include "Can you dig it?", "I'll shove that bat up your ass and turn you into a popsicle", "Friday nights are good, Saturday nights are better"), expertly timed and edited scenes of violence and action- not just the gangs fights but also the opening with the gangs spreading out with the arrival of the cops- and the lines between good and evil blurred just enough to make it work for the material.It's hard to envision the Warriors being properly remade today, as there's too much access to new visual effects and other tricks of the trade to maybe make things a little too 'slick', or to just simply admonish the ferocity of the characters and situations of the original.
But overall, Hill has fashioned a modern midnight movie classic, where the people look like they've been taken off the streets and given very brief acting lessons, and the intensity is kept very thick from start to finish, plus an amazing soundtrack with funk and rock songs perfect for any outlaw picture.
The Warriors truly is a 70s Classic, an exciting urban Thriller set in the neon drenched night time world of street gangs in New York City.
This is a fantasy film but full of reality of the times & the gritty-violent battleground that New York City was back in the 70s & 80s & this movie captures everything & it's actually beautiful to look at with all those colourful gang costumes & glowing Neon lights in the background, the cinematography is stunning.The Warriors gang are set up for an assassination & are basically just being hunted & chased through the dangerous city streets & it's so much fun!!!
The Warriors (1979) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Set sometime in the future, Cyrus calls all of New York City's gangs together where he suggests that they work together instead of killing each other.
The Warriors are forced to get back to safety from the Bronx to their home-tuft in Coney Island, with every gang in New York hunting them, and prove their innocents.It's a simple, but fun idea, a great premise and easy viewing.
I'm a HUGE fan of awful cult movies, so when I head about a mid-70's gang-war-based film called 'The Warriors', I was intrigued to say the least.
"The Warriors" is a surreal, neon view of a gritty, decayed,New York City, as it was in the 1970s.That "apple in decay" is long gone but watching "The Warriors" brings it all back.What i love about this film is that it is able to convey that feeling of being young and seeing nearly everyone as a potential enemy.There are no safe havens in The Warriors New York, City,even females are packing weapons.One of my favorite scenes of the movie occurs when the surviving warriors return to their home turf of Coney island after a long night of fighting.
Knowing they were framed for the killing by another gang, the "Warriors" must return to Coney Island before the cops or the members of the other gangs catch them.The story is very exciting and never leaves the audience, the movie moves at a good pace and there is always something happening.
David Patrick Kelly as Luther, member of an important rival gang also has a lot of great scenes in the movie and he makes the best of them.Walter Hill's direction and vision in this movie excels and every episode in the "Warriors"' journey becomes classic.
The Warriors is the story of a small time gang from Coney Island who's mistakenly accused of killing a rival gang leader during an enormous meeting of every gang in New York.
Now the Warriors must fight for survival as every gang is looking to get revenge while they try to make it back to their home turf.The film seems like it would have been forgotten over the years because of its little known cast, but that didn't happen.