Meanwhile, Masai, second-in-command of the Riffs, takes charge, and declares a bounty on the Warriors. This sets the city's gang population out hunting for them, with a radio DJ (Lynne Thigpen) reporting live on the events.
The Warriors regroup in Woodlawn Cemetery and begin their long journey back to Coney Island. The second-in-command, Swan (Michael Beck), takes charge, though Ajax (James Remar) openly voices his desire to be acting warlord. On their way to the subway, the Warriors find the Turnbull AC's looking for them. They have no choice but to make a run to the train. On the ride to Coney Island, the train is stopped by a fire on the tracks, dumping the Warriors in Tremont, in the Bronx. There, they come across a gang called the Orphans, led by Sully (played by Paul Greco), who are parlayed into letting the Warriors through peacefully, until Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh), a feisty girl, convinces the Orphans to put up a fight, which the Warriors cleverly avoid by using a Molotov cocktail. Mercy, impressed, follows the Warriors.
When they arrive at the 96th Street and Broadway station in Manhattan, they are chased by patrolling police. Three of them make the train to Union Square, while Fox, struggling to escape the police, is pushed on to the tracks and run over by train. Mercy escapes somehow. Swan and the remaining three run outside, where the Baseball Furies lie in wait for them. This gang chases the four into Riverside Park, where a fight ensues with the Warriors victorious. Leaving the park, Ajax breaks from the group in order to "make it" with a woman on a park bench, in spite of the others' warnings. The woman (Mercedes Ruehl) is an undercover police officer who handcuffs Ajax to the bench; he is arrested and taken to jail. Arriving at Union Square station, Vermin, Cochise, and Rembrandt are seduced by an all-female gang called the Lizzies. Back at their hangout, the Lizzies draw weapons, but the trio narrowly escape, learning in the process that everyone believes they killed Cyrus. Swan returns to the 96th Street station, finding Mercy there. More police show up and Swan and Mercy flee into the tunnel. While there, they initially make out, but Swan pushes her away and leaves without her. He makes it to Union Square station, but is tailed by members of The Punks. Mercy arrives, followed by the remaining members of the Warriors. They lead the Punks into a nearby male public restroom, where another fight ensues. The Warriors, sore but victorious once more, catch the last train on their journey back to Coney Island.
The Riffs are meanwhile visited by a gang member who attended the earlier gathering, a witness to Luther firing the gun.
The Warriors finally arrive to Coney island at daybreak, but find the Rogues waiting for them. The two gangs meet on the beach, where Luther reveals he had no reason for killing Cyrus, other than his own gratification. Swan suggests he and Luther fight one-on-one, but Luther pulls his gun. Swan throws a knife into Luther's wrist, disarming him. The Riffs then arrive and acknowledge the truth about Cyrus's murder. Masai compliments the remaining Warriors (Masai: "You Warriors are good...real good"; Swan: "THE BEST") and lets them go. The Riffs then jump onto the Rogues.
The DJ then informs everyone that the early reports were wrong and apologizes to the Warriors with a song as Swan, Mercy and the surviving members walk along the beach.
[edit] Cast
Main article: List of The Warriors characters
- Michael Beck as Swan
- James Remar as Ajax
- Dorsey Wright as Cleon
- Brian Tyler as Snow
- David Harris as Cochise
- Tom McKitterick as Cowboy
- Marcelino Sánchez as Rembrandt
- Deborah Van Valkenburgh as Mercy
- Roger Hill as Cyrus
- David Patrick Kelly as Luther
- Lynne Thigpen as D.J.
- Ginny Ortiz as Candy Store Girl
- Mercedes Ruehl as Policewoman
- John Snyder as Gas Station Man
- Edward Sewer as Masai
- Thomas G. Waites as Fox
[edit] Production
Producer Lawrence Gordon sent director Walter Hill the screenplay for The Warriors with a copy of Sol Yurick's novel.[1] Gordon and Hill were originally going to make a western but when the financing on the project failed to materialize, they took The Warriors to Paramount Pictures because they were interested in youth films at the time. Hill was drawn to the "extreme narrative simplicity and stripped down quality of the script".[1] The script, as written, was a realistic take on street gangs but the director was a huge fan of comic books and wanted to divide the film into chapters and then have each chapter "come to life starting with a splash panel".[1] However, Hill was working on a low budget and a tight post-production schedule because of a fixed release date as the studio wanted to release The Warriors before a rival gang picture called The Wanderers. As a result, Hill was unable to realize this comic book look.[1]The filmmakers did extensive casting in New York City.[1] Hill had screened an independent film called Madman for Sigourney Weaver to cast her in Alien and it also featured Michael Beck as the male lead. The director was impressed with Beck's performance and cast him in The Warriors. Deborah Van Valkenburgh's agent convinced the film's casting directors to see her. The filmmakers wanted to cast Tony Danza in the role of Vermin but he was cast in the sitcom Taxi and Terrence Michos was cast instead. In Yurick's book there were no white characters but, according to Hill, Paramount did not want an all black cast for "commercial reasons".[1]
Stunt coordinator Craig R. Baxley put the cast through stunt school because Hill wanted realistic fights depicted in the film.[1] In preparation for his role, James Remar hung out at Coney Island to find a model for his character. The entire film was shot on the streets in New York City with some interior scenes done at Astoria Studios. They would shoot from sundown to sunrise. The film quickly fell behind schedule and went over budget. While they shot in the Bronx, bricks were tossed at the crew. Actor Joel Weiss remembers that filming of his scene at Avenue A being canceled because there was a double homicide nearby. For the big meeting at the beginning of the film, Hill wanted real gang members in the scene with off duty police officers also in the crowd so that there would be no trouble.[1]
The studio would not allow Baxley to bring any stunt men from Hollywood and he needed someone to double for the character of Cyrus so he did the stunt himself dressed as the character.[1] Actual gang members wanted to challenge some of the cast members but were dealt with by production security. The actors playing The Warriors bonded early in the shoot, on and off the set. Originally, the character of Fox was supposed to end up with Mercy and Swan was captured by a rival gang known as the Dingos only to escape later. Actor Thomas G. Waites was fired eight weeks into principal photography for being difficult on the set and arguing with Hill. The director watched the dailies and realized that Beck and Van Valkenburgh had great chemistry. Their characters ended up together.[1]
Originally, at the Coney Island confrontation at the end of the film, actor David Patrick Kelly wanted to use two dead pigeons but Hill did not think that would work.[1] Kelly used three bottles instead and improvised his famous line, "Waaaaariors, come out to plaaaay". Kelly was influenced by a man he knew in downtown New York who would make fun of him. Hill wanted Orson Welles to do a narrated introduction about Greek themes but the studio did not like this idea and refused to pay for it.[1]
[edit] Reception
The Warriors opened on February 9, 1979 in 670 theaters without advance screenings or a decent promotional campaign and grossed USD $3.5 million on its opening weekend.[2] The following weekend the film was linked to sporadic outbreaks of vandalism and three killings - two in Southern California and one in Boston - involving moviegoers on their way to or from showings. This prompted Paramount to remove advertisements from radio and television completely and display ads in the press were reduced to the film's title, rating and participating theaters.[2] In reaction, 200 theaters across the country added security personnel. Due to safety concerns, theater owners were relieved of their contractual obligations if they did not want to show the film, and Paramount offered to pay costs for additional security and damages due to vandalism.[3] After two weeks free of incidents, the studio expanded the display ads to take advantage of reviews from reputable critics including Pauline Kael of The New Yorker. She wrote, "The Warriors is a real moviemaker's movie: it has in visual terms the kind of impact that 'Rock Around the Clock' did behind the titles of Blackboard Jungle. The Warriors is like visual rock".[4] In its sixth week, The Warriors had grossed $16.4 million, well above its estimated $6–7 million budget.[2][edit] Reviews
A mild commercial success on its initial release, the film was panned by many critics as exploitative and superficial. Gary Arnold, in his review for the Washington Post, wrote, "None of Hill's dynamism will save The Warriors from impressing most neutral observers as a ghastly folly".[5] In his review for Newsweek, David Ansen wrote, "Another problem arises when the gang members open their mouths: their banal dialogue is jarringly at odds with Hill's hyperbolic visual scheme".[6] Frank Rich, in his review for Time, wrote, "Unfortunately, sheer visual zip is not enough to carry the film; it drags from one scuffle to the next . . . But The Warriors is not lively enough to be cheap fun or thoughtful enough to be serious".[7] Yurick expressed his disappointment in the film version and speculated that it scared some people because "it appeals to the fear of a demonic uprising by lumpen youth", and appealed to many teenagers because it "hits a series of collective fantasies".[2] President Ronald Reagan was also a fan of the film, even calling the film's lead actor, Michael Beck, to tell him he had screened it at Camp David and enjoyed it.[4] In recent years, The Warriors has acquired the status of a cult film, along with a re-examination of its standing with some film critics. As of March 2010, the film has garnered a 93% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[edit] Legacy
Over the years, The Warriors has developed a significant cult following. At Seattle’s Grand Illusion Cinema, programmer Zack Carlson remembers, “people were squeezed in, lying on the floor, cheering".[8] Entertainment Weekly named The Warriors the 16th greatest cult film on their "Top 50 Greatest Cult Films" list.[9] The magazine also ranked it 14th in the list of the "25 Most Controversial Movies Ever".[10][edit] Merchandise
While itself adapted from a novel, the film has been adapted into a number of other products as well. The film's soundtrack was released in the same year as the film. In 2005, Mezco Toyz released Warriors action figures, including Swan, Cleon, Cochise, Ajax, Luther, and a Baseball Fury.[11]The Warriors video game, based on the movie, was released by Rockstar Games on October 17, 2005. Levels 1 through 13 acts as a prequel to the film, creating backstory and elaborating on the characters from the film. Levels 14 through 18 recreates much of the film's events. Several of the actors from the movie returned to perform the voices for their original characters.
Warner Bros. Entertainment announced a downloadable title for the Xbox 360 titled The Warriors: Street Brawl. However, it will play differently from the Rockstar Games version, this time in a simple, side-scrolling brawler.
In 2009, Dabel Brothers Productions began a five issue comic book adaption of the film. Following that is a four issue mini series entitled The Warriors: Jail Break which takes place several months after the film.
