The Warriors (film)

The Warriors is a 1979 American action thriller film directed by Walter Hill from a screenplay by Hill and David Shaber and based on the 1965 novel of the same name by Sol Yurick, in-turn inspired by Xenophon's Anabasis. The film features an ensemble cast which includes Michael Beck, James Remar, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Marcelino Sánchez, David Harris, Tom McKitterick, Brian Tyler, Dorsey Wright, Terry Michos, David Patrick Kelly, Roger Hill, Edward Sewer, and Lynne Thigpen. In the film, a street gang must escape from the Bronx back to their home turf on Coney Island after being framed for the murder of a respected gang leader.

Development on The Warriors initially began in 1969 after American International Pictures purchased the film rights to Yurick's novel, but production stalled until producer Lawrence Gordon obtained the rights and commissioned Shaber and Hill to work on the screenplay. Originally envisioned as a western, the novel was ultimately adapted as a stylized action thriller. Casting was extensive and production was troubled, with Hill clashing with some of the actors and going over budget. Principal photography took place in 1978 on location across New York City, including at Astoria Studios.

The Warriors was theatrically released in the United States on February 9, 1979, by Paramount Pictures. It grossed $22.5 million worldwide and received negative reviews from critics for its lack of realism and dialogue. Initial screenings of the film were linked to vandalism and murders, prompting Paramount to halt advertising or release theaters from their obligation to screen the film. The Warriors has been reappraised by critics and is considered a cult film. It has since launched a franchise which spawned several spinoffs, including video games and a comic book series.

Plot

Cyrus, charismatic leader of the Gramercy Riffs, the most powerful gang in New York City, requests that 100 of the city's gangs each send nine unarmed delegates to Van Cortlandt Park for a midnight summit. The Warriors, a gang from Coney Island, send a delegation consisting of "warlord" (leader) Cleon; "war chief" (second-in-command) Swan; enforcer Ajax; scout Fox; graffiti artist Rembrandt; music-man Snow; bearer Vermin and soldiers Cowboy and Cochise. Cyrus proposes a citywide truce and alliance to the assembled crowd, allowing the gangs to control the city together since they collectively outnumber the police by three to one.

Most of the gang members applaud this idea, but Luther, the unbalanced and sadistic leader of the Rogues, shoots Cyrus dead as the NYPD arrive to raid the summit. In the chaos, Luther realizes that Fox witnessed his actions; after failing to shoot him, he falsely accuses the Warriors of responsibility. Cleon denies the assassination, however he is viciously attacked by the vengeful Riffs, leaving his fate unknown. Meanwhile, the other Warriors escape to Woodlawn Cemetery, unaware that they have been implicated in Cyrus's killing. Masai, Cyrus's second-in-command in the Riffs, puts out a "dead or alive" bounty on the Warriors through a radio DJ. To Ajax's disappointment, Swan takes charge of the group as they try to get home.

The Turnbull ACs spot the Warriors and try to run them down with a modified school bus, but they escape and board the MTA New York City Subway. On the ride to Coney Island, the train is stopped by a building fire alongside the tracks, stranding the Warriors in Tremont. Setting out on foot, they encounter the Orphans, who are insecure about their lowly status as they were excluded from Cyrus's meeting. After Mercy, the girlfriend of the Orphans' leader, instigates a confrontation, Swan throws a Molotov cocktail, and the Warriors run to the nearest subway station. Impressed and desperate to escape her depressing neighborhood, Mercy follows the Warriors.

When the group arrives at the 96th Street and Broadway station in Manhattan, they are pursued by police and separated. Vermin, Cochise, and Rembrandt escape by boarding a subway car. Fox, struggling with a police officer, is thrown onto the tracks and killed by a passing train as Mercy flees the scene. The Baseball Furies chase Swan, Ajax, Snow, and Cowboy into Riverside Park, but they are defeated in a brawl. After the fight, Ajax sees a lone woman sitting on a park bench and leaves the group despite Swan's objections. When Ajax becomes sexually aggressive, the woman reveals herself as an undercover police officer and arrests him with the help of uniformed officers.

Upon arriving at Union Square station, Vermin, Cochise, and Rembrandt are seduced by an all-female gang called the Lizzies and invited into their hideout. They narrowly escape the Lizzies' subsequent attack, learning in the process that the gangland community and the police believe the Warriors murdered Cyrus. As a lone scout, Swan returns to the 96th Street station, where Mercy joins him (although he spurns her advances). After reaching the Union Square station by walking along the tracks, they reunite with the remaining Warriors and fight with an overalls-wearing roller skating gang, the Punks, which allows Mercy to prove herself in combat. Meanwhile, an unidentified gang member visits the Riffs and tells them that he saw Luther shoot Cyrus.

At dawn, the Warriors finally reach Coney Island, only to find Luther and the Rogues waiting for them. Swan asks Luther why he killed Cyrus, to which Luther replies, "No reason... I just like doing things like that!" Swan challenges Luther to single combat, but Luther pulls a gun instead. Swan dodges his shot and throws a switchblade into Luther's forearm, disarming him. The Riffs arrive, acknowledging the Warriors' innocence of Cyrus' murder while saluting their courage and skill. The Riffs let the Warriors leave before descending on the Rogues and Luther, who screams in anguish at his imminent demise. The radio DJ announces that the bounty on the Warriors has been cancelled and salutes them with a song, "In the City." The film ends with Swan, Mercy, and the rest of the gang walking down a Coney Island beach illuminated by the rising sun.

Cast

Featured as gang leaders in the film are Paul Greco as the leader of the Orphans, Jery Hewitt as the leader of the Baseball Furies, Kate Klugman as the leader of the Lizzies, and Konrad Sheehan as the leader of the Punks. Stunt coordinator and future director Craig R. Baxley appears as a member of the Punks, as does stuntman A.J. Bakunas, who was killed on the set of the movie Steel before the film's release. Steve James and Bill Anagnos portray Baseball Furies, while Dennis Gregory portrays a Gramercy Riff. Mercedes Ruehl plays the policewoman who arrests Ajax, with Irwin Keyes and Sonny Landham also appearing as police officers. Ginny Ortiz portrays the candy store employee whom the Rogues steal from and John Snyder portrays a gas station worker. In a pre-credits scene deleted from the theatrical version but reinstated in television broadcasts, Pamela Poitier (a daughter of Sidney Poitier) portrays Lincoln, Cleon's girlfriend.

Production

Development

right|thumb|180 px|alt=Walter Hill|Walter Hill, director and co-writer of The Warriors (pictured in 2014)

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The film is based on Sol Yurick's 1965 novel The Warriors, which was, in turn, based on Xenophon's Anabasis. Film rights were bought in 1969 by American International Pictures but no film resulted.

Rights were then obtained by producer Lawrence Gordon who commissioned David Shaber to write a script. Gordon had made Hard Times (1975) and The Driver (1978) with Walter Hill; he sent the script to Hill with a copy of Sol Yurick's novel. Hill recalls, "I said 'Larry, I would love to do this, but nobody will let us do it.' It was going to be too extreme and too weird."

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 and succeeded in getting the project financed. Hill remembers "it came together very quickly. Larry had a special relationship with Paramount and we promised to make the movie very cheaply, which we did. So it came together within a matter of weeks. I think we got the green light in April or May 1978 and we were in theaters in February 1979. So it was a very accelerated process."]]

The filmmakers did extensive casting in New York City.

Hill saw Thomas G. Waites as the next James Dean, and the director "invited the young actor to the Gulf and Western to watch movies like Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden for inspiration." During the screening, Hill offered Waites a drink, which Waites refused, resulting in a rift between the two that grew worse during the grueling summer shoot. At one point, Waites threatened to report the working conditions to the Screen Actors Guild, forcing Paramount to provide a second trailer for the eight Warriors to share.

Filming

thumb|Scenes from the film were shot in [[Coney Island (pictured in 2016).]]

Stunt coordinator Craig R. Baxley put the cast through stunt school because Hill wanted realistic fights depicted in the film. 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. Although the Conclave scene at the beginning was supposed to be in The Bronx, it was actually filmed in Riverside Park in Manhattan. Hill was underwhelmed by the script's depiction of Luther taunting the Warriors, and asked actor David Patrick Kelly for ideas. Kelly first proposed using two dead pigeons, which was rejected as Hill was unconvinced that it would work.

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.

Release

Theatrical run

On , The Warriors opened in 670 theaters, without advance screenings or a decent promotional campaign, but still grossed US$3.5 million on its opening weekend (equivalent to $ million in ).

Controversy

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.

Paramount was prompted 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.

Hill later remembered: