The Warriors
Rent/Purchase
Prominent gang leader Cyrus calls a meeting of New York's gangs to set aside their turf wars and take over the city. At the meeting, a rival leader kills Cyrus, but a Coney Island gang called the Warriors is wrongly blamed for Cyrus' death. Before you know it, the cops and every gangbanger in town is hot on the Warriors' trail.
What critics thought
Contemporary critics largely panned The Warriors on release, attacking its stilted dialogue and willful unrealism, though they acknowledged Walter Hill's striking visual style — a style many felt was all surface and no substance. The film has since built a devoted following that outpaces its original critical reception, making the gap between what reviewers wrote in 1979 and what audiences came to love the defining story of its reputation.
“No matter what impression the ads give, this isn't even remotely intended as an action film. It's a set piece. It's a ballet of stylized male violence.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“You would think after watching 'The Warriors' that gang membership was a victimless crime, save for the occasional sadist who pops up as comic relief. This entire film is a romantic lie.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“Another problem arises when the gang members open their mouths: their banal dialogue is jarringly at odds with Hill's hyperbolic visual scheme.”
David Ansen·Newsweek
“unfortunately, sheer visual zip is not enough to carry the film; it drags from one scuffle to the next ... The Warriors is not lively enough to be cheap fun or thoughtful enough to be serious.”
Frank Rich·Time
“None of Hill's dynamism will save The Warriors from impressing most neutral observers as a ghastly folly.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
Genres
Action, Crime, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorWalter Hill
StarringMichael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Dorsey Wright, David Harris
ComposerBarry De Vorzon
The Warriors
Prominent gang leader Cyrus calls a meeting of New York's gangs to set aside their turf wars and take over the city. At the meeting, a rival leader kills Cyrus, but a Coney Island gang called the Warriors is wrongly blamed for Cyrus' death. Before you know it, the cops and every gangbanger in town is hot on the Warriors' trail.
What critics thought
Contemporary critics largely panned The Warriors on release, attacking its stilted dialogue and willful unrealism, though they acknowledged Walter Hill's striking visual style — a style many felt was all surface and no substance. The film has since built a devoted following that outpaces its original critical reception, making the gap between what reviewers wrote in 1979 and what audiences came to love the defining story of its reputation.
“No matter what impression the ads give, this isn't even remotely intended as an action film. It's a set piece. It's a ballet of stylized male violence.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“You would think after watching 'The Warriors' that gang membership was a victimless crime, save for the occasional sadist who pops up as comic relief. This entire film is a romantic lie.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“Another problem arises when the gang members open their mouths: their banal dialogue is jarringly at odds with Hill's hyperbolic visual scheme.”
David Ansen·Newsweek
“unfortunately, sheer visual zip is not enough to carry the film; it drags from one scuffle to the next ... The Warriors is not lively enough to be cheap fun or thoughtful enough to be serious.”
Frank Rich·Time
“None of Hill's dynamism will save The Warriors from impressing most neutral observers as a ghastly folly.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
Genres
Action, Crime, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorWalter Hill
StarringMichael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Dorsey Wright, David Harris
ComposerBarry De Vorzon
Rent/Purchase