Review of The Warriors (1979) by Harry W — 06 Jan 2016

Considered a notorious cult-classic and a childhood favourite of my father, The Warriors sounded like a classic action-thriller.

The Warriors is a fine example of a high-concept film. It has a simple plot and little in the way of underlying themes. Walter Hill's focus for the film is simply to be on style, to capture the gritty edge of darkness that plagued the streets of New York during the night. Made in very much an exploitation style, The Warriors is a film very heavily focused on style and not concerned with pretending there is much in the way of depth. This works because on a low budget of $4 million, Walter Hill is able to make the most of his on-location scenery. Finding life in the most dilapidated or monochromatic edges of the New York streets, The Warriors ends up being a surprisingly effected visual experience which proves that money does not automatically equal style if someone is simply a visionary. The scenery in The Warriors is captured with cinematography which manages to balance a focus on the characters with the surrounding world, doing so without ever seeming amateur or repetitive. This allows the platform for a lot of strong action scenes to occur, capturing the choreography with strong editing and slow-motion. The action scenes themselves are simply a collection of intelligently mapped-out street brawls with strong sound effects and intensively focused actors. And while there may not always be enough of them to keep viewers distracted from the thin nature of the plot, they are still the most intense moments in the film.

And though the story doesn't offer the most innovation past its simplistic yet intense premise, the language in The Warriors is a subject of fascination. The quality of the dialogue in The Warriors is first examined during Cyrus's truce soliloquy. Capitalizing on the contemporary language of the streets, The Warriors makes use of a more gritty and simplistic version of the English language yet uses it intensively to project the strong nature of the characters. Though the characters themselves hardly offer anything in terms of depth, their language is very real and intense as a result. This gives viewers a strong sense of nostalgia to the context of the film's production, and it is reinforced by the soundtrack.

Making use of both popular contemporary songs and an original score of synthesized riffs, The Warriors has a distinctive sound to it which captures the groovy nature of the era it came out of. The music in The Warriors always manages to set the tone of each scene and the pace as well, effectively ensuring that the film remains consistently atmospheric. Frankly, The Warriors is a film so distinctive of its time in subject matter and style that it is a thoroughly nostalgic experience to look back on. And considering the notorious career James Remar would go on to achieve, it is even more nostalgic to see him in the supporting role of a cult classic from many decades ago.

The director's cut of The Warriors is notorious for the way it is edited to use comic book frames as transitions is a technique very much ahead of its time. Considering that today is the golden age for comic book films, the fact that Roger Hill desired to use the same technique as far back as 1979 provides sight into the fact that the man really knew what the viewers were after.

And not neglecting its need for strong characters, the cast in The Warriors manage to all capture the hard edge of the gritty street drama.

Michael Beck makes a solid lead in The Warriors. Leading the group on their journey through New York, Michael Beck manages to capture the fearless hard-edge of the role while maintaining a sense of intensity waiting for what comes next. The man has a determination to really get where he's going and bring his brothers along with him, capturing it by addressing them with a tenaciously strong stare. Michael Beck delivers his lines as naturally as they come to him with an intrinsic strength, even though Swan doesn't offer many elements that are all that distinctive in comparison to some of the other actors.

Roger Hill's brief appearance as Cyrus is one of the most notorious. Appearing simply in the intro, Roger Hill's speech is an excellent amalgamation of street talk, wisdom and African-American dialect with use of the term "suckas". Making a stand with some of the most articulate language in the film, Roger Hill delivers his speech with the passion to support the notion that he really believes in what he is saying as well as the tenacity to really draw viewers in to believe in him the same way that the characters do. Roger Hill is responsible for bringing one of the most essential scenes in The Warriors to life.

However, it is David Patrick Kelley who delivers the most iconic line of the film. In terms of characterizing the leader of the Rogues, David Patrick Kelly gives Luther an intruiging edge. He is a reckless and careless criminal who commits violence for the sheer fun of it, and the more we see of him, the more intense and into the role he gets. David Patrick Kelley really sinks his teeth into the part to capture an intimidating facade while also able to show vulnerability at the right times, all the while delivering the unforgettable line "Waaaaarriors, come out to plaaaay!". David Patrick Kelley really gets into his small role as Luther and hones it, rendering it one of the most iconic characters of The Warriors.

Dorsey Wright also offers an intense spirit, and he manages to bring along his own naturally distinctive charms to his articulation of the dialogue. Deborah Van Valkenburgh also has some powerful moments during her brief part.

So while The Warriors has a very simple premise and could perhaps use a bit more action, Walter Hill's tenacious eye for style makes The Warriors into an intense action-thriller rich with imagery and nostalgia.