Hang on just a second, are you people really saying that you think “The Warriors” is a bad film?
Getthefuckoutofit. The Warriors is one of the greatest movies ever made, I will not hear a bad word said against!
I understand that the book is an impenetrable piece of crap that melds modern ethnic gangs with the ancient tale of the Greeks crossing the Rubicon. Or something.
The film, on the other hand, is the absolute shit. Can you dig it? CAN YOU DIG IT?
CAAHHHNNN YYYOOOUUU…
Just watched this a few weeks ago on IFC with my 11 and 13-year old sons… they loved it…
I don’t recall if this was the case, but without the various dress stylings, there would have been no way of identifying different gangs
As mentioned, there was only pay phones, but they were on the run, and perhaps there was no “home base” or place to reach the few members of the Warriors who were not with them.
agreed… the steady-cam may have made it onto the Rocky set but this was low budget… perhaps knit-picking, as the story was “how can they get home using the NYC subway” and not “look how well these guys fight”
there didn’t seem to be many overweight members in any of the gangs…
correct, but as stated, there would have been no movie… perhaps they were too “small time” for grand theft auto?
how would the rest of the gang even know the Warriors were on their way back home? it was dawn, and most remaining gang members would have been sleeping… early morning is not the active period for these guys…
No clue, but agree this is an interesting question…
Have to say, though, that I loved this movie when I was a kid (about 16 when it came out) and watching it was fun but it took the shine off my memory… that said, there are few kids who grew up in the northeast who don’t know what comes next, if you were to clang 3 bottles together:
My impression of this: the Warriors got back to Coney Island right around sunrise. Most of the rest of the gang was probably asleep. Anyone who was awake probably hadn’t found out that they had returned. It’s not like the gang waited up all night to find out what happened at the big meeting in the Bronx. In 1979, believe it or not, people were willing to wait more than 5 seconds to find out what happened in someone else’s life. If we got important news within a day or so, that was good.
I liked the movie. Not great film making, but darn good fun.
Agreed on the idea of not being wrapped up in instant updates back in 1979.
That also ties into the phone thing. Believe it or not, back in 1979 it wouldn’t be at all unusual to dial a number and have it just ring and ring and ring with nobody ever picking it up and no voicemail, answering machine, nothing. Just ring, ring, ring, ring…
In other words, going to a pay phone could have easily been the equivalent of picking up a can and hoping the rest of your gang had another can with a string tied to yours. Pointless.
People were content being out of the loop regarding the minutia of other people’s lives.
Hell yeah.
Apparently they filmed a scene where they’re all awarded athletic scholarships to Columbia, but they had to cut it when they discovered the ivy league doesn’t award athletic scholarships. Too bad as that scene was supposed to have Oscar quality acting.
And then there isthis.
I was a Baseball Fury one Halloween, probably around the early to mid 1980s.
I distinctly recall Rembrandt being on the phone with someone when they were hanging out with the Lizzies. It’s been a while since I’ve watched this cinematic masterwork.
According to Google, the trip from Coney to Van Cortlandt park is 45 minutes, without any traffic. Add in the huge police presence and the need for the gang to hide out safely in the middle of the night, at a single location to wait for the ride, which needs at least 2 cars to pick up all the guys, one can appreciate why it may not have been the most reasonable option.
Well, believe it or not, lots of regular people dressed like that in the 70s. Except for the Baseball Furies, just about every gang’s outfit was based on some style that was popular at some point in the decade. Yes, even the overalls. The Rogues’ uniform was basically the biker from the Village People.
You are not alone.
One at a time rule. It certainly wasn’t invented just for this movie.
Here’s a Life Magazine feature from 1972 on a Bronx gang, if you’re interested on how NYC gangs of that era looked:
http://life.time.com/history/gang-of-new-york-the-reapers-1972/?iid=lb-gal-viewagn#1
Let me introduce you to Pop Will Eat Itself.
I recently read “The Gangs of New York”, which suggests that in 1879 the New York gangs did kind of dress like that.
Not sure about the all the principals in the film, but James Remar (Ajax) has done pretty well as a character actor. Good call on Mercedes Ruehl as the cop in the park - she’s done a lot since then, too.
Whoa, forgot about David Patrick Kelly (the bottle guy) - he was believably creepy.
Love this movie. Recorded it off Sundance a couple months ago, and I still keep it around and watch it now and then.
I saw a trailer for it recently, which refers to the gang you see at the beginning, the ones with white painted faces and top hats, as “the High Hats”, and the ones in the shiny purple vests and hats as “the Boppers”. The credits refer to the overalls-wearing gang as the “Punks”.
Currently known as “Dexter’s Ghost Dad.”
And keep in mind The Warriors was made in 1979 - eight years after this. So The Warriors was just following an established trope of movie gangs wearing silly costumes.
This is why I love the dope… All of these great posts, from the great songs on YouTube to the life magazine article from 1972… Who could find all of this on their own?
And on that note, a gift for all of you…and this answers some of the questions brought up in this thread… I give you the deleted scenes!