The Warriors (1979)

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

Sol Yurick (novel)
David Shaber (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 February 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They outnumber the cops three to one.

Plot:

A gang called The Warriors are framed for killing a gang leader trying to unite all the gangs in the area. With other gangs gunning for them they must get back to the home turf of Coney Island... Alive.

Plot Keywords:

Bra Less | Cult Favorite | Girl Gang | Gang Brawl | Urban

Cast

Michael Beck	...	Swan
James Remar	...	Ajax
Dorsey Wright	...	Cleon
Brian Tyler	...	Snow
David Harris	...	Cochise
Tom McKitterick	...	Cowboy
Marcelino Sánchez	...	Rembrandt (as Marcelino Sanchez)
Terry Michos	...	Vermin
Deborah Van Valkenburgh	...	Mercy
Roger Hill	...	Cyrus
David Patrick Kelly	...	Luther
Lynne Thigpen	...	D.J.
Ginny Ortiz	...	Candy Store Girl
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Policewoman
John Snyder	...	Gas Station Man
Dennis Gregory	...	Masai
Gwynn Press	...	Prom Couple
Jodi Price	...	Prom Couple
Jeffrey Scott	...	Prom Couple
Carl Brown	...	Prom Couple
Edward Sewer	...	Gramercy Riff
Ron Ferrell	...	Gramercy Riff
Fernando Castillo	...	Gramercy Riff
Hubert Edwards	...	Gramercy Riff
Larry Sears	...	Gramercy Riff
Mike James	...	Gramercy Riff
Gregory Cleghorne	...	Gramercy Riff
George Lee Miles	...	Gramercy Riff
Gerald G. Francis	...	Gramercy Riff
Benny Harding	...	Gramercy Riff
Eddie Prather	...	Gramercy Riff
Kenny Stockton	...	Gramercy Riff
Joel Weiss	...	Rogue
Harold Miller	...	Rogue
Dan Bonnell	...	Rogue
Dan Battles	...	Rogue
Tom Jarus	...	Rogue
Michael Garfield	...	Rogue
Chris Harley	...	Rogue
Mark Baltazar	...	Rogue
J.W. Smith	...	Turnbull A.C.
Cal Saint John	...	Turnbull A.C.
Joe Zimmardi	...	Turnbull A.C.
Carrotte	...	Turnbull A.C.
William F. Williams	...	Turnbull A.C. (as William Williams)
Marvin Foster	...	Turnbull A.C.
Johnny Barnes	...	Turnbull A.C.
Ken Thret	...	Turnbull A.C.
Michael Jeffrey	...	Turnbull A.C.
Paul Greco	...	Orphan
Apache Ramos	...	Orphan
Tony Michael Pann	...	Orphan
Neal Gold	...	Orphan
James Margolin	...	Orphan
Chuck Mason	...	Orphan
Andy Engel	...	Orphan (as Andre Engel)
Ian Cohen	...	Orphan
Charles Serrano	...	Orphan
Charles Doolan	...	Orphan
Jery Hewitt	...	Baseball Fury (as Jerry Hewitt)
Rob Ryder	...	Baseball Fury
Steven Chambers	...	Baseball Fury (as Steve Chambers)
Richard Chiotti	...	Baseball Fury
Tony Latham	...	Baseball Fury
Gene Bicknell	...	Baseball Fury (as Eugene Bicknell)
T.J. McNamara	...	Baseball Fury
Steve James	...	Baseball Fury (as Steven James)
Lane Ruoff	...	Baseball Fury
Harry Madsen	...	Baseball Fury
Bill Anagnos	...	Baseball Fury (as Billy Anagnos)
John Gibson	...	Baseball Fury
Lisa Maurer	...	Lizzie
Kate Klugman	...	Lizzie
Wanda Velez	...	Lizzie
Dee Dee Benrey	...	Lizzie
Jordan Cae Harrell	...	Lizzie
Donna Ritchie	...	Lizzie
Doran Clark	...	Lizzie
Patty Brown	...	Lizzie
Iris Albanti	...	Lizzie (as Iris Alahanti)
Victoria Vanderkloot	...	Lizzie
Laura Delano	...	Lizzie (as Laura De Lano)
Heidi Lynch	...	Lizzie
Craig R. Baxley	...	Punk (as Craig Baxley)
A.J. Bakunas	...	Punk
Greg Baxley	...	Punk
Konrad Sheehan	...	Punk
Eddie Earl Hatch	...	Punk
Tommy J. Huff	...	Punk (as Tom Huff)
Leon Delaney	...	Punk
Irwin Keyes	...	Police
Larry Silvestri	...	Police
Sonny Landham	...	Police
Frank Ferrara	...	Police
Pat Flannery	...	Police
Leo Ciani	...	Police
Charles McCarthy	...	Police (as Charlie McCarthy)
Tony Clark	...	Police
Victor Magnotta	...	Police (as Vic Magnotta)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pamela Poitier	...	Lincoln - Cleon's Girl (scenes deleted)
Richard Alleman	...	Nazi (uncredited)
Joseph Bergmann	...	Baseball Fury (uncredited)
Brian Colbath	...	Nazi (uncredited)
Harold Jurkiewicz	...	Orphan (uncredited)
Antone Pagan	...	Gang Leader on Subway Stairs (uncredited)
Charles Silvern	...	(uncredited)
Thomas G. Waites	...	Fox (uncredited)
Albert Zavurov	...	Guy in the Park (uncredited)

Directed by
Walter Hill

Writing credits
Sol Yurick		(novel)
David Shaber		(screenplay) and
Walter Hill		(screenplay)

Produced by
Laurent Bouzereau	....	producer (Ultimate Director's Cut)
Freeman A. Davies	....	producer (Ultimate Director's Cut)
Lawrence Gordon	....	producer
Walter Hill	....	producer (Ultimate Director's Cut)
Frank Marshall	....	executive producer
Joel Silver	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Barry De Vorzon

Cinematography by
Andrew Laszlo		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Holden

Casting by
Howard Feuer
Jeremy Ritzer

Art Direction by
Don Swanagan
Robert Wightman		(as Bob Wightman)

Set Decoration by
Frederic C. Weiler		(as Fred Weiler)

Costume Design by
Bobbie Mannix
Mary Ellen Winston		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Frank Bianco	....	hair stylist
Mike Maggi	....	makeup artist (as Michael Maggi)

Production Management
John Stark	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Barth	....	second assistant director (as Bob Barth)
Peter Gries	....	second assistant director
David Sosna	....	assistant director (as David O. Sosna)
Bruce Greenfield	....	dga trainee (uncredited)

Art Department
William Kane	....	property master
William Lucek	....	chargeman scenic artist
Brian Murphy	....	illustrator (Ultimate Director's Cut)

Sound Department
William Andrews	....	sound effects editor
Sean Hanley	....	dialogue editor
Jack C. Jacobsen	....	sound mixer (as Jack Jacobsen)
Al Mian	....	sound mixer (as Alan Mian)
Alan Robert Murray	....	sound effects editor (as Allan Murray)
Lee Osborne	....	sound effects editor
Tex Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
George Watters II	....	sound effects editor
Arthur Bloom	....	boom operator (uncredited)
James Perdue	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Edward Drohan	....	special effects

Stunts
Craig R. Baxley	....	stunt coordinator (as Craig Baxley)
David Copeland	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Burke	....	electrician
Russell Engels	....	gaffer (as Russel Engels)
Peter Garbarini	....	camera operator
John Thomas Kennedy	....	key grip
Michael Stone	....	camera operator (as Mike Stone)
Michael Ginsburg	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Ron Zarilla	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sylvia Fay	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
William Loger	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Phyllis Smith Altenhaus	....	assistant editor (as Phyllis Smith-Altenhaus)
Lisa Zeno Churgin	....	assistant editor (as Lisa Churgin)
Freeman A. Davies	....	additional editor (as Freeman Davies Jr.)
Rick Fields	....	assistant editor
Susan E. Morse	....	additional editor
George Trirogoff	....	assistant editor
Billy Weber	....	additional editor

Music Department
John Caper Jr.	....	music editor
Joe Ferla	....	additional music co-supervisor
Paul Griffin	....	music arranger: additional music
Rob Mounsey	....	music arranger: additional music
Kenny Vance	....	music supervisor: additional music

Other crew
Sam Bernstein	....	production accountant
Neil Canton	....	assistant: Mr. Hill
Laurie Deitz	....	assistant: Mr. Gordon
Gail Geibel	....	production office coordinator
A. Kitman Ho	....	location manager (as A.K. Ho)
David Streit	....	location manager
Giboney Whyte	....	script supervisor
Stephen A. Glanzrock	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Dan Perri	....	title designer: main titles (uncredited)
Rob Ryder	....	location scout (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1983) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• CIC-Taft Home Video
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1980) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (HD-DVD)
• Shocking Videos (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Dan Perri  title design
• Modern Film Effects  opticals
• Sylvia Fay/ Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language. (director's cut)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Canada:R (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 (1979) (re-rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2005) | France:-16 (re-rating) | Sweden:(Banned) (1979) (original rating) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R (MPAA #25367) | Australia:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Finland:(Banned) (1979) | Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) (2001) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (video rating) (1985) (cut) | France:-18 (cut) | France:X | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

72nd St. IRT Station, 72nd and Broadway, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Real street gangs made it into the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning of the movie, the warriors board a D train leaving Coney Island. When the train leaves the station, in the far shot of Coney Island, they are on a B train.

Quotes:

Swan: [to Mercy] Why don't you just tie a mattress to your back? You don't care where it is, do you?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Murder of Crows (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

Last Of An Ancient Breed

A short history lesson

I was working in a movie theater when The Warriors first came out, and remember well the flick and the hype surrounding it. Here's a few notes to clear up some misconceptions that many other commentors seem to have.

The flick was NOT ever intended to be an accurate portrayal of New York gang life, although there were some realistic elements. At the time it was generally accepted that it took place in the future, although nothing in the movie supports this. At best it can be considered an urban fable that takes place in a sort-of-imaginary world. You know, like Pulp Fiction (you think 90s LA gangsters dressed like that??).

Second, the film itself was not accused of inciting violence. Problem was, it was a VERY popular film with gang members, who would show up in force. Two rival gangs would show up at the same theater, and... you can figure the rest out yourself. One guy was killed on the first weekend the movie was playing in New York; after that, the distributor hired off-duty police for security at every theater across the country that showed the flick. In the small-town Midwest where I lived, this served more as advertising hype than anything else.

Finally, it was widely known back in the day that The Warriors was based on the ancient Greek nonfiction tale Anabasis, written around 370 BC by the Spartan general Xenophon (it's also published under the title The Persian Expedition). In this classic tale, a battalion of 10,000 Spartan mercenaries join the Persian emperor Cyrus for a war in Asia Minor (i.e. Turkey). Cyrus's army is defeated, the Spartan leaders are captured, and the remaining force must make their way across country, fighting various hostile tribes along the way, experiencing their own internal power struggles, until they reach the safety of the sea. I'm shocked that only one reviewer seemed to be familiar with this; in the 70s almost nobody talked about the movie without mentioning it.

Great flick, by the way, and it holds up extremely well over time. I'm sure the remake will suck.