FAQ for
The Warriors (1979)

Original version:

DVD release: 2001, purple/blue cover

Picture quality: Okay, but with some of the artifacts expected in what was then a 22-year-old cut of film.

Sound: Original mono.

Cut: Original cut as seen in theaters.

Extras: Nothing.

Availability: Now out of print, but still fairly easy to get hold of secondhand for very cheap.

Director's cut:

DVD release: 2005, red/orange cover

Picture quality: Greatly restored and cleaned up, worthy of DVD.

Sound: Remastered stereo/surround, very well done.

Cut: Some new short comic-book-style transitions (1-3 seconds) inserted between some scenes, and a new short intro comparing the adventure to the classic Greek story it was based upon.

Extras: Some really good documentaries and interviews, pure gold to Warriors fans.

Availability: Common and in print, low-end DVD price, usually on shelves at major DVD stores.

Fans are very divided on the comic transitions, with some saying it actually ruins the movie while others aren't affected at all by them. But even people who totally hate the comic stuff tend to really like the rest of the goodies on the new disc.

Basically, if you're a fan of the film, you probably won't regret getting both versions. They're fairly cheap as DVDs go, and since it is out of print that original edition won't be so easy to get hold of forever.

See the covers and the Amazon links at http://imdb.com/title/tt0080120/dvd

A remake of this film was announced in 2005. Set to be produced by MTV films with Tony Scott directing, it would share the original film's basic idea of a gang stranded outside its turf. However, it would be set on the West Coast instead of New York, and take place in modern times rather than a dystopian setting. It was not done with the approval or participation of Walter Hill or anyone else involved with the original.

Since that announcement a few minor rumors have surfaced (mainly the suggestion that this would feature real gang members as extras, a persistent rumor which has not been confirmed by any official source) but no solid information has been announced by MTV or Tony Scott since the original announcement.

Time has passed since that announcement, and nobody's heard anything about it in quite a while. Apart from speculation, and the pushing forward of the release date on the remake's IMDb entry a couple of times (it's been quietly changed from 2006 to 2007 to 2008 as deadlines passed with no movie, you can find the entry at http://imdb.com/title/tt0423512/) there hasn't been a scrap of information about it since the original announcement and Tony Scott's one interview at MTV (which was also producing the remake) in 2005. All that info is on http://warriorsmovie.co.uk (click "New movie") - a page on the main "Warriors" fansite which hasn't changed or updated for a couple of years now.)

At this point it appears that the project is at least on hold, and at most dead. If you're interested, stay tuned to the remake's IMDb entry and its message board (http://imdb.com/title/tt0423512/board/threads/) as well as the Warriors UK site.