The Warriors (1979)
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A gang of New York City street toughs must navigate a gauntlet of rival gangs and police to reach their home turf after being framed for a murder.
The story
After a high-stakes summit between New York City's most powerful gangs is interrupted by a violent assassination, the members of the Warriors are framed for the crime. Now branded as outlaws by the rival gangs and the police, the group must navigate the treacherous streets of New York City. They are forced to fight their way through various rival gangs and evade law enforcement as they attempt to reach their home turf on Coney Island. The journey becomes a desperate struggle for survival as they are hunted by those who believe they are responsible for the death of a prominent gang leader.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
During a midnight summit at Van Cortlandt Park, the leader of the Gramercy Riffs, Cyrus, proposes a citywide truce. However, the leader of the Rogues, Luther, shoots Cyrus dead and frames the Warriors for the murder. As the police arrive, the Warriors are forced to flee toward Coney Island. They are pursued by various rival gangs, including the Orphans, the Baseball Furies, the Lizzies, and the Punks, while also being hunted by the NYPD. Along the way, they face internal tensions and external threats, including a bounty placed on their heads by the Riffs. The group is eventually separated and reunited multiple times as they navigate the subway system and city streets. In the final confrontation at Coney Island, the Warriors face Luther and the Rogues. They ultimately prove their innocence to the Riffs and are allowed to leave as the Riffs defeat the Rogues. The film ends with the surviving members of the Warriors walking along a beach at sunrise.
- First release year
- 1979
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Walter Hill
- Writers
- David Shaber · screenplay; Walter Hill · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Michael Beck · not specified; James Remar · not specified; Deborah Van Valkenburgh · not specified; Marcelino Sánchez · not specified; David Harris · not specified; Tom McKitterick · not specified; Brian Tyler · not specified; Dorsey Wright · not specified; Terry Michos · not specified; David Patrick Kelly · not specified; Roger Hill · not specified; Edward Sewer · not specified
- Genres
- action; thriller
- Tone and mood
- stylized; gritty
- Premise and plot tags
- gangs; survival; urban
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1965 novel of the same name by Sol Yurick, in-turn inspired by Xenophon's Anabasis.
- Franchise connections
- The Warriors
- Reception
- Initially received negative reviews for its lack of realism and stilted dialogue, the film has since been reappraised as a cult classic and a stylish piece of pulp filmmaking.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 88% · scale: percentage · review count: 51; Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100 · review count: 16
- Production trivia
- The film was originally envisioned as a western.; The film was once X-rated in France for incitement to violence.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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