Behind the Scenes of "The Warriors"

September 9, 2015 7:33 PM

"To be a Warrior would mean running all night, every night, through the sweltering summer streets of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. It would mean showing up for work at six in the evening and not wrapping until the crew could see the sun rise over the East River. It would mean hopping subway turnstiles and enduring the taunts of the local street gangs. The line separating art and life would become blurred, the making of the film an adventure in and of itself." Jackson O'Connor of the Village Voice on the 1979 cult classic "The Warriors."
posted by goatdog (35 comments total)

Still the best movie about the tragedy of an inadequate public transit system.
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:48 PM on September 9, 2015 [22 favorites]

"Can... you... dig it??????!!!!!!!!"
posted by WalkerWestridge at 7:52 PM on September 9, 2015 [3 favorites]

That was a fascinating article, thanks for posting! I had no idea about a lot of the back story, like it getting pulled from theaters.
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:55 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

That was a fascinating article, thanks for posting! I had no idea about a lot of the back story, like it getting pulled from theaters.

I was 10 when The Warriors came out and I remember everybody in school was talking about this movie and how people were getting stabbed at theaters etc... Good times, good times.
posted by MikeMc at 8:06 PM on September 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Filming locations of The Warriors 1, 2, 3
posted by ladyriffraff at 8:07 PM on September 9, 2015 [6 favorites]

Nothing about the bizarre decision to add eye-rollingly clunky DO YOU GET IT THIS IS LIKE THAT XENOPHON BOOK backstory narration and segue-ruining comic-book style intertitles to the "Ultimate Director's Cut"? This was their chance to rake that dude over the coals!

(I won't say it was ruined because it's still great but I did double-check whether George Lucas was on the production team.)
posted by No-sword at 8:50 PM on September 9, 2015

It seems like there should exist some album that syncs up to this film perfectly
posted by thelonius at 9:04 PM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

This has some interesting insider info, especially that the guy who gets killed off halfway through was originally supposed to be the lead; Michael Beck as Swan works so well as the reluctant leader that it's hard to imagine him being just one of the crew. But this still seems a little thin; I realize that the writer was featuring the people that he could get ahold of and interview in person, but I would have liked to hear from/about, say, James Remar, who played Ajax (speaking of ostentatious classic references), and got the best line in the film, delivered to one of the Baseball Furies: "I'm gonna shove that bat up your ass and turn you into a popsicle." (Per the mention by Beck of his drug use on set, and the disagreement between a director and actor leading to the latter being cut, Remar was originally supposed to play Hicks in Aliens, but James Cameron got tired of his drug use and fired him a week into filming, replacing him with Michael Biehn; Remar is still in some of the shots of the Colonial Marines where you can't see his face.) Also, it would have been nice to have some acknowledgement of Lynne Thigpen, aka the DJ who acts as sort of a Greek chorus in the film, who was also in Godspell and, of all the things, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (I guess what I'm saying is that I'd love to read a more traditional oral history of this film.)

I love this movie, was always a little disappointed that the street gangs in Chicago (where I lived when the movie came out) weren't this colorful, and was further disappointed, during the brief period that I lived in NYC, that I couldn't get a copy of the film at any video rental place that I checked (and I checked several--this was in the early nineties) so that I could retrace their path as closely as I could without, say, running along subway tracks.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:30 PM on September 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Okay - let's get down to it, boppers...
posted by pompomtom at 10:28 PM on September 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

Yeah, that Ultimate Director's Cut is bad. I wouldn't mind so much except that you can't find the theatrical version on DVD or Blu Ray.

Rumble Kings is a pretty fascinating documentary about the street gangs of that era that inspired The Warriors as well as the real life peace treaty that ended the turf wars and gave birth to hip-hop.
posted by cazoo at 11:04 PM on September 9, 2015 [3 favorites]

clink... clink
posted by fairmettle at 2:42 AM on September 10, 2015

This weekend I watched a Jackie Chan film from the 80s where he took on a street gang. That, and this, makes me wonder - did audiences see this portrayal of violence as realistic? We're the 80s really that frightening?
posted by rebent at 4:14 AM on September 10, 2015

The first time I saw The Warriors it was the Ultimate Director's Cut. I think I spent the first 10 minutes of the movie puzzling how the font in the intertitles looked so terrible and wondering whether Comic Sans had actually been invented yet when this movie was made (I didn't realize the intertitles were a later addition).

I don't know 100% if it's true or not, but I am told that my Brooklyn-based running club was enlisted as extras-- I guess that's the logical place to look for extras who can run in take after take?
posted by matcha action at 5:03 AM on September 10, 2015

We're the 80s really that frightening?

The Warriors came out in 1979, but yeah, there really was an urban crime wave in the second half of the 20th century in America. The cause(s) of its rise and fall are still being debated, especially the theory that crime fell not because of any particular policing strategy but because of the diminished use of lead in things such as gasoline and paint.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:13 AM on September 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

Metafilter... come out... to pla-ay.
posted by clvrmnky at 6:15 AM on September 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

One of the triumphs of the movie is how colorful it can be, considering it was filmed in the night (and away from the usual neon signs).

Also worth pointing out is the PS2/Xbox/PSP game (not the XBLive) release, that expands the backstory on the first two thirds (the rest is ours the movie). Still my favourite Rockstar game.
posted by lmfsilva at 6:23 AM on September 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

I read a review somewhere -- not Roger Ebert's, though, I checked -- that referred to the geography of New York City being a character in the movie as in no other.

Fun fact: On a visit to New York many years ago, I rode the subway to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx because The Warriors. (Then I turned around and got on the train back into the city.) Can you dig it?
posted by Gelatin at 6:33 AM on September 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

I just watched The Warriors for the first time on Netflix last week and do not remember any jarring intertitles, so they must have the theatrical version.
posted by superna at 9:47 AM on September 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

Saw this in the theaters as a young punk with my brother. We, of course got seriously stoned for this. It was hilarious then, and I'm sure it still is.
posted by evilDoug at 10:09 AM on September 10, 2015

I'm not quite old enough to remember actual gangs of 70s New York, but I understand that portraying the gangs wearing bizarre costumes (um, a gang of mimes?) was not all that out of reality for the era.
posted by holborne at 10:14 AM on September 10, 2015

wait, Holborne, seriously? Because the gang costumes seem more like Mad Max or Water World than america. Sure, the 80s were a little weird, but it was like - nobody actually expects spies to wear deep v catsuits, right? But it's realistic enough for a movie? Or, were people actually wearing vests with bandoleers and face paint around the streets?

man, now I feel like I really should dive into some historic photo archive.
posted by rebent at 11:51 AM on September 10, 2015

I moved to NY in the late 80's. There were no full face makeup guys running around in sports outfits, I promise you. Most gangs tended to be way too poor for uniforms.


(But I love this movie)
posted by lumpenprole at 11:54 AM on September 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

Or, were people actually wearing vests with bandoleers and face paint around the streets?

Or roller skates, for crying out loud.
posted by Gelatin at 12:03 PM on September 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also worth pointing out is the PS2/Xbox/PSP game (not the XBLive) release, that expands the backstory on the first two thirds (the rest is ours the movie). Still my favourite Rockstar game.

OMG YES! WHY THE HELL HASN'T THIS BEEN RERELEASED?!?!?
posted by lkc at 12:09 PM on September 10, 2015

thelonius: It seems like there should exist some album that syncs up to this film perfectly

Sadly, Moviesyncs.com doesn't list anything, but they're focused on a handful of bands. And Syncmovies hasn't done one yet.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:16 PM on September 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

OMG YES! WHY THE HELL HASN'T THIS BEEN RERELEASED?!?!?

I'm woefully out of touch with the current gaming landscape, but a couple years back Rockstar made their Warriors game available to purchase as a downloadable game through the online Playstation Store.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:34 PM on September 10, 2015

WRT what street gangs actually wore, the Stone Grease site (previously on the blue, with some of my first comments here, in fact) has some authentic photos and descriptions of gangs of the era. It still fascinates me that at least some of the Chicago gangs of the time that I lived there wore cardigans, of all the things (albeit sweaters with gang colors on them).
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:50 PM on September 10, 2015

has some authentic photos and descriptions of gangs of the era. It still fascinates me that at least some of the Chicago gangs of the time that I lived there wore cardigans, of all the things

Back when I was a senior in high school ('86) my industrial education class took a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry and I distinctly remember looking out of the bus window and seeing an old building with "GAYLORDS" painted across the roof in 3 foot high letters. My first thought was: "What a stupid fucking name for a gang.". Stay unique Chicago.
posted by MikeMc at 4:17 PM on September 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

I saw this was on Netflix and started watching it earlier today. Then this pops up. Awesome. I have it on VHS. I think it's the last thing I bought on VHS actually.
posted by cashman at 8:52 PM on September 10, 2015

Still the best movie about the tragedy of an inadequate public transit system.

I have never been to New York (or, indeed, America) but I watched this film recently for the first time since OJ was acquitted, and the PT was adequate. The Warriors just kept jumping off the trains.

And they still got home by dawn. Well, to Coney Island.

but I understand that portraying the gangs wearing bizarre costumes (um, a gang of mimes?) was not all that out of reality for the era.

They'd given up the all-singing, all-dancing of the '50s and were waiting for Cyberpunk.
They had to do something.
posted by Mezentian at 8:06 AM on September 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm super late on this, but my favorite quote regarding that film is from Michael Beck, who at one point said something to the effect of "The Warriors opened many doors for me which Xanadu subsequently closed."
posted by uberchet at 1:51 PM on September 17, 2015

Why Can’t We Stop Talking About New York in the Late 1970s?
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:42 PM on September 17, 2015

Watch 'The Warriors' Recreate Their Last Subway Ride Home
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:29 PM on September 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

I see Ajax is still doing time. Probably shanked a corrections officer or something.
posted by lmfsilva at 12:56 AM on September 27, 2015

“It’s been 36 years since the release of The Warriors, Walter Hill’s cult chronicle of one gang’s voyage through a Manhattan swarming with conspiracy, conflict, and graffiti-clad subway cars. Those three decades and change have only enhanced the film’s reputation, and fan Eric Nyenhuis recently organized a reunion in which the movie’s cast members took one last subway ride to the Warriors’ home turf on Coney Island.

Thankfully, Rolling Stone filmed that subway ride, with Michael Beck (Swan), David Harris (Cochise), Dorsey Wright (Cleon), Terry Michos (Vermin), and Thomas G. Waites (Fox) all waxing nostalgic in red leather. Can you dig it?”

The Warriors Cast Comes Out to Play for a Final Subway Ride Home
–Slate, Sept. 26th, 2015
posted by blueberry at 12:33 PM on September 27, 2015