Director Walter Hill was a fan of comic books and their style so he patterned this film on those, creating an alternate reality to ours (in which a fantasized or fictional gang is composed of a variety of white, black & ethnic types), obviously more on the super-hero genre - the tales of brightly-costumed heroes and villains - but this also, like its source novel, was based on an old Greek tale of soldiers trying to get back to the safety of their homeland. In this film, it's called their home "turf" - that piece of ground which gangs find to be so important. Nine gang members of the titular gang have to make their way home across New York City, usually but not always using the famous subway system. Different gangs have different costumes, each very distinct from one another (how else to tell them apart?). Hence, each gang is like a different team, though there aren't any real heroes - these are, after all, young criminals, but they behave as if they're in the middle of a war or - more exciting - some dark, epic conflict. The goal of the Warriors is to reach Coney Island.
There is a rationale for the other gangs to try and stop the Warriors from succeeding; this is shown in the first act, when nine emissaries from all the major gangs in the city meet in one place in response to an invitation from Cyrus (Roger Hill), leader of the biggest gang, the Riffs. Cyrus has a definite plan about a permanent truce, uniting all the gangs to run the city, but he is shot & killed by Luther (David Patrick Kelly), psychotic chief of the Rogues gang. As unlikely as it seems, no one except one member of the Warriors witnesses who committed the murder and the Warriors themselves are fingered by the real killer, Luther. Even worse, Warriors chief Cleon (Dorsey Wright) is killed by the vengeful Riffs, so that leaves the remaining 8 Warriors not only on the run but leaderless. It falls to Swan (Michael Beck) to take over as Warriors war chief, under objections from the toughest fighter, Ajax (James Remar).
This was also meant to take place 'some time in the future' so there may be similar intentions between this and
A Clockwork Orange - but even so the similarities are very few. In another sense, this is a video game come to life, before there were such video games, and is so way ahead of its time. I mean, the plot is incredibly simple: once the nine heroes get to point B, they must spend the rest of the movie trying to get back to point A (Coney Island, their turf). There are basically 2 types of obstacles in their way: other gang teams and the police group, which is against everyone. Any other types of citizens, such as everyday bystanders, make only fleeting appearances during the film and are completely irrelevant. Most of the film is shot at night with empty streets as the backdrops, with only the gang members or police showing any signs of life, any movement. There is no mention, even, of other characters such as parents. This all results in a surrealistic and exciting trip among the eerie canyons of the city. And,
movement is key; it seems more than half the film contains scenes of someone being chased. The best, most memorable moment, is the appearance of the gang named the Baseball Furies. These gang members have the most eye-catching make-up and costumes. Their sudden appearance at the midway point just emphasizes the eeriness, and the subsequent chase makes them look like demons trying to catch the tiring heroes. The fight scenes, like all else, are dramatically choreographed and ideal for such a stylized action adventure.
Of the actors, Kelly probably makes the strongest impression as the weaselly, grating Rogue leader, a small little man with big aspirations to be a grand villain. He would go on to play similar characters all through the eighties. Remar also is memorable as the impulsive, non-too-bright scrapper, Ajax (character name modeled on a famous Greek warrior). Deborah van Valkenburgh has the main female role as a local low class gal who joins the Warriors group during their run-in with the Orphans gang; the actress went on to a regular role on an eighties TV sitcom. Mercedes Ruehl, future Oscar-winner, has the small role of a woman on a park bench who distracts the roving-eyed Ajax. There is also a female gang called the Lizzies. Other Warriors are named Fox (Thomas Waites, the diplomat), Cochise (a black man but patterning himself on American Indians), Cowboy (who wears a cowboy hat), Vermin (the wiseguy), Snow (the cool, level-headed one) and Rembrandt (the youngest, usually spray-painting the gang's sign). BoG's Score:
9 out of 10Warrior Trivia: This was based on Sol Yurick's sixties novel, which was more realistic and presented the Warriors gang as more timid. In the 2005 DVD version of this film, released in October '05, director Hill re-tinkered some points to stress the comic book and Greek origins of the story and present a variation on the archetypal nature of the work, such as added actual comic book panels. I don't think this was necessary as it impeded the smooth flow of the tale and many think it ruined the film. The character of Fox was abruptly taken out of the story, unlike most of the other Warriors; I read somewhere long ago that actor Waites upset director Hill with his attempted input and was written out. Early bit part for Sonny Landham (
Predator '87) as one of the cops; he's the one who gets taken out by a flung baseball bat from Swan.
More Trivia in video below:
