Found this on my patrols...

[PunkRockWarrior62]

Found this review at epinions.com Great little site.

Warriors...Come out to Play!


One may think that this is the standard and typical gang potboiler, but in fact it is somewhat more intelligent than that.

The major story line involves a summit involving the top 200 or so gangs. Led by the Grammercy Riffs, the big goal is to unite the gangs to overrun NYC.

The major problem is that their leader, Cyrus is whacked by one of his rivals, The Rogues, but the blame is placed squarely on the Warriors. Now, the Warriors have to fight their way home to Coney Island, far far away from their meeting place in the Bronx.

The Warriors falls under the John Carpenter 1970's school of film making. It is atmospheric and provides a shallow level social commentary on the decay of morality and law (Coming from the Jimmy Carter era of politics) that eventually led to the conservatism of movies in the 1980s with movies like Dirty Harry and Death Wish. The music, from Tangerine Dream is both atmospheric and evokes a sense of hopelessness which suits the movie and explains the mission of our gang very well.

The main characters also do a great job with their cartoon characters. Michael Beck is wonderfully understated as Swan, the new war chief. He is well complemented by James Remar who plays Ajax, the unpredictable and emotional second in charge. There is also Mercy, who is played by Deborah Van Valkenburgh. She is the spunky romantic type lead who is emotional damaged goods and seeks men for sex to forget about her miserable life.

On the bad side is Luther, played by David Patrick Kelly. reminiscent of Joacquim Phoenix's Emperor Commodus with his slightly pshchotic, slightly uncontrollable personality. He also mutters the best line in the movie (see title) while clanking some bottles.

While this movie seems very simplistic, I feel that it does have some resemblance of some Greek mythology. It is reminiscent of Anabasis, the story of 10K Greek mercenaries sent off to fight in Persia but then must find their way home when their boss dies. In the Greek story, the bosses name is Cyrus, also the name of the Riffs leader who is killed in the beginning of the movie. The Warriors is also reminiscent of the Odyessy, which also includes the seduction of the Warriors by the Sirens, who are represented by a lesbian gang called the Lizzies. A third reference is the character of Ajax, which was a warrior that fought in the Trojan war. He was a brave but impetuous warrior that raped Princess Cassandra and was eventually punished by the gods. In the movie, Ajax is a fighter that does not think things through and he is ultimately brought down when he tries to rape a woman in a Park.

The movie also has hints of the "Clockwork Orange" in it's portrayal of cartoon like gangs. The gang culture is similar to more like superhero cartoons, rather than gritty street life. There are gangs that involve multicultured skinheads (the Turnbull AC's), hicks in overalls on rollerskates (gang name unknown), baseball players (The furies) and bunch of kids who look like leftover trash (The Orphans), African Americans in silk pajamas/karate outfits (The Riffs). These colorful gangsters with even more colorful names are reminiscient of The Droogs much more than say, the Bloods or the Crips. However, while outdated, it is still very fun to watch in a way....Rating: B





Just thought you might like to know.

[Clown Face Killer]

The Warriors falls under the John Carpenter 1970's school of film making. It is atmospheric and provides a shallow level social commentary on the decay of morality and law (Coming from the Jimmy Carter era of politics) that eventually led to the conservatism of movies in the 1980s with movies like Dirty Harry and Death Wish. The music, from Tangerine Dream is both atmospheric and evokes a sense of hopelessness which suits the movie and explains the mission of our gang very well.

Being the huge John Carpenter fan that I am, I would tend to agree whole-heartedly with the reviewer's opinion. Both film makers have an uncanny knack for interjecting social commentary very cleverly into their films. This commentary is not the "in your face" kind like many others, but rather a very subtle message that is conveyed to the audience members that are really paying attention.

I guess that's one of the main things I love about The Warriors as well as many of John Carpenter's films...

[back2coney]

I know Tangerine Dream did the trailer soundtrack but i would have liked Barry to get most of the credit here .......oh well, nice info, thanx.