The Warriors Movie Site Forum

When the Warriors was originally in cinemas, gang fights would actually break out in the theatres, which to be honest confuses me, especially with the message Cyrus tries to make at the beginning of the film.

He wants to put an end to the violence between the gangs, he wants to stop them arguing over territory and turf and start banding together to fight the people he believes has been causing them to fight each other all along in the police. In the long run Cyrus is trying to fight for peace, of course there are other goals such as profit and control of New York but in order to get that he needs peace first.

Now while a gang ruling an entire city is a terrifying idea on any level. My question is how is it this message managed to get through to me, a pacifist who has never and will never be part of a gang but not the gangs in 1979 who got into fights in the theatre?

I would have thought, that yes while this movie may inspire violence due to its fight scenes. It should still make people in gangs question what they were doing and why they were fighting, heck even after going through all the hell they went through, even The Warriors kept Cyrus' message in mind when Cochise says "Cyrus was right about one thing...it's all out there." And Swan thinks about leaving because he just doesn't want to keep fighting any more, it's not worth it.

So, did I read too much into that Conclave scene? Did I take too much away from that and see a message that wasn't really there? Or did anyone else notice that message in the movie?

Guess this can be my introductory thread of me saying hey and what it is about the movie that really interests me

Having lived through it, I can tell you that the gang fights were, in actuality, a few isolated incidents, that got overblown due to media hype

Gangs are attracted to gang movies
Rival gangs tend not to play nice with each other

Actually, entire cities are ruled by gangs. They are called the cops. Think about it.
I rewatched "The Warriors" just recently as a matter of fact, and it occured to me
that despite the menacing face paint of the Baseball Furies, or the terror of 30
skinheads trying to run you over with a school bus, and then tear you limb from limb,
the cops were the most intimidating gang in the movie. They have uniforms and
gear,and they are armed (with guns) as well as clubs. They also have wheels,
and access to coordinated radio communication. They can really call down as much
force on a single situation as they need to, quicker than any other gang, and their
turf is the whole city.

Any how, about Cyrus. I never saw him as anything other than a simple, power hungry
meglomaniac. He just wants to unite all of the scattered tribes so that he can overthrow
the current power base. How many foot soldiers are going to be thrown into the meat
grinder before that happens? And in the end, Cyrus and his elite will be in control.
It's just trading one oppressive master for another.

It's interesting that when you look at the people at the conclave while Cyrus is giving
his speech, everyone pretty much eventually get's into it. Everyone except AJAX! He
is like WTF are you idiots cheering about? Maybe his naturally defiant personality
was a positive trait in that case.

Welcome to the forum, btw.

I agree with the statement about Ajax - I saw it exactly the same way.
People are 'sheep' that just follow each other because it is EASY to do so.

Not Ajax