The Warriors (1979) Review has finally arrived on Born to Watch, and Whitey, Gow and Damo are heading into the neon-soaked streets of New York City to revisit one of the great cult movies of their youth.
Can you dig it?
Walter Hill's The Warriors has one of those brilliantly simple movie premises.
Cyrus brings New York's gangs together with a plan to unite them. Then he gets shot; The Warriors are blamed and suddenly a small crew from Coney Island has to travel from the Bronx back home while seemingly everyone in New York wants them dead.
No mobile phones.
No Google Maps.
Just subway trains, leather vests and some absolutely magnificent gang fashion.
The boys have been talking about reviewing The Warriors for years, and there's some serious nostalgia attached to this one. Whitey watched it repeatedly as a teenager, while Damo remembers hiring it on VHS and watching it twice back-to-back.
But does it still hold up?
The boys dive into Walter Hill's incredible version of New York and the collection of gangs standing between The Warriors and home.
The Turnbull ACs.
The Orphans.
The Lizzies.
The Rogues.
And, of course, the Baseball Furies, because nothing says hardened New York street gang quite like baseball uniforms and full-face makeup.
There's plenty of love for Barry De Vorzon's fantastic electronic soundtrack, particularly the opening and the brilliant Baseball Furies chase.
Michael Beck's Swan brings enough brooding to power a small city, James Remar is gloriously unhinged as Ajax, and David Patrick Kelly gives us Luther and one of the most iconic movie moments of the era:
“Warriors... come out to play-ay!”
But this is Born to Watch, so nostalgia isn't getting The Warriors a free ride.
Is a movie with this reputation actually violent enough?
How the hell do the Lizzies miss from that distance?
Does the final confrontation give us the payoff the movie deserves?
And how much chafing would actually be involved in running across New York wearing nothing but a leather vest?
The boys also dive into Walter Hill's career, the movie's cult reputation and why The Warriors became one of those films that exploded through VHS and home video long after its original cinema run.
Then it’s into Good, Bad and Ugly, Film School for F-Wits, Snorbs Report, Star of the Show and the all-important Rank Bank.
Where will The Warriors end up?
There's only one way to find out.
Grab the baseball bat, paint your face and get yourself back to Coney Island.
WARRIORS... COME OUT TO PLAY-AY!
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