I had the privilege of getting to attend a cinematography workshop featuring Andrew Lazlo back in the late ’90s. He had an amazing career and most of his talk dealt with unique ways to light a difficult scene. He told us about the circular “starlight” he created that placed the camera lens in the middle of the rig to film Barbra Streisand’s close ups for The Owl and the Pussycat. She loved it. He explained how he lit an entire scene in First Blood (the original Rambo movie) with only Sylvester Stallone holding a match. He discussed his three movies he shot for director Hill. We heard about the filters he used in Southern Comfort and the lighting scheme he created for concerts in Streets of Fire. He tales of working on summer nights to create look for The Warriors were captivating. According to Laszlo, the movie was going to be a major blockbuster, but reports of gang violence during screenings had Paramount yank the movie after a few weeks. The VHS became a rental sensation at your local Videoplex. People didn’t have to worry about gang violence in their family room unless they invited the wrong people over. During the workshop, he showed us clips from The Warriors off a VHS cassette. The VHS didn’t give us a true sense of Laszlo’s cinematography work. The images looked even worse because they were projected on a large screen. His wonderful work was reduced into a murky NTSC sludge. Now I can fully appreciate what he and Walter Hill captured on the decaying streets of New York City in the late ’70s with The Warriors (Limited Edition) arriving on 4K UHD.
The 120 gangs of New York City are being brought together for a conclave by Cyrus (One Life To Live‘s Roger Hill), the leader of the Gramercy Riffs. He’s asked for nine unarmed delegates from each gang to join him at a park in the Bronx. The Warriors from Coney Island accept the invitation and hop on the subway that will take them across the Big Apple. The nine members are “Warlord” Cleon (Hair‘s Dorsey Wright), second-in-command Swan (Xanadu‘s Michael Beck), the scout Fox (The Thing‘s Thomas G. Waites), the graffiti expert Rembrandt (3-2-1 Contact‘s Marcelino Sánchez), soldiers Snow (Brian Tyler), Cowboy (Tom McKitterick), Cochise (Brubaker‘s David Harris), Vermin (The Great Skycopter Rescue‘s Terry Michos), and quick-tempered enforcer Ajax (Dexter‘s James Remar). The thousand gang members being peaceful while shoulder to shoulder is an overwhelming sight. Cyrus wants the gangs to unite since there are more gang members than cops in the NYPD. His message of unity goes bad when Luther (Twin Peaks‘ David Patrick Kelly) of The Rogues pulls out a gun and takes out Cyrus as the police officers raid the park. In the chaos of the moment, Luther blames the Warriors for the killing. Cleon gets overwhelmed by gang members as the other eight Warriors flee the scene. The new leader of the Riffs want the Warriors captured. A Radio DJ (Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?‘s Lynn Thigpen) puts the word on the street and a target on the Warriors leather gang vests. All the colorful gangs are looking out for other eight members including the Baseball Furies who wear Yankee uniforms, carry baseball bats and have make up on their face. There’s also the Punks that wear overalls and rollerskates that engage the Warriors in a massive public bathroom fight. Luther and the Rogues are out to kill the Warriors for fear they expose the truth. Can the Warriors get the subway home to Coney Island?
When The Warriors came out in 1979, the film was a summer sensation. I swear they advertised on the back of comic books with the poster that declared “These Are the Armies of the Night” above a painting of the various colorful gangs at the park rally. Things heightened with reports of violence at theaters showing the movie. This guaranteed that my parents weren’t going to buy me a ticket to get into the R-rated flick. The movie didn’t last long at the theaters since Paramount pulled it as more headlines about violence piled up. I didn’t get to see the film until years later when my dorm pals rented the VHS tape. After all the gang stories, I quickly realized that this was not an ultra-serious movie about gang violence. The movie had a gang that dressed up like mimes. Who fears mimes? Even with these comic touches, the film rocked. The Baseball Furies were both buffoonish and intimidating as they swung their bats. It’s easy to get engrossed as The Warriors escape from New York (Escape From New York is a great film to double feature with The Warriors). There is a constant intensity as they keep trying to find their subway ride home. Who doesn’t visit New York City and have a nightmare story about navigating public transportation?
The cast is beyond excellent in their desperate plight. You feel them sweating it out on that hot night with every gang member wanting to rip off their vests. Andrew Laszlo told us how one of actors in the middle of the shoot had “creative conflicts” with the producers. Walter Hill decided that he was done with him and had his character killed off. He rewrote the script quickly to cover up the unexpected death. You don’t sense the character missing at the end of the line. This is a film where characters die and since nobody’s a major star, you get to guess to see who lives to see The Wonder Wheel once more.
Watching The Warriors with the new 4K UHD transfer brings out the gritty nature of New York City in the late ’70s. Hill insisted they shoot on the streets of New York. This is a documentary of the time. Everything is grungy, falling apart and covered in graffiti. The higher resolution allows you can see the OTB ads on the walls of the subway stations. The shadows are more menacing. This is a dangerous New York City in the details.
Also featured in the boxset is the Alternate Version that Walter Hill put together back in 2005 for a DVD release. Originally this was called “Ultimate Director’s Cut.” Hill recut parts and added animation elements to make it look like a comic book. He wanted to show off his original plan for the film with an introduction that links it to a historical event. I prefer the theatrical cut. Both versions of the films are given their own 4K UHD disc. The boxset is also available as a Blu-ray set with all the cool bonus stuff.
The Warriors is a great action film and now it has a great presentation.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. Both the Theatrical Cut and the 2005 Alternate Version are from the original camera negative. Director Walter Hill has approved these transfers. Both version are on 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray discs in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). You will get to appreciate all of Laszlo Kovacs’ fine cinematography. The Audio includes original mono in LPCM, plus DTS-HD MA 2.0 and Dolby Atmos audio options for the Theatrical Cut. The Alternate Version has DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo and DTS-HD MA 5.1. Both movies are subtitled.
100-page perfect-bound collector’s book containing new writing by film critic Dennis Cozzalio plus select archival material from the release.
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley.
6 postcard-sized reproduction artcards that will look good on your clubhouse wall.
Gang logo stickers to mark your territory.
Audio Commentary by film critic Walter Chaw on the theatrical version. He wrote the book A Walter Hill Film. He gives a lot of details on the cast and crew. He points out how The Warriors was supposed to be an all-black gang, but Paramount wanted an integrated gang. He mentions how Andrew Laszlo wrote a book called Every Frame A Rembrandt.
War Stories (15:47) is a recent interview with director Walter Hill. He points out how Mayor Ed Koch didn’t think the film would cause any trouble and didn’t have a problem issuing filming permits. Producer Larry Gordon got Paramount interested by connecting it to Saturday Night Fever (which is a great double feature). Walter Hill had to make it quick. He rewrote it. He also admits he was drinking when he came up with gang names. They did have to deal with New York City gangs to shoot on the streets. He also talks about working with Andrew Laszlo. He praises working with Bobbie Mannix on the costumes. He does talk about having to fire Thomas G. Waites by having his character Fox die unexpectedly. He gets into the alternate cut.
Whole Lotta Magic (84:12) is roundtable discussion with filmmakers Josh Olson (A History of Violence), Lexi Alexander (Green Street), and Robert D. Kryzkowski (The Man Who Killed Hitler and then Bigfoot) get into The Warriors and other films from Walter Hill. Olson is the only one who saw the film in a theater during the original release. He talks of the fear of being shot during the screening. It was a full theater in Philadelphia so there was a bit of the fear. He got to fully appreciate the film on VHS at home without a fear of gang violence. Alexander saw it on a dubbed German VHS. She did see it in a theater with the real voices in Los Angeles. We get to see the “Warriors come out and play” scene in the German dub.
Battling Boundaries (8:13) gives editor Billy Weber a chance to discuss his time with the film and relationship with Walter Hill. He cut Badlands and Days of Heaven before starting The Warriors. He had met Walter Hill before while working on Messiah of Evil which had Walter Hill as a victim. He talks about working with different editors on various scenes. He describes cutting the Baseball Furies fight. He points out that he cut the death scene.
Gang Style (9:08) has costume designer Bobbie Mannix (Xanadu) talk about making the different looks for the 120 gangs. She gets into how she accessorized the members of the Warriors so they weren’t guys dressed in the same vest and pants. She gets into improvising for the various gangs since all she had was a massive list of names. She had real freedom in bringing a look to the name. She did a lot of shopping for outfits all over the greater New York City area. She says gang members that were extras were taking their wardrobe home.
Armies of the Night (5:48) is a montage of costume designs and photographs from the archive of designer Bobbie Mannix. There are a few designs for gangs that didn’t make the cut.
Sound of the Streets (24:33) is an appreciation of composer Barry De Vorzon and the music of The Warriors by film historian Neil Brand. He gets into how De Vorzon used late ’70s synthesizers along with a rock band. Brand compares the use of synths to what John Carpenter did for Assault on Precinct 13.
Isolated Score Option lets you enjoy the music and the visuals without the dialogue.
Come Out to Play (10:08) is a modern tour of the iconic locations of the Warriors’ Coney Island home turf conducted by Adam Rinn. He works at the Coney Island museum. A lot of the neighborhood as changed over the 40 plus years. But there’s still a few touches from the day the Warriors left for the big rally. Adam’s a great tour guide.
The Beginning (14:06) looks back on how The Warriors came together. Producer Lawrence Gordon found the novel while browsing a bookstore. Walter Hill saw it as a great chase film. He didn’t think it would go for named actors. But they were able to make it a cast of new agents. Actors Micheal Beck, David Harris. David Patrick Kelly and James Remar talk about landing their roles. Remar lifted a conference table to prove he could pull it off. Bobbie Mannix also talks about her amazing costume design. This was a bonus feature when the Director’s Cut came to DVD.
Battleground (15:23) gets into the “fun” of shooting a low budget at night in New York City. Director Walter Hill points out four other films were being shot. Assistant director David O. Sosna came out from Los Angeles and had to deal with people not thinking he could hack it in the Big Apple. The nights didn’t last long in the summer. Walter didn’t want to fake it on a Los Angeles backlot. They had to work with the subway system. We learn about a “dead track.”
The Way Home (18:06) lets director of photography Andrew Laszlo discuss shooting at night in the city. He came up with a great solution during the Baseball Furies chase when he needed a way to light the outdoor stretch. Walter Hill gets into the Baseball Furies fight with the stunt coordinator.
The Phenomenon (15:22) has Walter Hill and the cast of The Warriors talk about what happened after the film was done. David Patrick Kelly says that Lynn Thigpen was not happy at first to have her part in extreme close up of her lips at the radio station microphone. But realized the film was a classic. The film had to be edited fast because there was another gang film called The Wanderers in post-production. We see a bit of the original opening scene that took place in daylight. Composer Barry De Vorzon talks about his mixing of rock and synthesizers to change up the texture. He did “In The City” with his pal Joe Walsh for the end song. Orson Welles had done narration for the opening of the film, but it wasn’t used. Hill and Gordon talk about Paramount pulling the films out of theaters after violent incidents.
Theatrical trailer (1:43) talks about the armies of the night. We get to meet the various gangs which don’t quit look as serious as real street gangs. The Warriors have to travel from The Bronx back to Cooney Island in one night. It’s a perfect trailer that sets up the game.
Image gallery (8:20) is a montage of behind the scenes photos, press photos and lobby cards.
Archive introduction by director Walter Hill for Alternate Version (1:17) is from the 2005 DVD release. He explains how he wanted the comic book origins and historical origins weren’t part of the first take. This cut represents his intentions when he was putting the film together. He’s happy he was able to make this cut.
Alternate Version (94:00) is a more comic book take. Walter Hill narrates the new opening about how it reflects a historical story.
Arrow Video presents The Warriors. Directed by Walter Hill. Screenplay by David Shaber & Walter Hill. Starring Michael Beck, James Remar, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Marcelino Sánchez, David Harris, Tom McKitterick, David Patrick Kelly & Lynne Thigpen. Running Time: 93 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: December 12, 2023.
