The Warriors

release year: 1979
genre: gang action
viewing setting: home DVD, 1/25/04

synopsis: At a multi-gang rally, the head honcho is assassinated and one gang is falsely accused, so they have a really hard time getting home.

impressions: This was a refreshing and strange look back to what NYC looked like in the 1970s, and I'm not even a resident there. The basic idea is that these nine kids have 50 miles to cross to get home, and every foot is the territory of another, hostile gang who's been given the order to kill them. They have to work together and use everything they have if they want to survive. Needless to say, it's got some good fight scenes.

things to watch for: The fight against the gang with baseball bats, or the fight in the mens' bathroom in the subway.

the "hey, haven't I seen that guy somewhere else?" alert: In addition to David Patrick Kelly (who would go on to get thrown off a cliff by Arnold in Commando) this movie features Sonny Landham as a subway cop who gets bashed in the shins by a hurled baseball bat. Landham went on to play the big Indian Billy in Predator.

something this movie has that no other movie has: One man trying to unite hundreds of street gangs.

acting: Michael Beck is good as the tough yet smart, take-no-crap leader of the Warriors. David Patrick Kelly is one weird little teen in this movie, before he grew up to be one weird little man. I saw no point to the Mercy character.

final word: Good street-smarts action movie.

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