Warriors… come out to play! Warriors… come out to play!
One of the most well-known movie chants in cinematic history has passed the 30-year mark.
When The Warriors, starring a bunch unknown actors at the time, made its debut in ‘79, No one could have predicted it would be considered one of the greatest “cult classics” in film history… but here we are.
And if you were to ask any fan of The Warriors why this film has stood the test of time in cult fandom, most will never be able to give you a solid reason other than: “It’s just f*****g cool, man!” But that’s the magic of this movie!
The concept was simple enough. Street gangs from all over New York would come to a truce and unite under the highly respected urban messiah, Cyrus (Roger Hill), Leader of the Grammercy Riffs. A meeting was called in Central Park where they would all hear his message of strength in numbers against the cops. Except, everything goes wrong when Luthor (David Patrick Kelly), leader of Rogues, for no apparent reason other than he was bored, pulls his gun and kills Cyrus from the crowd.
But instead of getting caught, he immediately blamed one of The Warriors, the gang from Coney Island, for the assassination. After violently beating their leader, Cleon (Dorsey Wright), the gangs turned their attention to rest of The Warriors: Swan (Michael Beck), Ajax (James Remar), Rembrandt (Marcelino Sanchez), Vermin (Terry Michos), Cochise (David Harris), Snow (Bryan Tyler), and Cowboy (Tom McKitterick). And from here on out, they have every gang in New York after their a*s as they try to make it back home to Coney.
“…Street gangs from all over New York would come to a truce and unite under the highly respected urban messiah, Cyrus…”
During this time in cinema (the mid to late 70s), there was an influx of genre movies that were becoming more and more popular. Blaxploitation, gritty cop dramas, and of course, kung fu.
Somebody seems a little ashamed of liking such a blatant guy movie by choosing two of the more minor roles as “standouts” just because they’re the only females with actual lines in the movie.
I loved the film so much I wrote a novel parodying the film, soon to appear on Kickstarter. I am seeking early reviews at Equus Publishing Dat Com.
Aaa dinner dinner tonight tonight and dinner dinner and ya ya
I loved this movie so much as a kid that I am trying to find a copy of it so I can watch I with my teenage sons. I know that this will be a real shocker to my oldest and dissuade his belief his perception this gangs are cool and eciting to get into .