This is a relatively obscure film that showed up on my radar both because it is frequently cited on Broken Forums as an old favorite and because a videogame adaptation of it was made not too long ago, decades after the release of the original film. Apparently this film proved to be quite controversial during its time, as there were fears of gang violence and vandalism associated with it, and it was critically panned upon release. But its reputation improved as time passed and it has since been recognized as a cult film.

The title refers to a street gang based in Coney Island. Together with the other major gangs in the city, they’ve been invited by the leader of the largest gang in New York City, Cyrus, to a summit in the Bronx. As Cyrus lays out his plan for a citywide truce among the gangs, he is assassinated by the leader of another gang, the Rogues. In the confusion, the nine member delegation from the Warriors are blamed for the death and become targeted by every other gang in the city. They therefore have to fight through hostile territory to return to the relative safety of their stomping grounds.

The opening animation which likens their plight to Greek warriors stranded far from home set the fanciful, almost fantastical, tone that holds for the rest of the film. There’s even a sense of fun as the film introduces us to the dazzling variety of gangs, each with their equally impressive set of gang colors. As my wife commented, it looks like a Michael Jackson music video from the 1980s. Music plays a big part in maintaining the tone and setting the pace, complete with a radio deejay who keeps audiences abreast of the Warriors’ progress through the city and sets up the proper soundtrack. There’s violence in this film, even lethal levels of it, but the film never feels gritty or gory. Instead it feels like a heroic, glorious adventure from an adolescent point of view.

Understandably with its simplistic plot, The Warriors isn’t exactly great art. Most of the time, we only see them either running away or waiting around for trains. The acting is fairly wooden as well and it’s telling that none of the performers in it have since become household names. Yet this actually fits in pretty well with its story about characters who are essentially juvenile delinquents trying to seem more important than they really are. The cinematography is surprisingly good, portraying the city at night as a strange parallel world in which the gangs roam at will and from which civilians are effectively absent. Even the chaotic and rowdy fight scenes hum with an appealing kinetic energy.

Reading up on it, I learned that this is one of first occasions in American cinema in which gang life is depicted in a positive or at least neutral light from the point of view of the members themselves. This reminded me of Ekin Cheng’s Young and Dangerous films in the 1990s which similarly was criticized for glorifying gang life in Hong Kong. Still, it’s easy to see why these films, by speaking directly to youths instead of talking down to them, managed to electrify that segment of the population. As the girl Mercy puts it, from her perspective being in a gang sure beats growing up, settling down with a guy who beats her and being saddled with five kids. That’s why The Warriors has enduring value, I think, because it succeeds in capturing the zeitgeist of the young of that era.

There are some odd quirks in this film, not all of which are due to its age. It’s strange for example to see that the gang is racially diverse, something that I don’t think was very realistic even then. Its treatment of women is abhorrent, but then that could be put down to the juvenile nature of its characters. Also grating on modern ears is the use of the word “faggot” as an expletive which feels incredibly immature and silly today. If you’re curious why a gang member is seemingly killed in the film yet no one seems to care about it, that’s apparently due to a production decision. That character was originally supposed to be the lead but director Walter Hill noticed that the actor who played Swan had better chemistry with actress who played Mercy. When the other actor complained, the director simply killed off his character and fired him.

Overall this is a solidly entertaining film that punches above is weight. Give it a try and you might be surprised by how good it is. Fun fact: when Anthony Bourdain visited Sarawak earlier this year for his Parts Unknown show, he wore a t-shirt with The Warriors logo on it. How many Malaysians recognized that reference?