Comments on: The Warriors (Walter Hill, 1979)

By: Vin

Vin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:20:10 +0000

A true cult classic and one of the best movies of all time. Late 60′s through 1979 I lived in the Flatbush portion of Brooklyn off of Coney Island Avenue. Day trips to Coney Island amusement park and beach during the 1970′s were a pleasure to spend the day but still dangerous. The area was starting to take change for the worst. Drugs, thieves/pick pockets, gangs, graffiti were all too common on every corner. Night trips were out of the question because you simply wouldn’t survive if you weren’t a gang member. The urban blight for New York in general was apparently getting worse throughout all 5 boroughs.

Times square was just as bad and I can remember going into the city with my parents and we would avoid that area like the plague. The film recalls some good memories like our train ride to go to the beach which of course living in Brooklyn there weren’t many choices so Coney Island was it. It Also recalls the decay. The abandoned buildings, the excessive graffiti on buildings and train cars, the drugs and the violence. “The Warriors” adaptation of Coney Island was spot on.
I could never get tired of watching this film. It only reminds us of what a future New York can be like if serious changes aren’t made and it’s made more frightening because the shreds of the present that are depicted are dark enough to plant the seed.
Just like other cult classics “Escape from New York” or “Clockwork Orange” , it’s pretty scary when you think about how close we are because that future isn’t so distant. Those shreds of the present that can’t be ignored is what promotes change for our better future. We can only hope.

By: On The Warriors | Alexandra Kingsley

On The Warriors | Alexandra Kingsley — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:39:11 +0000

[...] at The Film League [...]

By: Sammy Perez

Sammy Perez — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:15:29 +0000

To happen to stumble upon a column, which discusses not only my favorite film of all-time, but also 1970′s New York, is quite a pleasant surprise. As a native New Yorker, who now resides in Pennsylvania, early to mid 1970′s Times Square has pleasant memories for me, although I remember it through an adolescents pre-teen eyes.

Although I kind of knew it was a place not necessarily suited for an 11 or 12 year old, I do have fond memories of my older cousin, (surrogate older brother), taking me there more than once to treat me to a night of fun at the legendary arcade ‘Playland’. Strange how when you’re 12, pinball machines and air hockey blindfold you from the hookers and pimps that were abound.

As for ‘The Warriors’, it’s cult classic status has surpassed that and more in my life. Released the summer before my senior year in high school in 1979, it along with ‘Cooley High’ (1975), remain my two favorite movies of all-time. To this day, 32 years later, after countless viewings over the years, I will watch it with the same excitement, reverance and anticipation as if it were the very first time.

Realizing it is a time piece that is quite dated when you watch it now, I am still shocked when I come across someone, especially of today’s younger generation, who admits they’ve never seen it. I instantly acclaim it to be required viewing for any movie fan and recommend it with the highest regard. “Can you dig it!”