The Warriors

I've always known The Warriors to be considered one of those great cult films but its footprint today has largely vanished. Rockstar turned the film into an acclaimed PS2 game and, aside from an HD makeover, it has largely sat there without much publicity until the film was brought to 4K. And it's here where I sat down to see if I can dig this film in glorious HDR with the crime of 1970s New York City. 

The story sees a Coney Island gang framed for murder up in the Bronx, far away from their territory during a large gang meetup that was supposedly meant to be peaceful. Now the gang are wanted men and must fight their way home overnight against rival gangs and the police as the heat builds up. 

Directed by Walter Hill, I had a great time finally watching The Warriors which had me hooked right from the get-go with its fantastic score accompanying the opening credits, sharp editing and solid performances across the board. Watching this in UHD, this looks fantastic and captures the grimy danger of 1970s NYC making it not hard to see why this film is so well regarded. 

What's more, The Warriors runs for a tight 90 minutes and Hill never wastes a moment. The pacing is great and I was kept engaged all the way through to the ending. However, there were one or two narrative threads that are left frustratingly dangling when a key character dies and no one seems to acknowledge this. If anything, this would have been a great moment to up the stakes but it's just ignored bizarrely. 

But putting that aside, the film holds up great today and will be just as exciting now as it was likely on release. I remember the 18 rating made me think this would be a bloodbath when I was younger but that is not the case, which might be a disappointment to some but a relief for this viewer. All in all, a great film and a very easy one to recommend. You will dig it.