The seventies were truly a wild time. Richard Nixon and Watergate. David Bowie. The Vietnam War. Insane hair styles. It wasn’t all pretty – in the UK, for example, there was the oil crisis, miners strikes and massive recession – but out of all of the decades in the twentieth century, it’s one of the most intriguing. The Warriors provides real insight into the decade in New York City, and that’s perhaps what it’s remembered most for.
To put it simply, The Warriors is a movie about the gang culture and turf wars of NYC that just so happens to be set in the 1970s. When a prominent gang leader encourages every gang in town to meet up to form a coalition of sorts, things go haywire. The leader is killed by a rival gang member, and our heroes – ‘The Warriors’ – are wrongfully accused of being the perpetrators. Thus, we follow the group on their mission to escape those who search for them.
What a weird little unexpectedly stylised movie. I’m here for it.
As you may have gathered by now since I’ve been harping on about the time period, so much of The Warriors’ essence is its late-70s vibe. The dark, threatening aura of New York City is imposing and mysterious, and is paired with wonderfully in-sync soundtrack choices. Add some questionable (but aptly selected) costuming and some very of-the-time lexical choices and the mood of 1979 stands out as one of the most distinctive aspects of the film.
Strangely, the plot itself simultaneously gives us a lot to pore over whilst saying very little. There’s nothing particularly deep or profound going on, but rather it gives us a snapshot of what these characters are going through and who they are. Despite that, there’s not much chance to really get much background on them either, which would have been nice since they are so intriguing as individuals.
The Warriors is a movie that has earned cult status over the years and I can see why that is. For me though, it’s more of a film that serves as a fleeting 92 minute piece of entertainment than something I’ll be gladly rewatching time and time again. That’s not to say it’s not really good; the brief time I had with it was definitely enjoyable.
It’s not a perfect movie, not least because the lighting makes some of it difficult to see. However, the seventies feel of it all is a transportational look back to the past, and gives those of us who know nothing about New York City gang culture a little bit more of an insight.
The Warriors is currently available to stream on Sky Cinema and Now TV in the UK.
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Overall Enjoyability Rating: ½
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