On HD-DVD: The Warriors Ultimate Director's Cut

Directed By Walter Hill

Starring David Patrick Kelly,

I don't think I saw this film in the theater when it was originally released but I know it had to be soon after either on video or cable because I was pretty young when I first saw it.  The film was so surreal and campy, and violent at the same time that I just loved it.  It was like watching Escape from New York crossed with The Outsiders.  Well, that was a long time ago and I was very curious to see if the film held up...

The Movie

The Warriors are a small street gang in New York that get framed for the murder of the leader of the city's largest gang.  The Warriors are determined to make it from downtown New York back to their turf on Connie Island where they feel they will be safe.  that is the set up for the film.  The rest of the film follows the Warriors as they ride the subways and run the back alleys of New York trying to get home.  Along the way virtually every gang in the city is after them for revenge for the murder they didn't commit.

This is where the film gets fun, violent, and surreal.  The gangs they meet include a bunch of guys all dressed in baseball uniforms wielding baseball bats, an all girl gang called The Lizzies, and a gang led by a thug on roller skates.  There's a lot of fighting but can you take battles with these guys seriously.  The answer is no.  There's lots of intentional campiness in this film that runs parallel to the action and chase sequences.

The pace is high and the action is well executed, especially considering the low budget of the film.  The acting is strong throughout as well.  These were all virtually unknowns at the time and they did an excellent job.  The standout has to be the real villain of the film played by David Patrick Kelly (Twin Peaks, Commando).  Little did he know that he would coin a phrase in this film that would go down in pop culture history.  When he sang that creepy little ditty "Warriors, come out and plaaaaay" and clinked those bottles together it not only seemed scary in the film it continues to resonate today.  Recently I saw a spoof of this very scene on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim series Sealab 2020.  It's a simple chase story and it's over as quickly as it began.  The Warriors feels dated now, but it feels like a movie from that era, not a movie that should stay in that era.  If you like Escape from New York, you're sure to dig this film too.

It seems that the film drew a heavy gang crowd back in 1979 when it hit theaters and apparently when members of different gangs ran into each other in the theaters they felt the need to hand out some beat downs.  This caused some controversy that eventually got this film, that was doing excellent box office, pulled from theaters.  These events have apparently stuck with director Walter Hill all of these years.  Now he seems to be back pedaling on the violence of the film by calling it a comic book movie.  I just don't buy it.  It was a comic book movie but at the time I don't think they knew it.  In this edition several new comic book style transitions have been added that I think are unnecessary and actually feel a bit forced.  I hate to see director's back pedal on something they've made.  You can see it on the special edition Indiana Jones box set with George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg both become apologetic about the violence in Temple of Doom and almost act like they didn't mean for it to be so violent.  That's BS my friends.  It's BS when it comes to Indiana Jones and it's BS when it comes to The Warriors.  Hill actually did make a comic book film in the same way John Carpenter did with Escape from New York.  What they were thinking at the time is that there were several street gang films being made all at the same time, many of them shooting in New York City simultaneously, and they wanted to get theirs out first.

While the additional transitions added to the film are irritating and unnecessary the film is still great fun.  This isn't some classic film with deep meaning, it's a fun action film and one of the best ever about street gangs.  I'm a sucker for chase stories where a character or group of characters is stranded in unfamiliar territory and must try to get home.  Some examples are After Hours, Judgment Night, and of course Escape from New York.  The Warriors, like these other films isn't perfect.  There could have been a lot more character development but it works the same way as these films because the whole story only covers one night.  How much could you learn about someone while they are running for their lives through a dangerous city and being chased by crazy freaks with weapons?  Probably not much.  Also, why are they badasses when they are like the smallest gang in the city?  This film isn't built on that kind of logic.  This film is a fable of sorts, like the Greek classic upon which it is based, and it's about eight heroes just trying to get home.  The Warriors is the very definition of "cult classic".

8.5/10

The Video

This is a 30 year old film, and it wasn't the highest budgeted film of its era.  So when considering the hi def transfer I also had to consider the source material.  All things considered this transfer is quite amazing.  Flesh tones look great, black levels are deep and consistent, and the contrast is excellent.  Detail levels are pretty good when there's enough light.  The film utilizes a lot of natural light so in darker scenes detail can drop just a bit.  This is easily the best this film has ever looked and for hi def transfers of films this old it has to be one of the best out there.

8/10

The Audio

The audio here is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, no Digital-Plus, but still for a film that came out in mono originally this upgrade is pretty solid.  Dialogue, effects, and score are well mixed and cleaned up with limited distortion.  the problem with this mix is that it doesn't use the complete soundstage at all.  Everything comes from the front speakers.  That said, it's an old movie, so while it's no Lord of the Rings, it does sound good enough to enjoy the film.

6/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

The HD-DVD comes in the standard HD-DVD slim case with artwork taken from the 2005 DVD release.  The artwork is fine but I'd love to see the original poster that gained so much controversy back when the film was originally released theatrically.  All disappointingly there are no new extras exclusive to hi def.  Everything here was just brought over from the 2005 special edition.

First up is a brief introduction by Walter Hill as he discusses his feelings on special editions of films in general and the creation of this DVD.  It's fairly short and probably could have just been included in the featurettes somewhere.

There are four featurettes that cover the inception of the idea for the film, the casting and production, and the controversy surrounding the theatrical run.  Each segment features interviews with director Walter Hill, the writer, many of the cast, and even Walter Hill's assistant!  There's a lot of great information about the film and what went on behind the scenes in these featurettes.  The most surprising tidbit is where the little taunt "Warriors come out and plaaaaay!" came from.  I was disappointed to see no specific discussion on the new additions to this DVD version of the film.  I think that's a terrible mistake as I'd like to hear more specific reasons on why these additional transitions were added and how it was decided where to put them.

Also on the disc is a deleted scene and a trailer.  For an "ultimate" edition I would have expected more features, at least a commentary.

7/10

A fun and energetic chase film about street gangs in New York City.  It's proof positive that a film thin on plot can be done without being just completely moronic (Are you listening Fast and the Furious and xXx).  I think the new comic book transitions change the feel of a film that was just fine the way it was.  It just seems like these transitions are trying to hard for something that's just unnecessary.  With that said, I still love the movie and I'm happy to say that it's just as much fun now as it was almost 30 years ago.

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

The Movie 8.5/10

The Video 8/10

The Audio 6/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 7/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

-Stephen Lackey