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It's been a long time since I last saw either movie, but I don't remember a single scene in THE WARRIORS that was even a little realistic. All total fantasy. OVER THE EDGE on the other hand was not only realistic, but very familiar to me.
On the third hand ...
Moot point. Another film from that era with similar themes that is far superior to either in every way: THE WANDERERS. Much like MY BODYGUARD, also one of the all-time great coming-of-age movies, not only for the characters in the movie, but for that era of America. Great, great movie.
Each movie is a classic and scratches a very different itch for me, and The Warriors has the best cinematography AND soundtrack of the three. And you're saying the Riffs descending on the Rogues at the end wasn't remotely realistic? You think they were just going to spank them with those hockey sticks and say "Don't shoot one of ours again!' Don't knock the subway restroom brawl, either.
I recall the Ducky Boys of The Wanderers being portrayed as interesting figures: they never said a word in any scene. They're shown taking holy communion and then beating people up. They appear at the end in a phantasmal manner, ready to fight to the last man standing. Not remotely fantastical in any sense?
The Warriors was a very raw film, kind of pushing it to the max like Basketball Diaries did for me with the junkie/skid row thing, the Warriors was quite entertaining but more fictional in nature than Over The Edge, IMO. Over The Edge was actually based on a 1973 newspaper article, about a real town in Cali which had an unusually high rate of juvenile crime. What happened in OTE was happening on a smaller scale in cities all across the USA. Planned communities without the amenities for kids, it can be a disaster, every community developer guy needs to watch that film, lol. The Wanderers was pretty good too, I got the title name mixed up with the Warriors, and bought Wanderers VHS thinking it was the Warriors movie, but was not disappointed in getting the Wanderers instead.
Sean Penn started kicking in to replace Dillon as bad boy superstar when Bad Boys was released. Now those were some real bad boys, doin' time in juvie hall prison, and that famous scene where Penn loads up the sack full of pop cans and clubs the guy with it. And the exploding Boom Box scene, with the kid who was good at electronics. Some real bad apples in that one, but not exactly in same category as Bodyguard, and yes, I must agree Ruth Gordon was good playing the grandmother, as she always was, in those Clint Eastwood movies, lol.
The Warriors was based (loosely) on the 1965 novel by Sol Yurick, which he based on Xenophon's Anabasis. In Yurick's novel, the majority of the gangs' soldiers are blacks and Puerto Ricans, but there is one Irish gang. While there's no gang that paints its members' faces like mimes, haha, there is one gang, the Seraphs, who do wear very large hats tilted to one side.
Sean Penn started kicking in to replace Dillon as bad boy superstar when Bad Boys was released. Now those were some real bad boys, doin' time in juvie hall prison, and that famous scene where Penn loads up the sack full of pop cans and clubs the guy with it. And the exploding Boom Box scene, with the kid who was good at electronics. Some real bad apples in that one, but not exactly in same category as Bodyguard, and yes, I must agree Ruth Gordon was good playing the grandmother, as she always was, in those Clint Eastwood movies, lol.
The Warriors has the best cinematography AND soundtrack of the three. And you're saying the Riffs descending on the Rogues at the end wasn't remotely realistic? You think they were just going to spank them with those hockey sticks and say "Don't shoot one of ours again!' Don't knock the subway restroom brawl, either.
I'll take your word for it, because I think it has been at least 25 years since I last watched it. But even as a kid I recognized it as a fantasy. The setting isn't so much NYC street gangs as a Costume Party version of NYC street gangs. And the story isn't exactly one that sticks with you. Good guys trying to get away from bad guys until they take the bad guy down. It's loads of fun, but pretty thin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AFtrEFkt
I recall the Ducky Boys of The Wanderers being portrayed as interesting figures: they never said a word in any scene. They're shown taking holy communion and then beating people up. They appear at the end in a phantasmal manner, ready to fight to the last man standing. Not remotely fantastical in any sense?
In the operatic sense. Even though the setting of The Wanderers is street gangs in the Bronx, that is just the setting. The movie is about the end of adolescence, both for the main characters and for America. The Ducky Boys are the primal forces of chaos. They're not realistic, no, but they have a lot more weight and meaning than the Baseball Furies, who are no more than Halloween monsters.
In the end of The Warriors, the heroes defeat the bad guy, then go right back to status quo. Nothing has really changed. They haven't learned anything. It's not really about anything other than thrills.
In the end of The Wanderers, Richie stays behind to do what's expected of him, though he isn't happy about it. Joey and Perry are heading West, probably to join the counter culture. But they're still searching. They're still Wanderers. The journey isn't over, and the movie shows us that it isn't just about the characters but about how the U.S. was going through the same thing. It has a weight that The Warriors never really even attempted.
I'll take your word for it, because I think it has been at least 25 years since I last watched it. But even as a kid I recognized it as a fantasy. The setting isn't so much NYC street gangs as a Costume Party version of NYC street gangs. And the story isn't exactly one that sticks with you. Good guys trying to get away from bad guys until they take the bad guy down. It's loads of fun, but pretty thin.
In the operatic sense. Even though the setting of The Wanderers is street gangs in the Bronx, that is just the setting. The movie is about the end of adolescence, both for the main characters and for America. The Ducky Boys are the primal forces of chaos. They're not realistic, no, but they have a lot more weight and meaning than the Baseball Furies, who are no more than Halloween monsters.
In the end of The Warriors, the heroes defeat the bad guy, then go right back to status quo. Nothing has really changed. They haven't learned anything. It's not really about anything other than thrills.
In the end of The Wanderers, Richie stays behind to do what's expected of him, though he isn't happy about it. Joey and Perry are heading West, probably to join the counter culture. But they're still searching. They're still Wanderers. The journey isn't over, and the movie shows us that it isn't just about the characters but about how the U.S. was going through the same thing. It has a weight that The Warriors never really even attempted.
Yes, you need to watch The Warriors again, because you just wrote it off like a latter-season episode of Hunter. You're channeling a DC vs. Marvel argument. No need for that.
As for The Warriors being a movie about knocking heads and nothing more, that's not accurate. Yurick wrote his novel to counter West Side Story and its prettified depiction of gangs. Yurick was a welfare worker and he wanted to show them for what really are: ugly, menacing, violent. The overarching theme is tribalism. Some scenes in his book didn't make it into the movie, because the studio probably wouldn't have allowed them, even with the anything-goes mindset of the decade. At the end (of the movie), everything is not back to status quo. The Warriors lost Ajax (arrested in a sting), Cochise (first casualty after the Warriors get set up for the Rogues killing Cyrus), and Fox (killed in the subway, but he was really written out of the film and that's how they got rid of him). At the end, Mercy and Swan quietly confer with the two happy married couples on the subway. They realize everything those couples stand for in society is that in which from which they are excluded. Mercy knows always been a sock puppet for a bad boy. Swan's considering a change of perspective. Do things remain the same after the credits roll? The ending is left open to interpretation as the Warriors walk into the coming dawn. Some may break free of the endless loop (lol, "they're still Warriors), others won't. It's a vicious cycle.
It's also worth nothing that Walter Hill wanted a predominantly black and Latin cast for The Warriors, but the studio forced the hire of all the Anglo actors, Deborah van Valkenburgh included. (That was her film debut, too.)
Another kudos needs to go to the cast and crew, who had to reshoot many scenes and bits due to interruptions from passersby and onlookers who happened to be real gang members. Never once do you get the sense from an actor that they just want to get something over with because they had to endure multiple takes.
If you're looking for a gritty gang-centric movie released in '79, Boulevard Nights and its authentically all-Latin cast beats The Warriors and The Wanderers.
Over The Edge was actually based on a 1973 newspaper article, about a real town in Cali which had an unusually high rate of juvenile crime.
Forgot to mention that the pivotal scene — the assassination of Cyrus — around which the events of The Warriors revolve was also based on a true incident in 1970 or 1971 where a gang member was killed during a meeting where he tried to negotiate peace between several NY gangs.
I love My Bodyguard because it was a film where teenagers were not treated like children. SUCH a great movie. Whenever I see Adam Baldwin, no matter what role he's playing, I see him as Linderman.
Ruth Gordon. SO funny. Didn't Martin Mull play his not-so-engaged father?
Hey, don't be hatin' on Hunter. Yes, it sounds like I do need to watch it again. I'll put it on my list. Can you dig it?
Come on, the early seasons are the best ones. We know that.
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Don't knock the subway restroom brawl, either. 
Yes, it sounds like I do need to watch it again. I'll put it on my list. Can you dig it?
