Overview: In 1979, fresh from directing bare knuckle boxing movie Hard Times and supercool crime thriller The Driver, Walter Hill delivered his third stone cold classic in a row: The Warriors, a slam-bang, visually kinetic action movie that mixed a heightened comic-book sensibility with a timeless tale from ancient Greece and set them loose in the streets of modern America.

In New York the gangs outnumber the cops by 5-1. Together, they could rule the city. Gang-leader Cyrus has a dream to do just that and calls a summit. The gangs of New York gather in their thousands, Cyrus takes the stage. From somewhere in the crowd a shot rings out and Cyrus falls down dead. In the chaos that follows, a small gang from Coney Island - the Warriors - are blamed. Now everyone is out to get them. On foot, in enemy territory, can they make it through the night to get back across the city to the safety of home turf?

For all you boppers out there, for all you street people with an ear for the action ... the iconic cult classic is back in a brand new 4K restoration approved by director Walter Hill. Can you dig it?

Blu-ray Verdict: For those not in the know, not even now, The Warriors is a film that takes place in New York City during the hellish hours after dark, when the gangs emerge to roam the streets and search for their prey.

One of these gangs, named The Warriors, agree to attend a gang meeting orchestrated by the enigmatic Cyrus (Roger Hill). Each gang sends nine unarmed delegates to attend the huge meeting; however, Cyrus is murdered by a thug, who blames the crime on the Warriors. They flee for their lives into the night, and soon every gang in New York City is looking for them.

First things first: this movie is cheesy. The beginning is pretty laughable. The musical score is very much late ’70s/early ’80s electronica. But that is part of the movie’s charm. Its polished big budget remake is coming out next year (2006), and I personally feel it will fail because part of the success of this original film is that it IS low budget, poorly edited at times and simply a lot of fun to watch.

It is very reminiscent of John Carpenter’s 1976 low budget classic Assault on Precinct 13. It achieves its thrills through heavy suspense; as the Warriors prowl the streets heading back to their home turf we never know when a rival gang will appear out of nowhere and attack.

Oh, and these are no ordinary street gangs. They’re as flamboyant as their names. You have gangs of mimes, baseball playing clowns, greaser gangs, rejects from the Wanderers (by the way, another great film about street gangs), skinheads, kung-fu gangs, a lesbian gang, a redneck gang and one gang that actually pays to get on the subway!

Despite the movie being filled with cartoonish gangs, this movie took a lot of heat for glorifying the gangs and caused major problems with violence amongst the movie going patrons in several cities.

So, if you’re in the mood for a good old fashion cheese fest filled with hard edge violence, bad dialog, over the top acting and blatant homo-eroticism then this movie’s for you.

The movie was also made into a video game by Rockstar Entertainment, and it’s one of the few movies for which a video game actually seems to make sense - it feels very much like a level progression where bad guys attack the good guys, who have to use their brawn and brains to overcome them.

In closing, is The Warriors a great film? No. From a technical standpoint, it’s terrible, sorry. In terms of entertainment however, it is extremely gripping. I was really enthralled. In recent years, Walter Hill has provided us with some really awful films, but The Warriors is a strong reminder that he once had a solid vision.2-DISC BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
Exclusive new 4K remasters of both the Theatrical Cut and the 2005 Alternate Version of the film sourced from the original camera negative, supervised by Arrow Films and approved by director Walter Hill
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of both versions of the film
Theatrical Cut presented in original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 for the first time on home video
Original uncompressed mono, plus stereo 2.0 and Dolby Atmos audio options for the Theatrical Cut, plus stereo 2.0 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 for the 2005 Alternate Version
Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
100-page perfect-bound collector’s book containing new writing by film critic Dennis Cozzalio plus select archival material
Limited Edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
6 postcard-sized reproduction artcards
Gang logo stickers

DISC 1: THEATRICAL CUT:
New audio commentary by film critic Walter Chaw, author of A Walter Hill Film
War Stories, new interview with director Walter Hill
A new roundtable discussion in which filmmakers Josh Olson (A History of Violence), Lexi Alexander (Green Street), and Robert D. Kryzkowski (The Man Who Killed Hitler and then Bigfoot) discuss their love of The Warriors and the work of Walter Hill
Battling Boundaries, new interview with editor Billy Weber
Gang Style, new interview with costume designer Bobbie Mannix
Armies of the Night, new exclusive look at costume designs and photographs from the archive of designer Bobbie Mannix
Sound of the Streets, new appreciation of composer Barry De Vorzon and the music of The Warriors by film historian Neil Brand
Isolated score option
Come Out to Play, new look at the iconic locations of the Warriors’s Coney Island home turf
The Beginning, archival extra looking back on how The Warriors came to be
Battleground, archival extra in which director Walter Hill and assistant director David O. Sosna look back at the difficulties of shooting on location in New York City
The Way Home, archival extra focusing on the look of film with director of photography Andrew Laszlo
The Phenomenon, archival extra
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery

DISC 2: 2005 ALTERNATE VERSION:
Archive introduction by director Walter Hill