“Waaaaariors, come out to plaaaay!”
The 1979 film The Warriors is the epitome of a cult film: critically panned and only a minor commercial success at the time of its release, The Warriors has since become an underground classic. Entertainment Weekly even went as far as to name it the 16th greatest cult film of all time – as well as the 14th most controversial movie ever.
Based on the 1965 novel by Sol Yurick, The Warriors tells the tale of a gang who are left with no choice but to fight their way through New York and back to their Coney Island home.
Unjustly blamed for the murder of gang revolutionary Cyrus, the Warriors will do anything it takes just to survive the night. With over 60,000 rival gang members looking for them, and the police hot on their tails, the Warriors will have to use all their skill and cunning to avoid their pursuers and find solace at their Coney Island safe house.
What makes this film cool – apart from the simple, yet driven story behind the film – is how uniquely 1970’s looking it is. Rival gangs have names like The Gramercy Riffs and The Lizzies; gang members as dressed like Black Panthers and Roller Derby competitors; and the dialogue is distinctly retro, with phrases such as ‘can you dig it?’ being spat out of gang members left and right. The film acts as a snapshot of popular culture during the late 1970’s/early 1980’s, without seeming dated by today’s standards. Even the synthesised score to the film sounds cool in it’s own retro-y way.
Like many cult films, The Warriors initial reception was more than unkind: critics saw the film as exploitative and superficial, a sharp visual dynamic that was at odds with what the critics claimed was a lacklustre plot and flat dialogue. But even if the critics didn’t care for the film, one person did: Ronald Reagan, then President of the United States, was claimed to have enjoyed the film, even showing it at Camp David.
In recent years though, the film has come to be more warmly received by critics; currently, the film sits at a 93% approval rating on the critic website Rotten Tomatoes, and has been heralded as an influential forefather to the violent films of modern cinema.
Which just goes to show you, the true decider of what is truly cool is time. Time, and a bunch of shirtless men wearing Native American headdresses.
