On This Day

The Warriors released

February 9th 1979

09:27 9 February 2024

'The Warriors' opened in theaters across North America on this day in 1979. More than 40 years on, Walter Hills action thriller is very much a product of its time but continues to retain its frenetic appeal. Based on a 1965 Sol Yurick novel of the same name, ‘The Warriors’ takes place over one night as a New York City gang, falsely accused of the murder of powerful gangland leader Cyrus, have to battle their way from the Bronx to their Coney Island home turf. With their leader Cleon (Dorsey Wright) missing assumed dead, “War Chief” Swan (Michael Beck) takes charge as they journey by subway and on foot, encountering rival gangs, all determined to be the crew who brought down the Warriors.

Along the way they are joined by Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) after she breaks away from the Orphans gang. An uneasy relationship between Swan and Mercy develops into respect as they near the end of their journey. With the sun rising over the Coney Island shoreline the gang face a final battle to clear their name.

’The Warriors’ made headlines when it opened in February 1979 due to some sporadic incidents of violence and vandalism at screenings in the U.S. Hill later commented “I think the reason why there were some violent incidents is really very simple: The movie was very popular with the street gangs, especially young men, a lot of whom had very strong feelings about each other. And suddenly they all went to the movies together! They looked across the aisle and there were the guys they didn't like, so there were a lot of incidents. And also, the movie itself is rambunctious—I would certainly say that”.

The film opened to mostly negative reviews but has since been reappraised by critics and is now widely regarded as a cult classic.'The Warriors' is essentially a highly stylised urban western and one of the best American action movies of the 1970’s. Can you dig it?