Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Wanderers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 30, 2017

Embracing a newfound hunger for nostalgia, the 1970s provided an endless stream of retro entertainment, with specific emphasis on the celebration of the late 1950s to the early 1960s. The creative and financial triumph of George Lucas’s “American Graffiti” and the longstanding ratings dominance of the T.V. show “Happy Days” created a demand for this type of storytelling, allowing something like 1979’s “The Wanderers” to enter production. Based on a respected novel by Richard Price, the movie adaptation strives to deliver the same glow of memories and mischief as “American Graffiti,” but provides the grit of The Bronx, its vivid setting, to help squelch any dewy depictions of adolescent life. “The Wanderers” hits a few sweet spots in period recreation, with co-writer/director Philip Kaufman unafraid to submerge the effort in pop music and era attire, but the picture isn’t a cohesive endeavor. Kaufman masterminds a grab bag of incidents and emotions, delivering an episodic look at a time in American culture when cartoonish expressions of masculinity were about to be flattened by the harsh realities of the larger world.

The year is 1963, and The Wanderers are one of many street gangs patrolling The Bronx, offering a brotherhood for troubled teens like Ritchie (Ken Wahl), Joey (John Friedrich), and newcomer to the neighborhood, Perry (Tony Ganios). While the members struggle with home life and high school, The Wanderers are also targeted for destruction by rival gangs, including Terror (Erland van Lidth) and Peewee (Linda Manz) of the Fordham Baldies, who don’t take kindly to anyone besmirching the reputation of the toughest group in town. Also troubling The Wanderers is a challenge from the Del Bombers, a black gang preparing to crush their enemy on the football field, keeping members on edge as they deal with domestic challenges, relationship woes, and gang violence as world events tease seismic social and political change.

While offered only a small budget to bring these stories to life, Kaufman does a sharp job with period recreation, taking viewers to New York streets teeming with life and antagonism, run by the adults but ruled by the kids, who’ve joined gangs to acquire identity and protection as they maneuver through adolescence. The details are welcoming but not insistent, while the screenplay by Philip and Rose Kaufman is rich with behavioral nuances, including a swell of sexual urges, showcased early in the picture when Ritchie wants to go all the way with girlfriend Despie (Toni Kalem), proclaiming love for the girl just for permission to reach climax during one of their make-out sessions. While the cast doesn’t exactly look like a horde of juveniles, they certainly act like them, with most of “The Wanderers” surveying their struggles with one another and disappointing home lives, with Joey an aspiring artist living with a dismissive, alpha male father, and Perry struggles with his alcoholic mother, unsure how to be the adult in their relationship.

Characterization is secure during the film, especially with Richie, who struggles to manage personal desires, handling Despie’s heart while attracted to bohemian Nina (Karen Allen), a young woman he initially pushes on Joey but wants to keep for himself. Personalities come through with startling clarity, as does neighborhood hierarchy, finding the kids careful not to get in the way of the old guard, including Despie’s father, mob kingpin Chubby (Dolph Sweet). However, there’s no story in “The Wanderers” to act as glue for the viewing experience. Instead of an arc to help guide the dramatics, the feature pinballs around the community, picking up tiny bits of information and tomfoolery, including a painfully extended sequence devoted to “elbow titting,” where the guys meet girls by faking sidewalk accidents just to cop a feel. Connective tissue is missing throughout the endeavor, which starts to feel repetitious after the midway mark, failing to illuminate personal problems in a compelling, consistent manner. Instead of solidifying Price’s novel, the screenplay respects its troubling attention span, which doesn’t translate to film comfortably. Additional pressure supplied by wrong-side-of-town gang, the Ducky Boys, who should be a sizable menace, but they’re mostly a cameo in the final cut, unable to apply the pressure they were designed to have on The Wanderers.

“The Wanderers” is presented on Blu-ray with two different versions: The Theatrical Cut (117:09) and The Preview Cut (123:50).

The Wanderers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray with a new 2K restoration, "The Wanderers" looks awfully nice for its HD debut. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation supports the feature's period look, leading with stable and communicative colors, offering vivid golds for Wanderers' jackets and bright purples for football uniforms, while neighborhood signage and interior decoration handle with appropriate hues. Skintones are natural throughout. Detail reaches about as far as this softly shot movie can go, seizing facial particulars and textured costuming, adding to the retro vibe of the effort. Distances are preserved. Delineation isn't problematic, handling evening adventures with care. Grain is fine and filmic. Source remains in impressive shape, without any overt areas of damage.

The Preview Cut (AVC encoded, 1.78:1 aspect ratio) remains in rougher shape, riddled with scratches, debris, splice marks, and harsh reel changes. It's also more pinkish in color, reinforcing its obscurity. The final five screenshots are from this cut.

The Wanderers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix doesn't break through with extraordinary clarity, but the essentials of mood and performance remain intact. Reminders of age remain, with a few dips in quality scattered throughout, but dialogue exchanges are never threatened, remaining intelligible and flavorful as accents and dramatic intensity are managed. Soundtrack cuts are satisfactory, retaining instrumentation and placement, supporting tonality. Atmospherics are healthy, detailing group activity and streetwise bustle.

The Wanderers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Theatrical Cut

• Intro (1:56) is a text-based rundown of "The Wanderers" production and exhibition history, written by co-writer/director Philip Kaufman. Taking special note of the picture's cult legacy, Kaufman shares his excitement over Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release, which finally brings the feature to the masses.

• Commentary features Kaufman.

• "Back to the Bronx" (35:18, HD) is an unusual conversation with Richard Price, with the writer taking a camera crew around to various locations from his early years, with help from Google Earth for visual reference. With the community inspiring the atmosphere and grit of "The Wanderers," Price is eager to share his memories of certain buildings and blocks, articulating the appeal of the area and its extreme detail. Anecdotes are amusing, but Price is best identifying changes in the neighborhood, charting an evolution through good times and bad. He's also quite candid about the film adaptation of his book, noting how different the page is from the screen.

• "Wanderers Forever" (16:35 HD) is a 2016 reunion at the Film Forum, hosted by Bruce Goldstein, featuring Karen Allen, Toni Kalem, and Tony Ganios. The trio seems understandably nervous about the conversation, but fascinating tidbits on character and the audition process are shared, along with a few updates on missing cast members. Price, who's in the audience, jumps in with his own tales from the shoot.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:52, HD) is included.

Preview Cut

• Intro (:40, HD) is an awkward moment with Allen, Kalem, and Ganios, who try to be celebratory about the release of "The Wanderers," but aren't coached on what to say.

• Commentary features Columbia University Film Professor Annette Insdorf.

• "Wanderers Q&A at The Cinefamily" (31:59, HD) begins as a conversation with Kaufman, but soon evolves into a group effort, with actor Alan Rosenberg and Kaufman's son, Peter, joining the director in front of a sold-out audience. Production stories are shared and talk of the Preview Cut is offered, and Peter is singled out as the reason the movie was made in the first place, urging his father to take a look at the book.

• Audio Q&A #1 (19:46) returns to Film Forum, where Goldstein connects with Kaufman via Skype to explore the legacy of "The Wanderers," including its problematic release, creative choices, and its 1979 position in the shadow of "The Warriors." The feature's cult fandom is also highlighted.

• Audio Q&A #2 (16:41) is hosted by Brian Rose, who sits down with Price to recount the writer's personal history with "The Wanderers," from book to screen.

• A T.V. Spot (:33, HD) is offered.

• And a Re-Release Trailer (1:40, HD) is included.

The Wanderers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's easy to get rolled up in the sights and sounds of "The Wanderers," which is coated with pop songs, heavy breathing, and greasy hair. The material's lighthearted antics are plentiful, covering a game of strip poker, street pranks, and dance parties, helping to clear away some of the gloominess summoned by the material's obsession with racism. Kaufman delivers wide emotional swings to preserve the adolescent perspective, but it all starts to feel insignificant and meandering after introductions are made, demanding some type of dominant throughline to support increasingly tedious asides and half-baked subplots. A feeling of evolution remains, finding the JFK assassination and the rise of Bob Dylan closing the curtain on the juvenile delinquent era, but this sweep of change is only a small aspect of "The Wanderers," which is often more content to horse around than secure a beguiling tale of personal awakenings.