Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Warriors 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 20, 2023

In a way, it might be just slightly ironic that one of the supplements included in Arrow's lavish new release of The Warriors gets into "masculinity in Walter Hill films", since among his many other credits, Hill either produced or actually wrote some of the entries in a franchise which offered a butt kicking female as a focal action character, namely the Alien films. Despite large swaths of The Warriors playing out in the rat infested confines of the New York subway system, there are no larger "pests" to deal with in this 1979 effort (which in fact came out right before Alien itself), other than testosterone fueled gang members. Perhaps needless to say, then, females, butt kicking or otherwise, are kind of an afterthought in what is a "boys' club" affair. The Warriors sparked considerable controversy and even outrage when it was initially released, but it's become a favorite for many in the ensuing years, and once again Arrow is offering fans a really nicely packaged release with secure technical merits and appealing supplements.

The Warriors has had several previous releases on Blu-ray. Casey Broadwater's The Warriors Blu-ray review of the now ancient Ultimate Director's Cut edition is a great resource for a plot summary as well as Casey's kind of funny reaction to the film. Casey's review also provides an opportunity for screenshot comparisons and seeing how supplements between the two stack up.

The Warriors 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screnshots are sourced from Arrow's The Warriors standalone 1080 release. Per Arrow's standard operating procedure, this release does not include a 1080 presentation, and so the 2K score above is left blank. My 1080 review offers some screenshots from the 2005 version which is in 1.78:1.

The Warriors is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1 (theatrical cut) or 1.78:1 (2005 version). Arrow provides the same insert booklet for both its 1080 and 4K UHD presentations of the film, which contains the following information on the restoration:

The Warriors has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films.

The Warriors (Theatrical Cut) is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with restored original mono, 2.0 stereo and Atmos audio presentations. The Warriors (2005 alternate version) is presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 audio.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K 16 bit resolution at Fotokem, Burbank. The film was restored and graded in 4K SDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision by Silver Salt Restoration, London.

Review and approval with the director took place at Visual Data Media, Burbank.

The restoring of the original mono and stereo tracks was completed at Bad Princess Productions, London. The Atmos mix was created using the stereo DME tracks at Deluxe Audio London.

All original materials for this restoration were made available at Paramount. The animated sections that appear in the 2005 alternate version were originally completed in high definition and have been sourced from Paramount's HD master.

This newly restored presentation of The Warriors has been approved by Walter Hill.

My typical Pavlovian fear response to seeing a 35mm production in 4K was almost instantly quieted once I saw the generally nice resolution of grain in this 4K version. As I mention in my review of Arrow's 1080 release of the film, Casey gave pretty stellar marks to the now ancient Blu-ray in his review, but a 4.5 in 2009 might of course not warrant the same praise these days and Casey's comments about the "smoothness" of that transfer in particular might point out one of the biggest differences on tap here, namely a really gritty looking grain field which I actually think helps the film's general "downtrodden" ambience. Grain can be positively chunky during opticals, as in the extended credit sequence and later during some kind of odd segues like old school wipes, but while still pretty heavy and textured, it's much more tightly resolved in non-optical moments (you can see a noticeable uptick in clarity at around the seven minute mark once the credits sequence finally ends). The 4K UHD version probably arguably ups the "chunkiness" and yellow quality of the grain in the opticals, but otherwise preserves a healthy organic appearance without seriously masking fine detail levels. HDR and/or Dolby Vision also at least marginally aid shadow definition in the glut of really dark, dimly lit material, aiding and abetting detail levels which were already surprisingly fulsome in the 1080 version. While probably not quite as prevalent as in the 1080 version with the assistance of HDR, crush can show up intermittently. The palette is nicely robust and natural looking and the gorgeously suffused jewel tones in many of the outfits really pop extremely well in this 4K UHD version. I saw no material difference (other than the slightly different aspect ratio) in the shared material between the two versions.

The Warriors 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Warriors receives a definite upgrade with this release with three audio options, LPCM Mono, DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Atmos, for the theatrical version, and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options for the 2005 version. While the mono track obviously is narrowly imaged, it's incredibly propulsive and provides a surprising amount of midrange and low end. The stereo track is probably most noticeably wider in the use of sound effects and especially score, but both the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Atmos tracks rather nicely open things up even further, though I wouldn't say that the Atmos track really is going to be reference material for many audiophiles for understandable reasons given its provenance. The film's fantastic use of both Barry De Vorzon's underscore and selected source cues sounds great in all versions, but has increased vibrancy and spaciousness in the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Atmos tracks. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Warriors 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Theatrical Cut (1:33:09)


• Audio Commentary by Walter Chaw


• Isolated Score is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.


• War Stories (HD; 15:47) is a new interview with Walter Hill.


• Whole Lotta Magic (HD; 1:24:12) is a new roundtable discussion about Hill in general and this film in particular with Josh Olson, Lexi Alexander and Robert D. Kryzkowski.


• Battling Boundaries (HD; 8:13) is a new interview with editor Billy Weber.


• Gang Style (HD; 9:08) is a new interview with costume designer Bobbie Mannix.


• The Armies of the Night (HD; 5:48) is a gallery of photos and costume designs from the archive of Bobbie Mannix.


• Come Out to Play (HD; 10:08) is a fun tour of locations hosted by Adam Rinn.


• Sound of the Streets (HD; 24:33) is a new appreciation of the film's soundtrack by Neil Brand. Somewhat hilariously, this features Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.


• Archival Special Features

  The Beginning (HD*; 14:06) is from 2005 and features producer Lawrence Gordon, editor David Holden, Walter Hill and James Remar.

  
  

  Battleground (HD*; 15:23) is from 2005 and features Walter Hill and assistant director David O. Sosna discussing the travails of location shooting.

  
  

  The Way Home (HD*; 18:06) is from 2005 and features director of photography Andrew Laszlo.

  
  

  The Phenomenon (HD*; 15:22) is from 2005 and features Hill and the cast.

  
  *720

• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:43)


• Image Gallery (HD; 8:20)

Disc Two

• 2005 Alternate Version (1:34:00)


• Archival Introduction to the 2005 Alternate Version (HD*; 1:17) is by Walter Hill.

*720

Additionally, this is another very handsomely packaged limited edition from Arrow which features a 100 page perfect bound collector's book with some good writing by Dennis Cozzalio and a lot of archival material, a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley, a double sided foldout poster featuring the same art choices as the sleeve, six postcard sized reproduction artcards and gang logo stickers. Packaging features both a slipbox and a slipcover.

The Warriors 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arrow continues to curate really interesting releases that may indeed have "cult item" virtually emblazoned across their packaging, but which nonetheless provide secure technical merits and outstanding supplements. Both the 1080 and 4K UHD releases from Arrow are commendable, so a purchase choice probably simply comes down to what equipment a home theater has. This is one case where my personal jitters about how sometimes very gritty grain looks in 4K were largely calmed. Recommended.