7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
A battle of gigantic proportions looms in the neon underground of New York City. The armies of the night number 100,000; they outnumber the police five to one; and tonight, they're all after the Warriors—a street gang blamed unfairly for a rival gang leader's death.
Starring: Michael Beck (I), James Remar, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Marcelino Sánchez, David Harris (I)Crime | 100% |
Thriller | 74% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
I like to think I’m a nice guy, so I’d like to present, for your amusement, three steps to an enjoyable, laugh-filled evening: 1. Invite over three or four of your funniest friends. 2. Have a case of cold beer at the ready. 3. Pop in The Warriors and let loose with the MST3K-style remarks. There are certain films that I like to watch alone, certain films that close me off inside their hermetically sealed worlds, but The Warriors is not one of those films. Director Walter Hill’s camp, comic-bookish, cult classic demands to be watched with a group, preferably one that can take the film for what it is—a fun but dated romp through New York City’s boroughs. With its cartoonish violence and way over-the-top costuming, it’s hard now to imagine that The Warriors was controversial in 1979, and harder still to believe that the film spurred three killings and numerous acts of vandalism in the week following its release. Then again, we live in an age when gang violence has been largely overshadowed by white-collar crime, leaving The Warriors looking like a strange relic from a barbarically hyperbolized past.
"War-riors, come out and play-ay!"
The Warriors appear in all their sinewy glory thanks to a surprisingly sharp and clean 1080p, AVC-encoded transfer. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a film of this age and caliber to look so good. When you think 1970's New York cinema, a gritty level of grain instantly leaps to mind, but The Warriors has a very smooth image, even in dark scenes, and yet shows no signs of over-the-top DNR. The print itself has been cleaned up magnificently, as I don't think I noticed a single speck or stain. Contrast is strong throughout, and black levels are appreciably inky, while only occasionally crushing detail. This gives the film a vivid sense of depth that never stopped drawing me in. Colors too are well saturated, especially in some of the out-of-focus neon lights, and flesh tones, while wavering a bit here and there, are healthy and natural. I was also pleasantly bowled over by the film's sharpness, as each ridiculous costume, each tightly coiled 'fro, and every wannabe tough guy face is crisply defined. My only real complaint is that the comic book-style interludes that were added for this director's cut are a bit too digital looking, and perhaps would've fared better and matched the film more if they had been hand drawn. No biggie though. It's not HD demo material, but The Warriors look stunning in their upgrade to Blu-ray.
Limping out of the city with a meager Dolby Digital 5.1 track, it's clear that The Warriors could use some audio muscle. The sound isn't bad, but portions of the film have a hollow, anemic quality that's hard to ignore. Check out the big rally scene, for instance. With thousands of gang members present, all hustling and bustling, the sound is unfortunately thin and unconvincing. While the film has a fairly wide stereo pan across the front channels, the rears pine away from under-use, offering only a few panned effects and bleeding ambience. The bass slides in more often than I'd expected, but certain high-end sound effects have a brittle quality. Voices too are thin at times, and there were a few instances, on the subway in particular, when the actors are almost drowned out by ambient noise. The audio does kick it up a notch whenever Barry De Vorzon's synth-rock score is present though, and certain themes reminded me heavily of Goblin's work on Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Oh, the early days of the synthesizer. Overall, the track isn't the greatest, but it represents the film and its source material relatively well.
This Blu-ray edition of The Warriors is identical to the Ultimate Director's Cut
DVD in terms of supplements. All features, except the theatrical trailer, are presented in standard
definition.
First up is a brief, one minute introduction to the director's cut by director Walter Hill, in which
he expresses how this version of The Warriors fits the intentions he had for the film
while shooting. This intro is also permanently affixed to the front of the film, so I'm not sure
whey they thought to include it separately.
The bulk off of the bonus features is then comprised of a 62-minute documentary by Laurent
Bouzereau that's broken into four sections. The Beginning (14:07) details the origins of
the story, with anecdotes by the cast and crew about how they got involved in the project.
Battleground (15:24) is mostly concerned with the filming process, along with technical
insights by cinematographer Andrew Lazslo. The Way Home (18:09) is an examination of
the choreographed fight scenes and bizarre costuming, and The Phenomenon (15:23)
features the editing and scoring processes, a proposed narration by Orson Welles, and some of
the controversies inherent in the film's release.
Last up is the original theatrical trailer, which, while presented in 1080p, is noticeably scratched,
beaten and bruised.
Who would've thought The Warriors could look so good? This Blu-ray release stands bandana- wrapped head and brawny bare shoulders above its DVD counterpart, and I have no problems recommending it to anyone looking for some shallow but entertaining fun. So grab a few friends, pop a few bottle caps, and let the good times roll.
Ultimate Director's Cut
1979
Ultimate Director's Cut
1979
40th Anniversary
1979
Ultimate Director's Cut
1979
Limited Edtion | Ultimate Director's Cut
1979
Limited Edition
1979
Limited Edition
1979
Original Artwork | Limited Edition
1979
Standard Edition
1979
Standard Edition
1979
Collector's Edition
1986
1989
Extreme Cut
2009
2012
2007
1986
Collector's Edition
2011
2010
1972
Limited Edition to 3000
1973
Filmmakers Signature Series | Remastered
1971
2016
1990
The Dirty Harry Collection
1973
1987
1998
2013
Collector's Edition
1976
1997
1993