One word...AWESOME!
I had kinda forgotten about how much I loved this movie. Walter Hill at the helm, very young versions of Michael Beck, James Remar and Deborah Van Valkenburgh...God, I love saying "Deborah Van Valkenburgh" out loud. Try it, it's a lot of fun. So is the film. Even 30 years later.
I also forgot that this movie was made back in the late 1970's. And about the political furor that came with the several "incidents" of gang-related violence that occurred in the film's initial release. The Special Edition comes with a great 5 part documentary about the making of the film and the establishment of it as a cult classic in some circles. Yeah, I'm in that circle.
The interviews in the documentary were classic. James Remar and David Patrick Kelly were especially fond of the film as it kick started both of their careers playing bad guys. And they were sooo good at it sooo early on.
Several aspects of the film that I never got back in the day were the references to Xenophon's classical Greek tale "Anabasis" about a contingent of Greek Warriors stuck behind enemy lines in Ancient Persia. They had to fight their way back home in a series of monumental battles. Just like The Warriors fighting or evading the Turnbull A.C.s, The Orphans, The Baseball Furies, The Lizzies, The Punks and finally The Rogues. The new cut of the film plays that up a bit more with an introduction that highlights the similarities.
So The Warriors rocks!
I don't care how much brain candy it was. Sometimes you need that.
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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. All the boppers are doing it.
