It's nice to think that maybe something you did over 40 years ago still, as we say, plays,” remarks Walter Hill, reflecting on his 1979 cult hit, The Warriors. Over four decades on, the film remains a fan favourite that lures followers to events such as the recent UK celebration at Birmingham's Edgbaston Stadium in April. For a film that's very much of its era, The Warriors has proved timeless.
Perhaps its simplicity is the reason it has endured for so long after its fashions, hairdos, synth soundtrack and ‘70s vernacular have dated. A run-all-night action-adventure, it follows the exploits of the title gang, wrongly implicated in a murder, as they traverse New York fighting rival gangs, cops and the break of dawn, in a bid to reach their Coney Island safe haven. Sure, there are a number of characters, theatrically costumed factions and competing loyalties to get your head around, but at its core it's a fullthrottle chase movie. “I don't think people know that [a film will become a cult classic],” muses star Michael Beck, who played the Warriors’ ‘war chief’, Swan, when Total Film caught up with him ahead of a UK celebration of the film in 2019. “You're making a movie. You're hoping an audience will turn up and like it. But you have no idea that it's going to transcend generations and still resonate with young people today.”
‘IT'S PURE CINEMA, IT'S ELEMENTAL. IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE
