The Warriors (1979)

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1. 

   Kublai Khan

   This is such a weird/cool curiosity. The plot is single-line simple, the hero characters are pretty one-dimensional and make horrible decisions, and the artistic choices are bizarre.
   
   But it works.
   
   It just captures that "it" factor. It's just perfectly filmed in a way that a group of super-serious gang members in facepaint are treated seriously in a way that doesn't come off as ridiculous. Instead it's just an ethereal sort of night where yeah, things like that happen. Deal with it and move on.
   
   I do wonder how much better it would be without the romantic subplot and the "we're different than rich kids" soft messaging. 8 years 6 months ago
2. 

   Zeltaebar

   A well-crafted piece of moviemaking with great sound, atmosphere, cinematography, costume design and surprisingly well acted by a group of unknowns. I really liked the artistic comic book-style transitions and the raw energy in the fight scenes. In some ways a time capsule of New York at a time when it was ravaged by street gangs and crime, but in other ways it creates a universe all its own. 9 years 10 months ago
3. 

   Siskoid

   John Wick 4 owes a lot to The Warriors, putting its characters into a similar gauntlet while they get to where they're going before sunrise, and mots ubiquitously, making use of a sexy-voiced DJ who helps coordinate the attacks by differentiated gangs while she plays boppin' tunes. It's a simple story, but so stylish and unique in its presentation (the night photography alone) that you can easily see how it became a cult film. Like John Wick, it also creates a universe a weird side-step into a parallel reality where normal people don't really exist, only criminals (and in this case, cops) do, at once futuristic (in the way that Mad Max or Escape from New York are) and old-fashioned (the slang especially seems to come from earlier than 1979, but somehow also later than the 1965 novel). The Warriors is no doubt influential in other ways, like in the way gangs are cast and look through the 1980s? If you have a choice, there's no need to watch the Director's Cut which only creates comic book "PhotoShop Posterization" transitions, but it's not the end of the world if that's all you've got. 1 year 2 months ago

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