The Warriors
These are the armies of the night. They are 100,000 strong. They outnumber the cops five to one. They could run New York City. Tonight they're all out to get the Warriors.
Country
Production
Budget
$4 000 000
Revenue
$22 490 039
Director
Actors
Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Dorsey Wright, David Harris, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Brian Tyler, Tom McKitterick, Marcelino Sánchez, Roger Hill
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Operator
Andrew Laszlo
Composer
Barry De Vorzon
Artist
Audition
Howard Feuer, Jeremy Ritzer
Editing
Short description
The Warriors follows a Coney Island street gang who travel to the Bronx for a gathering of New York's gangs, called by a powerful leader named Cyrus who wants them to stop fighting each other and unite. When Cyrus is killed at the meeting, the Warriors are blamed for the murder. With the police and rival gangs hunting them, the gang has to make it back across the city to Coney Island.
Walter Hill directed and co-wrote the film with David Shaber, and Lawrence Gordon produced it for Paramount. Released in 1979, it was Hill's third film as director, coming between The Driver and The Long Riders. Michael Beck plays Swan, with James Remar as Ajax, David Patrick Kelly as Luther, Dorsey Wright as Cleon, David Harris as Cochise and Deborah Van Valkenburgh as Mercy among a credited cast of 54.
Made for about 4 million dollars, the film took roughly 22 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from over 108,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.7 out of 10 from more than 2,400 votes. A critics' rating of 7.5 out of 10 from 51 reviews places it in line with those audience scores. It runs 94 minutes.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the original version of the script, Svon was called Snejok and did not say a single word throughout the film.
- The filmmakers deliberately cast unknown actors in the leading roles to increase the realism of the dangerous situation in which ordinary people find themselves.
- A crowd of onlookers always watched the filming, even at 3 a.m. From time to time, the filmmakers had to move the filming to new locations.
- During the filming of the scene where the "Turnbull ACs" enter the diner, regular patrons mistook them for a real street gang and tried to leave as quickly as possible.
- During the filming of the large gathering scene, there were approximately 1000 extras.
- The only set built for the film was a public restroom where the "Warriors" fight with the "Punks".
- The "Homicides" were a real street gang on Coney Island. To avoid potential conflicts, the filmmakers strongly required the actors to wear vests with the "Warriors" inscription when leaving the set.
- The crew received threats from real street gangs who demanded to be included in the film. During one lunch break, a gang stormed the set and began destroying equipment, causing thousands of dollars in damage.
- The appearance of the "Baseball Furies" was based on the look of the band "Kiss" and baseball uniforms.
- Trucks transporting the filming equipment were guarded by the real "Mongrels" gang, who received $500 a day.
- David Patrick Kelly's line, "Warriors, come out to play," was an improvisation by the actor. He borrowed the manner of speech during this scene from his neighbor.
- Walter Hill invited Michael Beck for the role of Swan after seeing him in "Madman" (1978), where he starred alongside Sigourney Weaver. The reason Walter watched "Madman" was to assess Sigourney Weaver's acting, as she was being considered for the lead role in "Alien" (1979).
- Walter Hill originally wanted the "Warriors" to consist solely of African Americans. However, the producers rejected his proposal. Hill also wanted a title card to appear at the beginning of the film reading "Somewhere in the Future," but studio executives deemed this element unnecessary. Hill preserved the title card in the director's cut of the film.
- On the subway, while Mercy was running with Fox, she fell and sprained her wrist ligaments. This explains why Mercy always wears a jacket afterward (to cover the medical bandage).
- Filming took 60 days.
- The fight scene with the 'Punks' took five days to film, eleven hours each day.
- The television version of the film begins with a daytime conversation scene on Coney Island between Keon and his girlfriend (Pamela Porter). Producers cut this scene from the theatrical version, believing that the only scene taking place in daylight should be the final one.
- Several real-life street gangs appeared in the film.
- The vests of the 'Warriors' were made of artificial leather.
- Robert De Niro was offered the role of Cowboy, but he declined.
- The original film poster depicted several members of the 'Warriors,' their logo, and the inscription 'This is an army of the night. There are 100,000 of them. They outnumber the police five to one. They can rule New York.' After several fights in cinemas during screenings of the film, the producers decided to replace the poster with a more subdued one: the poster featured only the 'Warriors' logo.
- Subsequently, the well-known stuntman A.J. Bacunas played one of the 'Punks'.
- Craig R. Baxley played one of the 'Punks'.
- Steve James played one of the "Baseball Furies".
- The main role was offered to Tony Danza.
- Originally, the fight scene between the "Warriors" and the "Baseball Furies" was not supposed to have music. However, Lawrence Gordon (the producer) suggested adding music to the scene to reduce the element of violence.
- Andrew Laszlo (the cinematographer) convinced the director to include a scene with rain at the beginning of the film, in order to later justify various scenes where puddles can be seen on the streets. Additionally, Andrew used the "wet surface" to create various light reflection effects.
- Initially, it was planned to include voice-over narration at the beginning of the film, which Orson Welles was supposed to read.
- In the initial script version, the "Grammercy Riffs" killed Leon, the "Baseball Furies" killed Cochise, the police arrested Ajax, the "Lizzies" killed Vermin, and Swan ended up a prisoner of the "Dingos". Only four "Warriors" participated in the fight with the "Punks". Swan also appeared on Coney Island in the final battle after the "Riffs" discovered who actually killed Cyrus.
- Initially, Vermin was supposed to die in a fight with the "Lizzies", but Terry Michos made his character more comedic and memorable than intended, so the creators decided to keep his character alive.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
