The Warriors | |
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Directed by | Walter Hill |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | The Warriors by Sol Yurick |
Produced by | Lawrence Gordon |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Andrew Laszlo |
Edited by |
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Music by | Barry De Vorzon |
Production company | Lawrence Gordon Productions |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $4 million[1] |
Box office | $22.5 million[2] |
The Warriors is a 1979 American action thriller film directed by Walter Hill. Based on Sol Yurick's 1965 novel of the same name, the film centers on a fictitious New York City street gang who must travel 30 miles (48 km) from the north end of the Bronx to their home turf on Coney Island in southern Brooklyn after they are framed for the murder of a respected gang leader. The film was theatrically released in the United States on February 9, 1979, by Paramount Pictures.
After reports of vandalism and violence, Paramount Pictures temporarily halted their advertising campaign and released theater owners from their obligation to show the film. Despite its initially negative reception, The Warriors has since become a cult film and has been reappraised by film critics.[3] The film has spawned several spinoffs, including video games and a comic book series.
In his book about the film, author Sean Egan summarized its appeal: "Whereas the milieu of The Warriors was one normally only depicted in motion pictures as an examination of a social problem, this movie portrayed life from the street gang's point of view. It was an obvious but revolutionary approach that struck a chord with the urban working class, especially its adolescent subset."[4]