The Warriors (film)

The Warriors
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWalter Hill
Screenplay by
Based onThe Warriors
by Sol Yurick
Produced byLawrence Gordon
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Laszlo
Edited by
Music byBarry De Vorzon
Production
company
Lawrence Gordon Productions
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • February 9, 1979 (1979-02-09) (United States)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
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]

  1. ^ SCHREGER, CHARLES (February 26, 1979). "EXTRA SECURITY: Keeping an Eye on 'Warriors'". Los Angeles Times. p. e1.
  2. ^ "The Warriors, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  3. ^ Wakeman, Gregory. "The Warriors: The 1979 cult hit that shows an ultra-violent NY". BBC Culture. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  4. ^ Egan, Sean. Can You Dig It: The Phenomenon of The Warriors. BearManor Media, 2021, p. 2.