I love this movie to death. Saw it on tv randomly one day on TNN before it became Spike TV and just loved it. Could never find a VHS copy or a DVD anywhere. So, in 2005, we not only got a video game made by Rockstar Studios (the game is excellent btw) but a brand new DVD, loaded with special features and it’s a Director’s Cut. I was beyond excited. Director’s Cuts usually meant deleted scenes or scenes that were too violent would be added back in. The only recut movies I knew that had a bad stigma were the Star Wars Special Editions. I thought Walter Hill had the good sense to not go that route with this flick. Thankfully, he doesn’t “ruin” the movie but the 2005 Director’s Cut in no way enhances or makes the 79 version better.
Some examples: The 1979 film starts with just a shot of the Wonder Wheel on Coney Island. Synth music begins to play and we got our shot of a Cleon telling the Warriors what’s going down. In the 05 Cut, it begins with a narration by Walter Hill, telling the story about a Greek Army, surrounded by Persians, trying to make their way to the sea. A heroic tale about courage. He tries to make this relate to a street gang? A violent group of muscle heads and potential rapists! Granted armies of all kinds do horrible shit but trying to make this story about a gang, wrongfully accused of murder just trying to get home into this heroic tale of courage is just lame.
Immediately after the Greek Army Story, we transition to comic book panels of The Warriors and the classic bottle clanging noise and then it goes to the Wonder Wheel. Would’ve been fine if they left the comic book stuff there cause it’s transitioning into the real movie. At various stages of the 1979 movie, there’s scene wipes, when the screen will transition to a new arc or chapter by literally wiping the next frame over the last. Star Wars does this as did many movies back then. No real issue there. In the 05 cut, the wipes are mostly replaced with the last frame of a scene turning into a comic panel (it looks like they just put pastel filter over it making them look like bad photoshop and it’s not cool at all) and moving through the panels to the next scene which will then fade back into the movie. Some of them have the word panels to try and set up things and again, this comes off as lame.
The Warriors is based on a a book but for some reason, Walter Hill keeps saying in the Making Of he sees this world as a futuristic comic book and I just can’t agree with that outlook. It’s a gritty, violent movie set in 70’s New York based on a book about gang warfare. I think he just had a bit of rose tinted glasses while looking back on this and tried to lighten the tone.
That said, I would still absolutely purchase the 2005 Director’s Cut if you see it. Even with complaints I have, The Warriors is a badass movie. A cult classic with a killer soundtrack and an amazing video game that acts as a prequel and retelling of the movie (most of the cast are in it!). I just felt like talking about it cause I’m alone in a hotel room and the 79 cut is on Amazon Prime and I just finished so seeing that cut for the first time in almost 20 years made me want to discuss it.
Is this the part where I thank you for coming to my Ted Talk?
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/r68g36/the_original_cut_of_the_warriors_1979_is_so_much/
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