Years ago— back in the days before streaming online movies— those of us “of a certain age” may remember going to the local video store whenever we wanted to see a certain film. It’s hard to describe such a hardship to the current generation— like Lewis and Clark, we’d have to forge a path across town to the Adopt-a-Video store, with absolutely no way of knowing if the movie we wanted would be available. New releases flew off the shelves, and you could never tell if the clerk on duty was a stickler for renting R-rated movies to minors.
I was introduced to “The Warriors” through broadcast television, since our local networks used to re-run old movies at night to fill air time. I guess eventually, I must’ve seen enough of that movie that I finally felt compelled to grab a copy of the VHS tape. Of course back then, I couldn’t fully appreciate the cinematic tour de force that I’d stumbled across, yet still somehow managed to appreciate “The Warriors” as a gritty, film noir action movie.
In the movie, a Coney Island gang journeys up to the Bronx to attend a high-level summit with hundreds of other New York City gangs. An inspirational leader, Cyrus, has called them all together in the hopes of brokering peace, then using their superior numbers to overwhelm the police. Unfortunately, the meeting descends into chaos when Cyrus is assassinated, shot by a rival gang. The Warriors are forced to flee and fight their way home, running through miles of enemy territory.
Watching this film from the safety of my living room, decades after its initial release, I was completely ignorant of the controversy it’d created. Back in 1979, the film was quickly pulled from theaters due to rashes of violence in audiences across the country. It’s possible that “The Warriors” might have disappeared into obscurity altogether, if not for the rise of video cassette recorders. As it happened, though, the movie went on to become a cult classic, growing in popularity with each new rental. And kids of my generation got the unexpected treat of spotting the late, great Lynne Thigpen— best known to us ’90s kids as “The Chief” from “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego” —in a short cameo appearance as a radio DJ.
But somehow, the first time I saw this movie, I managed to overlook the fact that “The Warriors” was based on a novel! In 1965, social worker Sol Yurick drew on his personal experience to create a realistic portrayal of the troubled youth he worked with. And even though the book is much darker and more violent than the movie, Yurick does an awesome job of showing these gang members for what they really are— a bunch of neglected and misguided kids.
Yurick based his novel on the ancient war story “Anabasis,” in which the author, Xenophon, and his band of Greek soldiers became trapped behind enemy lines. The references are strong throughout the book, and one of the gang members actually carries around a comic book version of “Anabasis.” Yurick portrays these teens— all black and Puerto Rican kids— as products of their tough environment, a literary protest of the glamorized gang life shown in films like “West Side Story.” But when “The Warriors” finally made it to the silver screen, Yurick was extremely upset at how these street gangs were still made to look cool— and also at how many white actors were cast in the lead roles.
While researching this article, I also discovered that Lin-Manuel Miranda has his own plans for “The Warriors”— he’s apparently working on adapting the story into a new Broadway musical! Only time will tell what Miranda’s creation will look like, but one thing’s for certain— a great story will be a great story, no matter how it’s told.