Nine Guys, No Weapons

[Hamish McBagpipe]

We just watched The Warriors last night and this morning in the paper I noticed, by coincidence, that there is a new Warriors game coming out in a couple of weeks for PS2, XBox, etc.



This is a great movie. Hadn't seen it for years and it seemed even better now. After seeing this I wanted to get a clown outfit, a bike chain, a pair of rollerskates and go for a rumble.

If you haven't seen this one, it's a must see, so "spoiler alert", but I can't imagine many here who haven't seen it.

Some observations:

- Michael Beck as Swan, the Warrior's new leader after Cleon gets waxed, is one of the coolest dudes ever on film. I can't believe that at least some of this cast didn't go to become more successful.

- a gang of seemingly-mute baseball players with Kiss-like makeup and baseball bats, the Baseball Furies, seem to invoke fear in this movie, not laughter as they would in real life. Also, they seem to be able to run at a full sprint for 20 minutes. But, these guys scared the crap out of me the first time I saw this movie when I was 9 or 10.

- 1970s New York was a real [censored] hole. Although I think the movie is supposed to be set in the "near future", a la Clockwork Orange, and was obviously shot on sets,
I think some of the shots of New York were legit and it looked pretty freakin' bad.

- Cyrus' "CAN YOU DIG IT?!?" and "Warriors, come out to plaaaay-eee-ay!!" surely must have made the most memorable movie quote list.

- When you encounter a gang of overall wearing farmers with a leader on roller skates, it's best to lead them into the bathroom of a subway arcade to beat the [censored] out of them.

- I like the idea that the Warriors didn't have assault rifles, uzis, and never-ending ammo. They mostly ran but fought (in slo-mo) when they had to with whatever they could find.

- I felt bad for the Orphans, the second-rate gang of apparent mutants and retards, who were "so low down they're not even on the map."

Absolute classic. I read that there is some version out there, shown on UK TV, that has an extended opening that fits well with the rest. Anyone seen this? I might re-rent this one just to see more.

"You Warriors are good. Real Good." lol.

But really, and I am being totally straight on this one, there is a scene on the subway that completely makes the movie and is one of the best ever. Swan and Mercy are sitting there when two preppy-looking young couples (albeit w/disco-era suits) get on. The difference between the beat-up Swan, with bedraggled Mercy beside him, is too much and the affluent group's good humour quickly fades in awkwardness. We know that Swan and Mercy realize they are looking at the other side of the tracks that perhaps they will never be on, but when Mercy starts to try to fix her hair Swan puts her hand back in her lap and it is only the well-dressed couples who look embarrassed and quickly exit. No dialogue at all, but a perfect scene.

I would seriously consider getting a PS2 just for this game if it is like the movie. For now I'm just going out to get one of these vests.