23
Sep/14

RETRO METRO: THE WARRIORS

23
Sep/14

You can come out and play with the Warriors as they head to Brooklyn for BAM festival kickoff

THE WARRIORS (Walter Hill, 1979)
BAMcinématek, BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Friday, September 26, 3:00, 5:00, 7:30 & 9:45
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.warriorsmovie.co.uk

At a huge gang meeting in the Bronx (actually shot in Riverside Park), the Warriors are wrongly accused of having killed Cyrus (Roger Hill), an outspoken leader trying to band all the warring factions together to form one huge force that can take over the New York City borough by borough. The Warriors then must make it back to their home turf, Coney Island, with every gang in New York lying in wait for them to pass through their territory. This iconic New York City gang movie is based on Sol Yurick’s novel, which in turn is loosely based on Xenophon’s Anabasis, which told of the ancient Greeks’ retreat from Persia. Michael Beck stars as Swan, who becomes the de-facto leader of the Warriors after Cleon (Dorsey Wright) gets taken down early. Battling Swan for control is Ajax (Dexter’s James Remar) and tough-talking Mercy (Too Close for Comfort’s Deborah Van Valkenburgh). Serving as a Greek chorus is Lynne (Law & Order) Thigpen as a radio DJ, and, yes, that young woman out too late in Central Park is eventual Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl. Among the cartoony gangs of New York who try to stop the Warriors are the roller-skating Punks, the pathetic Orphans, the militaristic Gramercy Riffs, the all-girl Lizzies, the ragtag Rogues, and the inimitable Baseball Furies. Another main character is the New York City subway system itself, which is why it is kicking off the BAMcinématek series “Retro Metro” on September 26, ten days of sixteen films with key scenes set underground, including the original Taking of Pelham One Two Three; Leslie Harris’s indie breakthrough Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.; Larry Peerce’s cult favorite The Incident, with a superb, subtle all-star cast; and such pairings as Vincente Minnelli’s The Clock with Stan Brakhage’s The Wonder Ring and Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly’s On the Town with D. A. Pennebaker’s Daybreak Express (as well as Saturday Night Fever, Speedy, Beat Street, and more).