The Warriors are ready to come out and play at the Coney Island Film Festival this weekend
THE WARRIORS (Walter Hill, 1979)
Sideshows by the Seashore
1208 Surf Ave.
Saturday, September 22, suggested donation $12, 10:30 pm
Festival runs September 21-23
www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com
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. The Warriors is a gritty, tense, violent, funny, romantic, wholly absorbing movie, a brutal yet tender tale that will quickly work its way into your heart. The Warriors is having its annual screening at the Coney Island Film Festival on September 23 as a fundraiser for Coney Island USA. The festival runs September 21-23 at Sideshows by the Seashore and the Coney Island Museum and includes such other films as Teller’s Play Dead, starring Sideshow veteran Todd Robbins; Alessandra Giordano’s work-in-progress documentary Coney Island: Dreams for Sale, about the recent changes in Coney Island involving politicians and corporations; and such shorts as Fins of Fury: Tails of Glory in Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade, Forgotten New York: Yellow Submarine, Staten Island Siren, Warm Beer Lousy Food, There’s a Dead Crow Outside, AmLeftCrap, and Derelict.