The Warriors (1979)

Walter Hill is definatly one of my all time favourite directors. His resymé is incredible and I just can't praise him high enough. When it comes to creating stories and characters dripping with machismo he thrones right at the top together with John Milius.

'The Warriors' is set in a not so distant future where outlaw gangs rule the streets of New York City at night. The gangleader Cyrus calls for a meeting and encourages all the gangs to unite, but he is shot during his speech and the killer blames it on The Warriors. The rest of the film we follow The Warriors as they try to get home to Coney Island while all the other gangs are out to get them.

The movie is based on a book by Sol Yurick which again is based on Xenophon's epic 'Anabasis'. What I really like are the dynamics between the characters, especially Swan and Ajax who rival about the leadership after The Warriors' leader Cleon is killed. The look of the different gangs are amazing, and they all got their very distinctive style. It's like right out of a comic book.

While the movie depicts a brutal and dangerous world filled with crimminal gangs, everything got a certain naivety and charm to it. 'The Warriors' is playful, cartoonish, unpolished and rough around the edges. I love it and can watch it over and over again.