The Warriors, then... and now?

[Chris Hurd]

It's just a drive-in B-movie from 1979, but I'm particularly fond of it for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it's a Walter Hill film -- I'm a big fan of his, and his mentor, Sam Peckinpah -- and second, I got to see it about 50 times when I was working as a projectionist during my high school and early college years and we had it at our theater. So, it's kind of like sacred ground from my point of view.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't help the feeling that some movies just shouldn't be remade. Maybe it's for the sake of nostalgia, or the pessimistic attitude that some movies just can't be improved, I don't know. Not all of them though. Some are fair game for remakes. For example, "A Star Is Born" has been made three times over (Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand). The mighty stage production "Ben Hur" has gone to film three times as well, in 1925, 1959, and as a surprisingly good mini-series in 2010. "The Great Gatsby" has gone to film no less than five times.

Sometimes a remake tells the same story in a completely different way... compare the 1965 comedy "The Amorous Adventures Of Moll Flanders" with Kim Novak to the 1996 drama "Moll Flanders" with Robin Wright. But then there the real head-scratchers such as the 1998 shot-for-shot remake of Psycho. I just don't get why anyone would do that. There's lots of old movies that can be improved upon or told a new way. But a color copy of a B&W Hitchcock classic? What can be gained?

Which leads me, sort of, to wondering out loud why or how anyone would dare go after our cult classic here, "The Warriors." Check out the original trailer, with all its late-70's New York City grit and grime:

The Warriors Trailer - YouTube

And here's the remade trailer (I should point out that this appears to be a fan effort, not a studio project -- yet -- and right now it's only a trailer... but still):

WARRIORS Trailer (2014) HD - YouTube

The cranky old curmudgeon in me says bah, that without Walter Hill's touch, it pales in comparison. And without James Remar or any new young actor that has what he's got, if there is such a person these days with that kind of talent on screen.

Warriors, moving to L.A.? Hell no, I won't come out to play-yay.

[Brian David Melnyk]

"Caaaaannnn yoooouuuu dig it????"
Just rewatched the original on youtube last week. Couldn't stop thinking about it for a few days....

[Mark Koha]

Bottom line, Hollywood is full of whores who try to capitalize on nostalgia and end up ruining everything. The Warriors was before my time but I still love the movie. Can we discuss Michael Bay crapping all over the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soon? Those are my childhood memories swirling down the drain. I think I can count on one hand remakes that deserved to be made and I'm sure I would have a couple fingers left over.

[David Barnett]

The Warriors is a classic!! Great movie, I was a bit too young for it but it was always on Channel 17 & 57 etc Saturday nights at midnight type stuff. Horrible but great, then I got to college and found out almost everyone else had seen it too, and we watched it with those who didn't when someone had it on VHS. I just watched it last weekend actually too. The guy who plays the "The Warriors did it, they shot Cyrus" & "Warriors come out to play-ayy" is really really good in it. I was thinking during watching it of naming other bit actors who kinda steal their scenes, Matthew MacCaughnehey in Dazed & Confused would be one, Buscemi in Reservior Dogs another. The prom scene on the train where the girl fixes her hair is a very powerful scene, beautiful story telling without saying a word (In fact I think That 70s Show paid homage to that scene by mimicking it with Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis). Some acting & scripting is pretty bad at times, but it's really a great movie in some ways. That's cool you saw it in the theaters, I read that it really was a pretty big cult hit in some ways, kindof underground or known only to teens & early 20s.

Actually though that's a pretty good trailer for being "fan-made", not a bad take on it. I do like the skateboarders instead of the rollerskaters (obvi), and the Baseball Fury getup is pretty decent. A tough gang to put in, but you CANNOT remake the movie without them. A catch-22. Pretty good, I agree tho it shouldn't be remade. I'm sure there's money in it to be made tho. I saw, or I tried to watch On The Road. Ughhhh what a mess. It took me two nights to make it an hour in, and I gave up. The first night, about 40 minutes. Hated it. Then I thought well myb I'm being stubborn & nitpicky, so I gave it a chance the next night, it was really really bad. And I wanted to like that movie and give Walter Salles a chance. As far as remakes, I did like Oceans 11 alot, I saw some of the Sinatra one and it just seemed dated, thought the remake was better or definitely as good. I heard Meet Joe Black was a remake of Death Takes a Vacation, never saw that but Joe Black was alright.

[David W. Jones]

Watched the original last night. It is the type of movie I like to label as "deliciously bad". I have probably watched it 30 or more times. I put it in the same deliciously bad category as Dune, which I have likely watched around 80 times. I wonder if any of the real hard hitting gangs out there now use this as an initiation video? ;)