The Warriors

[yoloswegmaster]

THESE ARE THE ARMIES OF THE NIGHT.

In 1979, fresh from directing bare knuckle boxing movie Hard Times and supercool crime thriller The Driver, Walter Hill delivered his third stone cold classic in a row: The Warriors, a slam-bang, visually kinetic action movie that mixed a heightened comic-book sensibility with a timeless tale from ancient Greece and set them loose in the streets of modern America.

In New York the gangs outnumber the cops by 5-1. Together, they could rule the city. Gang-leader Cyrus has a dream to do just that and calls a summit. The gangs of New York gather in their thousands, Cyrus takes the stage. From somewhere in the crowd a shot rings out and Cyrus falls down dead. In the chaos that follows, a small gang from Coney Island - the Warriors - are blamed. Now everyone is out to get them. On foot, in enemy territory, can they make it through the night to get back across the city to the safety of home turf?

For all you boppers out there, for all you street people with an ear for the action... the iconic cult classic is back in a brand new 4K restoration approved by director Walter Hill. Can you dig it?

2-DISC 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

- Exclusive new 4K restorations of both the Theatrical Cut and the 2005 Alternate Version of the film sourced from the original camera negative, supervised by Arrow Films and approved by director Walter Hill
- 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of both versions of the film
- Theatrical Cut presented in original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 for the first time on home video
- Original uncompressed mono, plus stereo 2.0 and Dolby Atmos audio options for the Theatrical Cut, plus stereo 2.0 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 for the 2005 Alternate Version
- Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- 100-page perfect-bound collector’s book containing new writing by film critic Dennis Cozzalio plus select archival material
- Limited Edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
- Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
- 6 postcard-sized reproduction artcards
- Gang logo stickers


DISC 1: THEATRICAL CUT (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
- New audio commentary by film critic Walter Chaw, author of A Walter Hill Film
- War Stories, a new interview with director Walter Hill
- A new roundtable discussion in which filmmakers Josh Olson (A History of Violence), Lexi Alexander (Green Street), and Robert D. Kryzkowski (The Man Who Killed Hitler and then Bigfoot) discuss their love of The Warriors and the work of director Walter Hill
- Battling Boundaries, a new interview with editor Billy Weber
- Gang Style, a new interview with costume designer Bobbie Mannix
- Armies of the Night, a new exclusive look at costume designs and photographs from the archive of designer Bobbie Mannix
- Sound of the Streets, a new appreciation of composer Barry De Vorzon and the music of The Warriors by film historian Neil Brand
- Isolated score option
- Come Out to Play, a new look at the iconic locations of the Warriors’ Coney Island home turf
- The Beginning, an archival extra looking back on how The Warriors came to be, featuring interviews with producer Lawrence Gordon, actor James Remar, editor David Holden and writer/director Walter Hill
- Battleground, an archival extra in which director Walter Hill and assistant director David O. Sosna look back at the difficulties of shooting on location in New York City
- The Way Home, an archival extra focusing on the look of film with contributions from director of photography Andrew Laszlo
- The Phenomenon, an archival extra featuring director Walter Hill and the cast of The Warriors
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery

DISC 2: 2005 ALTERNATE VERSION (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
- Archive introduction by director Walter Hill
Reviews

[tolbs1010]

I can dig it. A lot.

[Drucker]

Perhaps it's time I finally watch this film for the second time (the first of course, being over my roommate's shoulder freshman year of college on his 10" TV).

[tolbs1010]

Optimal presentation there, Drucker.

Now I can finally watch the 2005 Cut, which I refused to buy and most people seem to dislike. Love how it is now called 'Alternate Version' whereas it was the 'ULTIMATE DIRECTOR'S CUT' when selling it the first time around.

[therewillbeblus]

Perhaps it's time I finally watch this film for the second time (the first of course, being over my roommate's shoulder freshman year of college on his 10" TV).

This was inexplicably the film I watched with my long-term high school gf the night before we parted ways to go off to college in a scheduled breakup, so it carries a very apocalyptic nostalgia of anxiety and depression. I'm not sure I've seen it since, but I remember every detail vividly.

[Finch]

I literally gasped when I saw this. So fucking glad I didn't shell out for the Imprint. The only December announcement that rivals this is Radiance's World Noir box.

[crimlaw]

Arrow appears to be going through Imprints Paramount releases. Maybe Alfie or The Duellist are next.

[Mr. Deltoid]

A long awaited release. However . .
It would have been nice for the alternate scenes from the TV version to have been included. As far as I'm aware there are over 10 minutes of alternate footage in the TV edit that does not appear in either the Theatrical or Ultimate Final Cut presentations. I'm guessing TV rights are a whole other level of legal wrangling?

[starmanof51]

For anyone who has followed the various releases of this - is there a theatrical cut blu ray out there to pursue, or has that ship sailed?

[ryannichols7]

Arrow appears to be going through Imprints Paramount releases. Maybe Alfie or The Duellist are next.

I believe all of their Paramount licenses for the US have been Imprint releases as well. thanking Arrow for their services...

[swo17]

The Imprint release includes both the theatrical and "director's" cuts on Blu-ray. It also includes deleted/extended scenes from the TV version

[rapta]

Another UHD I will be buying just to fill a void left by Paramount's lack of presence in the UK market. Been waiting for a straightforward UK Blu-ray release of the theatrical cut for years, so a US UHD by a UK-based label will have to do instead. I very nearly bought the Imprint release out of impatience too!

PS: A shame the same can't be said of The Day of the Locust; I already own the compromised Imprint release, and can't 'upgrade' to the Arrow because it's region locked. Ditto all the other Arrow Blu-ray releases (hence why I've also pre-ordered Witness 4K).

[MichaelB]

A long awaited release. However . .
It would have been nice for the alternate scenes from the TV version to have been included. As far as I'm aware there are over 10 minutes of alternate footage in the TV edit that does not appear in either the Theatrical or Ultimate Final Cut presentations. I'm guessing TV rights are a whole other level of legal wrangling?

They can be, but this depends on who owns them. If it's the same rightsholder, then it's no problem. If it's a different rightsholder, then things get much trickier and sometimes completely impossible.

(For instance, in an ideal world Indicator would have included both the theatrical and TV-series versions of Bellman & True, but it became very clear very quickly that that was a total non-starter, as HandMade Films owned the former but ITV owned the latter.)

[Peacock]

Out of interest Michael, why is it a non-starter when two different rights holders would be involved with a release? You said the same thing in relation to the recent BFI Skolimowski release as to why it was missing an important version of one of the films.

Do multi-rightsholder sets not occur? Surely the Criterion Varda set involved lots of different rightsholders? Or the Arrow Bruce Lee set etc?

[MichaelB]

It depends on the individual project, and on what the rightsholders are willing to accept - typically whether they're amenable to a flat fee or if they insist on a royalty split. And if the latter, everyone concerned obviously has to agree, and they may have reasons for not doing so.

I suspect the latter is more likely if there's a prospect of individual releases at some stage - for instance, Indicator's Hammer volume 5 is split 50-50 between Sony and StudioCanal, but once the four films get released individually each standard edition disc will contain exclusively Sony or StudioCanal material. But Arrow's Borowczyk box was originally going to include Story of Sin and the Polish shorts (the initial plan was to make it as close to completist up to 1975 as was feasible with surviving materials), but that turned out to be impossible - as it is, two main rightsholders were involved (Borowczyk's widow Ligia and Argos Films), but thankfully both were on speaking terms and recognised the cultural value of the project.

Extras are almost invariably negotiated at a flat rate - where things get fiddly is with the main features.

[dwk]

Do multi-rightsholder sets not occur? Surely the Criterion Varda set involved lots of different rightsholders? Or the Arrow Bruce Lee set etc?

The Varda set only has 4 licensors listed but all but 2 or 3 films are from her company.
As for Criterion's other big sets:
The World of WKW - 3 licensors/7 films
Pasolini 101 - 5 licensors/9 films (it would not shock me if we learn Criterion had planned a more complete set but MGM wouldn't let them include their 4 titles.)
Ingmar Bergman's Cinema - 6 licensors /39 films
Essential Fellini - 10 licensors/15 films (someone on this forum posted that at some panel, Lee Kline mentioned that this set was a real headache to put together.)

[Peacock]

Thank you gentlemen.

[MichaelB]

In the case of Bergman, it’s worth adding that Svensk Filmindustri is overwhelmingly the primary licensor, and that Criterion wasn’t able to clear Face to Face, presumably because it’s with Paramount.

[Finch]

I went for the Arte Originale LE. Anyone know if Arrow US purchases are handled by a separate store physically located in the US, or do we have to put up with the same bone-headed customer service as the UK folks?

[Adam X]

They certainly package things differently. The US store seems to have a collection of boxes that don’t in any way match the dimensions of blu-ray cases, leading things to be packed jammed in at 45deg with no padding.

[nicolas]

I went for the Arte Originale LE. Anyone know if Arrow US purchases are handled by a separate store physically located in the US, or do we have to put up with the same bone-headed customer service as the UK folks?

Sadly yes. I ordered from Arrow for the first time this year in both UK and US stores and had miserable experiences. Without going into too much detail, it’s absolutely horrendous. Some labels like Carlotta don’t give you support at all, some only when threatening PayPal (Potemkine FR) but Arrow could be the worst of those that give “support” and reply to queries.

[Finch]

Was it the "paypal issue" that you encountered? I used PP to pay for my order even though I saw BR.com posts reporting that Arrow were alleging "problems with your payment".

[nicolas]

Was it the "paypal issue" that you encountered? I used PP to pay for my order even though I saw BR.com posts reporting that Arrow were alleging "problems with your payment".

No, I wasn’t affected. I used PayPal but it worked out well. My issues are more annoying - damaged items (Bruce Lee set) because of zero packaging material for protection and customs charges they don’t want to refund me despite them being IOSS (Europe’s import system that collects all taxes during checkout) compatible. It’s essentially one big headache dealing with them. I’ve only bothered with them again in October was their big sale and some irresistible prices for box sets and older Arrow Academy editions as well as $1.50 shipping to Germany. I’d say if you’re looking for a big set like the Lee or Shawscope sets, definitely order elsewhere. Standard editions come in oversized boxes but arrived safely on my end.

[Adam X]

The PayPal thing seems like it’s only tied up with pre-orders, where the order seemingly ‘time’s out’ on PayPal’s end due to Arrow only charging once the item’s ready to ship.
Though I’ve never had the problem with anyone else.

[tolbs1010]

I went for the Arte Originale LE. Anyone know if Arrow US purchases are handled by a separate store physically located in the US, or do we have to put up with the same bone-headed customer service as the UK folks?

I'm going with the original artwork edition as well. Could save 8-10 bucks buying from Amazon, but the alternate cover is caca.

The comments here about Arrow's slapdash shipping practices are not encouraging, though.