Tag Archives: Walter Hill

The Warriors (1979)

Posted on November 30, 2024 | 2 comments
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By Richard Winters

My Rating: 7 out of 10

4-Word Review: Back to Coney Island.

The Warriors lead by Cleon (Dorsey Wright) make their way to from Coney Island to Van Cortland Park in order to attend an outdoor rally lead by Cyrus (Roger Hill) who heads the gang called The Riffs. It’s Cyrus’ idea to bring all the gangs in New York City together as one because if they do so they’ll be able to outnumber the police. However, Luther (David Patrick Kelly), who’s a member of the Rogues gang is not privy to this idea and thus shoots and kills Cyrus, which gets witnessed by Fox (Thomas G. Waites) a member of the Warriors. Once Luther realizes he’s been spotted he quickly accuses the entire Warriors gang of carrying-out the murder, which sends the mob into violent chaos and in-turn causing the death of Cleon. Swan (Michael Beck) becomes the group’s new de-facto leader though it receives a frosty reception from Ajax (James Remar), but since they’re in such an urgent situation he has no time to fight him for it as the gang now must make their way back to the safety of their territory while having to trek through the turfs of other gangs who are all out to kill them.

For a film about gang life this one is quite different. Most of the movies before then that dealt with this topic would typically place the protagonist as being someone outside of the gang culture, but here that outside world doesn’t even exist. Everything is fully from inside the gang world, which is what makes it so fascinating as the viewer gets immersed into a universe that most likely they really wouldn’t experience or understand otherwise. However, as big as their turfs wars are one of the most memorable moments in the film doesn’t deal with the action at all, but instead it’s the scene inside the subway car where some suburbanites come-on after a night at the club and sit across from The Warriors, who are quietly judged, through their glances, at the disheveled nature of the gang members, which they’re distinctly aware of, revealing how even though in the gang’s mind their the ‘top dog’ of their universe, they’re still perceived from the mainstream world as being people to look down upon.

I also really dug the gang attire. Some may argue this gets ‘campy’ and hurts the realism with proposed remakes offering to play down some of it, but for me it’s what makes it more fun. Personally, I found the Baseball Furies and roller-skating gang known as The Punks to be generally frightening. Even if the gang carrying baseball bats wears facial make-up resembling the rock band KISS I still in no way would want to meet them in a dark alley and in a lot of ways The Warriors constantly coming into these weird gang types as they cross through their territories creates a surreal nightmare atmosphere.

I did though find some of the action to be problematic. It starts with The Warriors trying to outrun another car driven by a rival gang, which I found unrealistic. Possibly if it was a short distance then maybe, but to go several blocks wouldn’t be fathomable. I would think at least a couple of the gang members would tire-out and slow down and ultimately be hit by the vehicle. Having The Warriors totally annihilate the Baseball Furies even though it was the Furies with the baseball bats while the Warriors had only their fists didn’t make sense either. Maybe you could argue that The Warriors had such good fighting skills they were able to use that to overpower the other side, but logically I think one or two of them should’ve at least gotten hit by a bat, which the Furies were swinging wildly, and the fact that they’re all able to get out of the fight unscathed is a bit of an eye roll. Having a few of them later trapped in a room with a female gang that shoots directly at them with a gun and none of them get hit by even a stray bullet is equally unrealistic. Also, since they all get involved in punching their opponents, you’d think there would be numerous scratches, abrasions, and dried blood on the broken skin of their knuckles, at the very least, but on the subway ride after the fights there’s a quick close-up of Micheal Beck’s hands, who was involved in the majority of battles, and they’re completely unblemished.

The 1965 novel version, the author, Sol Yurick, was not happy with the film, has many differences including the gang rape of the female, played in the movie by Deborah Van Valkenburg, by the protagonist gang members, that doesn’t occur here. The book also delves more deeply into the gang leaders sad home life, which the movie doesn’t tackle at all, but it would’ve helped create a better understanding of the main character’s motivations. If a remake does get made, and it’s been talked about, I think it would be more interesting if it followed the book’s plotline, which ultimately is grittier.

My Rating: 7 out of 10

Released: February 9, 1979

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

Rated R

Director: Walter Hill

Studio: Paramount

Available: DVD, Blu-ray, Amazon Video, YouTube

2 Comments

Posted in 70's Movies, Action/Adventure, Cult, Movies Based on Novels, Movies that take place in the Big Apple

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The Driver (1978)

Posted on April 27, 2017 | 3 comments

By Richard Winters

My Rating: 8 out of 10

4-Word Review: A professional getaway driver.

Ryan O’Neal plays a man who makes a living as a getaway driver for crooks leaving the scene of a crime. His driving skills are superior and in the criminal underworld his services are in high demand. Bruce Dern plays a police detective obsessed with catching this elusive driver. He makes a deal with a couple of bad guys (Joseph Walsh, Rudy Ramos) to hire this driver for their next robbery and then set him up for a police trap. The Driver is initially reluctant to work with the two, but eventually joins them only to ultimately look for help from a beautiful French woman known as the Player (Isabelle Adjani) to get him out of his jam.

I’ve never been much of an O’Neal fan, but here his lack of acting depth makes the movie more intriguing. The part was originally intended for Steve McQueen who would’ve given the role the stereotypically gritty treatment, but O’Neal has more of a boyish male model demeanor which makes you question whether he is tough enough, or brazen enough to handle the driving demands, so seeing him flourish when you’re not quite expecting it gives the character an interesting edge. I also liked the fact that at times even he conveys nervous facial expressions as he takes the vehicle through dangerous turns, which helps show even the ‘cool guys’ are human.

Dern easily steals the picture as he continues to find entertaining ways to give unique and memorable touches to all the characters that he plays. The dialogue that his character utters conforms yet again to his patented delivery. For instance he accuses his partner (Matt Clark) of possibly being a ‘fruitter’. In the past men of the gay persuasion were sometimes called ‘fruits’, but never a ‘fruitter’ which is a word he totally makes-up and would be considered inane and silly if said by anyone else, but when said with Dern’s patented delivery it makes the character seem even more unhinged and threatening instead. In fact Dern’s conversations with Clark are some of the movie’s best moments.

Although Adjani’s screen time is limited and I still enjoyed her presence and the fact that she doesn’t show any of the typical female vulnerability, but instead seems more stoic than any of the men makes her stand out from other female characters of that era. It’s also fun seeing her facial expression turned to an almost catatonic state during the film’s high octane final chase sequence.  Ronee Blakely doesn’t fare quite as well as she says her lines in too much of a monotone fashion though the ironic way that her character meets her demise does deserves a few points.

The chases are exciting particularly the opening one, which is done at night and the one done inside a car garage in which O’Neal intentionally destroys the car that he is driving in an attempt to teach the two other occupants that he is with a lesson. The cat-and-mouse scenario inside an abandoned warehouse that makes up the bulk of the film’s final chase is slick as well, but I felt there needed to be at least one more chase added as the film gets talky in-between and away from the action, which is what people that come to these type of films genres expect especially with the title that it has.

Writer/director Walter Hill shows a keen eye for detail and manages to capture everything, even an abandoned parking garage with a stylish allure. The script is smart and sophisticated with the character’s expressing themselves by using only the most minimum of words possible. The plot has a unique quality, but still manages to stay believable and why this thing failed at the box office and was chastised by the critics at the time is hard to understand, but it’s gained a strong cult following since and deserves more attention for being years ahead-of-its-time.

My Rating: 8 out of 10

Released: July 28, 1978

Runtime: 1Hour 31Minutes

Rated R

Director: Walter Hill

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Available: DVD, Blu-ray (Region B/2)

3 Comments

Posted in 70's Movies, Cult, Fast Cars/Car Chase, Heist Movies, Moody/Stylish, Police Drama

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Brewster’s Millions (1985)

Posted on March 18, 2017 | Leave a comment

By Richard Winters

My Rating: 1 out of 10

4-Word Review: He spends thirty million.

Richard Pryor plays Monty Brewster a struggling baseball pitcher in the minor leagues who has never earned more than $11,000 in a year, but finally gets his chance to be rich via a deceased uncle (Hume Cronyn) who leaves him a vast fortune, but with conditions. He must spend $30 million in 30 days in order to get $300 million and if not whatever is left over from the unspent $30 million will be given over to a law firm. He is also given the option to accept $1 million upfront with no strings, but he chooses the challenge only to find that spending a lot of money is even harder than making it.

The film is based on the 1902 novel of the same name by George Barr McCutcheon and this marked the seventh film version of that story. The novel though does things differently. In that version Brewster has already inherited one million, but given the chance to attain seven million if can spend the one million during a full year, which is a little more believable. Watching Brewster trying to spend the 30 million on any dumb thing that comes along gets dizzying and hard to keep track of until it eventually plays itself out by becoming a one-joke concept throwing out the same punchline over-and-over. Why the amount was raised to 30 million and the time span to spend it shortened isn’t clear. Possibly it was for inflation or simply to make it ‘more comical’, but it ends up getting wildly overblown.

With so many people out there who are poor and desperate it’s hard to be sympathetic to Brewster’s dilemma. Spending a lot of money foolishly simply to serve his own greed and attain even more isn’t exactly a noble mission. Had he at least tried to spend it on things that could help others, like in the novel, it might’ve made a little more of an emotional impact. The Pryor character is also portrayed as having very little confidence and therefore I would think in reality he would’ve just accepted the million, which in his eyes would’ve been a lot of money anyways and never bothered to take the challenge, which most anyone else would’ve found monumental and impossible.

Pryor isn’t funny at all and John Candy is far more amusing as his loyal friend, but unfortunately isn’t seen enough. Stephen Collins is good as the duplicitous Warren Cox and this also marks David White’s final film appearance, who is best known for playing Larry Tate on ‘Bewitched’ and whose name is strangely not listed in the film’s opening credits despite having a major role. Yakov Smirnoff and Rick Moranis can also be seen in brief bits.

The film was directed by Walter Hill who later referred to this as ‘an aberration’ and having only done it to ‘improve his bank account’. His forte is in action flicks and his attempt at comedy turns terribly flat from its first frame to its last. It is also in many ways similar to Trading Places, which coincidentally was written by the same screenwriter Hershel Weingrod, but that film was far better.

My Rating: 1 out of 10

Released: May 22, 1985

Runtime: 1Hour 41Minutes

Rated PG

Director: Walter Hill

Studio: Universal

Available: DVD, Blu-ray, Amazon Video, YouTube

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Posted in 80's Movies, Buddy Movies, Farce, Movies Based on Novels, Movies that take place in the Big Apple, Remakes

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