[Nerdspresso] Rediscover the macho disco madness of ‘The Warriors’

By Jeff Stanford, Special to Southpoint Access

For a brief moment in the late ’70s and early ’80s, there was an odd cinematic estuary where a creative handful of movies existed. They were a strange hybrid of the gritty flicks of that era and the high-concept popcorn fodder of the next.

I’m thinking about John Carpenter’s “Assault on Precinct 13,” George Miller’s “Mad Max,” or Michael Mann’s “Thief.” They were slightly out of sync with their peers because they had an edgy B-movie energy and a highly stylized vibe.

I feel like Walter Hill’s “The Warriors” is another great example. It’s currently available on Netflix and Tubi, so you can experience its trippy urban magic for yourself.

“The Warriors” lives in a midnight world populated by colorful young hordes fighting for dominance. Their battlefield is the rain-slicked, neon-lit streets of New York City between the Bronx and Coney Island. These gangs are identified by matching garb, including face-painted baseball players, guys in top hats, and dudes on roller skates. There’s even a vicious band of mimes, people!