February 9, 1979: The film The Warriors premieres, based upon the 1965 novel of the same name by Sol Yurick, and directed by Walter Hill. In the intervening 14 years, crime, especially gang violence, had gotten noticeably worse in America's cities, especially New York, where the story takes place.
The story is based on the Anabasis, meaning "expedition up from," by the ancient Greek soldier Xenophon, about his story of being part of a Greek army making its attempt to get home from a mission in Persia in 401 BC. During the novel, the character of Junior reads a comic book version of that story.
In the book, the gang that serves as the protagonists is the Coney Island Dominators, and are black and Hispanic. In the film, the protagonists are the Warriors, and they are a complete mix, racially and ethnically.
The film's poster read, "These are the armies of the night. They are 100,000 strong. They outnumber the cops five to one. They could run New York City. Tonight they're all out to get the Warriors."
A "summit" of New York's gangs is held in the City's northernmost part, Van Cortlandt Park, in The Bronx. Cyrus (played by Roger Hill), leader of the City's most powerful gang, the Gramercy Riffs, proposes a truce, having the gangs work together for the benefit of all of them, as they outnumber the City's police -- not unlike the Mafia began working together under the Commission, nearly half a century earlier. In layman's terms, he tells them that peace is good for business. "Can you dig it?" he asks the assembled crowd. Their cheer is taken as a "Yes."
But Luther (David Patrick Kelly), leader of the Rogues, does not agree, and he shoots and kills Cyrus. He then pins the murder on the Warriors, who now have to get all the way through each of 3 Boroughs -- The Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn, 25 miles -- to get back to their home territory. And that requires going through several enemy territories, with every gang in the City, not knowing the truth, now pissed at them.
They take the Subway, but get stranded in Tremont, one of the worst neighborhoods in The Bronx. They have a fight with the Orphans, a gang considered too small to be invited to the gathering. Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenburgh, later to play Jackie Rush on the sitcom Too Close for Comfort), the girlfriend of one of the Orphans, abandons them and joins the Warriors as they head back into the Subway.
They get to 96th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, but the cops find them, and they have to split up. One of the Warriors, Fox (Thomas G. Waites), is hit by a train and killed. Four others are chased into Riverside Park by the Baseball Furies, a gang wearing baseball uniforms but with their faces made up so that they look like members of the rock band Kiss. (No gang in the novel dressed like that, and I seriously doubt that any real New York gang did. If they did, they probably didn't last long.) They fight, and the Warriors win, and resume their journey.
They have another fight at Union Square (14th Street), with the Punks, a gang on roller skates. At around this time, word gets to the Riffs (whose Gramercy Park base is just north of Union Square) of the identity of the real killer, Luther, and the bounty on the Warriors is called off. But the Warriors don't know this yet.
The Warriors cross Brooklyn, and reach Coney Island at dawn. But the Rogues are waiting for them. In the film's best remembered scene, Luther sits in his car (a graffiti-festooned 1955 Cadillac hearse), with his fingers jammed into the necks of three soda bottles, clinking them together, and challenges them, saying, over and over again, in one of the great at-libs in movie history (it was not in the script), "Warriors! Come out to play-yay!"
Swan (Michael Beck), leader of the Warriors, decides to settle it by challenging Luther to single combat. But Luther pulls a gun. Swan manages to dodge his shot, and throws a switchblade that lands in Luther's wrist, causing him to drop the gun. At that moment, the Riffs arrive. They let the Warriors know that they now know the truth, and leave them alone, and fight the Rogues. When last seen, Luther is alive, but screaming under the beating he is taking. In a nod to Western movies, where the hero often rides off into the sunset, Swan and Mercy walk off into the sunrise.
Showings of the film were linked to violent incidents over its 1st 2 weeks. So theater owners were relieved of their contractual obligations if they did not want to show the film, and Paramount offered to pay costs for additional security and damages due to vandalism. In the end, this film, which cost $4 million to make, made over $22 million, a big sum for the era, and became a cult favorite.
I once saw a meme of the Warriors on the Subway with Paul Kersey, the vigilante played by Charles Bronson in the Death Wish films. The meme asked what would have happened if they'd met. It’s obvious: The Warriors were looking to avoid trouble, just to get home -- just like Kersey. They would have left each other alone, and nothing would have happened.
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February 9, 1979 was a Friday. This was also the day that Trevor Francis became the 1st British footballer (soccer player) to be transferred from one team to another for a few of £1 million or higher. I have a separate entry for that event. And Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, known for her roles in martial arts films, was born on this day.
Baseball and football were out of season. There were 9 games played in the NBA:
* The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 112-101 at the Boston Garden.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Diego Clippers, 117-106 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Jazz, 106-99 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Moses Malone had 33 points, and a whopping 37 rebounds.
* The Kansas City Kings beat the Chicago Bulls, 124-114 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 118-116 in overtime at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Phoenix Suns, 105-102 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 106-103 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors, 106-104 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 125-106 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Despite the defeat, the Spurs' George Gervin led all scorers with 34 points.
The NHL was in its All-Star Break. There were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The Cincinnati Stingers beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-0 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center) in Cincinnati. And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 3-0 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
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