I Can Dig It!

Cyrus stands on top of a tower, screaming to over 900 members of various street gangs, "Can you dig it?" They all reply with screams and pumping fists. It looks like for the first time in years, the 100+ gangs that own the streets of New York will join together, forming a force of over 200,000. They would control the city, not The Man. That is, until someone assassinates Cyrus before he can finish his next sentence.

That's the first scene in the 1979 film The Warriors, a movie I only just recently watched. I'm kind of sad that I hadn't seen the movie before now, because it is quickly becoming one of my favorites, at least in terms of Bad-Ass-itude. What follows that scene is an hour and twenty minutes of survival. The gang "The Warriors" are wrongfully accused of the assassination, and pretty soon every cop and gang member is after them. Their only hope is to make it back to their turf: Coney Island. The film not only kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, but it also reminded me why I never joined a gang.

The gangs in the film aren't what us Gen-Xers are used to. These guys are hardcore, unlike those Crips and Bloods that run around like chickens with their bling cut off. While you can get the entire list here, I'll just name some of my favorites:

• High Hats - part mime, part Daniel Day Lewis from "Gangs of NY" these guys are messed up. Although they only make a cameo in the movie, their fleeting moments on film are enough to trap anyone in an imaginary box!

• Punks - yeah not the most original name, but back in 1979 that name really meant something. These guys weren't wearing baggy black jeans and Crow t-shirts... no, they wore overalls and striped shirts! They looked like house painters, who opened up fresh cans of whoop-ass!

• Furies - this was a baseball team turned gang, who has a great showdown with The Warriors about halfway through the movie. These guys don't need steroids, they just paint their faces, grab their bats, and run like four miles without stopping just to strike out.

• Satan's Mothers - quite possibly the scariest gang name in history! Are you going to encroach on the turf of the dudes who birthed the Prince of Darkness? Their lack of action in the film only proves that they are a too powerful for any screenwriter to deal with.

• The Meatpackers - this gang is only listed in the script of the movie, but I can imagine them being either big, hairy Russians or... well... okay, we're all thinking the same thing.

But while all these gangs are frightening, menacing, and totally excellent, there are some pretty dumb gangs out there. The funniest gang to see in action were "The Orphans", who get all pouty when they find out they weren't even invited to the summit in the beginning of the movie. It just shows you what can happen when you have a leader who lacks confidence. These guys lost a fight because one car blew up... sheesh.

I guess I actually picked an "okay" time to check out this movie, because this Fall Rockstar Entertainment is released a videogame adaptation, and MTV and Paramount are working with Tony Scott on making a remake (which will most likely suck.) But before both of those things happen, I recommend you check out this sweet movie, or even better, read the original book by Sol Yurick. Can you dig it?

Posted by MikeRubino at July 16, 2005 11:59 AM | TrackBack