So, THE WARRIORS are seeing a resurgence in popularity of late and finally being appreciated for the classic it always was. It was never unpopular amongst the MOGpac, starting in the early days of Dan Hamill and I in grade school discussing and re-enacting the film (of course, I always wanted to be Ajax). In later years, THE WARRIORS became a reference point of what was great about 70's cinema and was even the focus of an aggression tour laminate (as was SLAPSHOT). We're children of the 70's, for all you youngsters out there.This month sees a videogame based on the film released by Rockstar Games, who bring great joy to my life semi-annually with their Grand Theft Auto games. Should THE WARRIORS be half as good as the last GTA, we're in good shape. Soon we will see, but the guys at Rockstar seem to be staying faithful to the film, unlike the folks at Paramount who are attempting to do an LA based "remake". Dumb.
Also dumb is the new so-called "Ultimate Directors Cut" of the classic film. This new version totally kills what is great and so realistic (for it's time) about the film by adding in some bullshit narration by director Walter Hill in the beginning about the Roman Empire (which was slated to be in the original and narrated by Orson Welles) as well as adding comic book panel animation for certain scene breaks, including onscreen panel dialogue like "Meanwhile" and "Oh Shit" which TOTALLY RUINS THE GODDAMN MOVIE. I screamed at my TV screen. Thankfuckfully, the old DVD will allow this film to exist as it is meant to me. However, this version does have cool featurettes and interviews which is enjoyable and I learned a lot about the film and its process and while a lot of these new changes were from the original plans for the movie, they just dont work. Plus they didn't add the deleted scenes that were promised for some time.
Hopefully the game will retain the spirit of the original cause this DVD certainly diminishes it. I am not usually a stickler for "special editions" and changes being made to movies (I don't have too much of a problem with Lucas fucking with STAR WARS cause to me it keeps it fresh, except one scene, which I'm sure you know), but this version of THE WARRIORS is a mistake.
Come out and play? No thanks, guy.
F
2 comments:
The comments are disabled on the previous post, but I am writing to express my disappointment at not being acquainted with this new chick flick-viewing FJ. Will I see you at that Uma-Meryl joint in a few weeks?
A. I hate myself for mising Jon Heder on SNL (see previous blog entry)
B. I hate FJ for hating Horatio Sanz. Genius. Watch him do Jimmy Buffet, or the "No, no it is TOO SEXY!" guy alongside Chris Catan (sp?) in their Antonio Banderas skits.
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