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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
Directed by Walter Hill
USA 1979
In 1979, fresh from directing bare knuckle boxing movie
Hard Times and supercool crime thriller
The Driver, Walter Hill delivered his third stone cold classic in a row:
The Warriors, a slam-bang, visually kinetic action movie that mixed a
heightened comic-book sensibility with a timeless tale from ancient Greece and
set them loose in the streets of modern America. *** Prominent gang leader Cyrus calls a meeting of New York's gangs to set aside their turf wars and take over the city. At the meeting, a rival leader kills Cyrus, but a Coney Island gang called the Warriors is wrongly blamed for Cyrus' death. Before you know it, the cops and every gangbanger in town is hot on the Warriors' trail. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: February 1st, 1979
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Reissued in a 'standard' 4K UHD edition in March 2024: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD | |
Runtime |
Theatrical Cut: 1:33:09.917 Alternate Cut: 1:34:00.509 |
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Video |
Theatrical Cut: 1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 93,556,798,256 bytesFeature: 75,534,825,408 bytesVideo Bitrate: 93.35 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video |
Alternate Cut: 1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 65,625,116,726 bytesFeature: 64,926,982,080 bytesVideo Bitrate: 84.71 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate Theatrical Cut 4K Ultra HD: |
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Bitrate Alternate Cut 4K Ultra HD: |
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Audio |
Theatrical Cut: LPCM
Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -30dB Alternate Cut:
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2023 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2023 kbps / 24-bit (DTS
Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) |
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Subtitles | English (SDH), None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Arrow
Theatrical Cut: 1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 93,556,798,256 bytesFeature: 75,534,825,408 bytesVideo Bitrate: 93.35 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video
Alternate Cut: 1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 65,625,116,726 bytesFeature: 64,926,982,080 bytesVideo Bitrate: 84.71 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video
Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc
DISC 1: THEATRICAL CUT (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
4K Ultra HD disc
B lack 4K Ultra HD Case inside custom box (see below)Chapters 12 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
and
4K UHD
captures were taken directly from the respective
discs.
The colors are more balanced than the older
Paramount
Blu-ray,
reviewed by Leonard
HERE. The 2160P also showcases wonderfully thick and consistent
grain texture, colors gain a touch of richness and, overall, the visuals are
darker than the 1080P. It remains authentically thick. The Paramount
Blu-ray was in
the, slightly bastardized, 1.78:1 aspect ratio (we lose a sliver of
information) and has some there is some stretching that is corrected by the
very stable
4K. The
theatrical transfer compares well to the alternate version on a second
4K UHD disc. The former has the
highest bitrate I have seen for this format. Flesh tones warm and appear
more authentic. Bottom line is that the 2160P image quality is excellent -
often as gritty as you might expect from a Walter Hill film and looks far
more film-like than any previous digital presentations. Arrow perfection.
It is likely that the monitor
you are seeing this review is not an
HDR-compatible
display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider
and notably granular range of color and light. Our
capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard
monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more
4K UHD titles in the
future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our
captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of
skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the
4K system at your home. But the
framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by
this simulation representation.
NOTE:
50
We have reviewed the following 4K
UHD packages
recently:
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Blackhat
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Mark of the Devil
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Barbarella
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Last Picture Show
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Man Who Knew Too Much
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Rope
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Frenzy
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
American Graffiti
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
East End Hustle (software uniformly simulated HDR),
Three Days of the Condor
(software uniformly simulated HDR), Witness
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Fascination
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Lips of Blood
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Others
(no HDR),
It Came From Outer Space
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Don't Look Now
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Rosemary's Baby
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Last Wave
(no HDR),
The Train
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Trial
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Walkabout
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Black Magic Rites,
The Night of the Hunted
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Rape of the Vampire
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Gorgo
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Man From Hong Kong
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
One False Move,
The Tall T
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Cold Eyes of Fear (software uniformly simulated HDR),
Rules of the Game
(no HDR),
The Manchurian Candidate
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
After Hours,
Rain Man
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Changeling
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Night of the Hunter
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
12 Angry Men
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Branded to Kill
(no HDR),
Picnic at Hanging Rock
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Two Orphan Vampires
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Shiver of the Vampires,
Drowning By Number
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Serpico
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
Cool Hand Luke
(software uniformly simulated HDR),
The Seventh Seal
(software uniformly simulated HDR), The Maltese Falcon
(software uniformly simulated HDR)..
On their
4K UHD,
Arrow offer original uncompressed (linear PCM) mono, or DTS-HD stereo
2.0 or Dolby Atmos audio options for the Theatrical Cut... plus stereo
2.0 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 for the 2005 Alternate Version.
"The Warriors" is filled with impressive effects beyond
the anticipated violence.
They can define scenes but remain authentically flat for the purist's
option.
Barry De Vorzon's (Dillinger,
Rolling
Thunder,
Hard
Times,
Looker) score suits the milieu
- notable is Joe Walsh performing 'In the City".
The Dolby Atmos* has impressively separated moments and also supports the film in more
subtle ways. Arrow include an isolated score track (DTS-HD 2.0 channel) and
it's a lively option. Both
discs offer optional English (SDH) subtitles - and is, like all
4K UHD, these are region FREE,
playable worldwide.
*NOTE: For Atmos many non-compliant systems will
recognizes it as TrueHD 7.1, but from
Wikipedia: "Because of limited bandwidth and lack of
processing power, Atmos in home theaters is not a real-time mix rendered
the same way as in cinemas. The substream is added to Dolby TrueHD or
Dolby Digital Plus. This substream only represents a losslessly encoded
fully object-based mix. This substream does not include all 128 objects
separated. This is not a matrix-encoded channel, but a spatially-encoded
digital channel. Atmos in home theaters can support 24.1.10 channel, but
it is not an object-based real-time rendering. Filmmakers need to remix
and render the TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks with Dolby
Media Producer."
There are plentiful
extras on the theatrical Cut
4K UHD disc. Firstly
we get a new commentary by film critic Walter Chaw, author of the 400-page
critical study of Walter Hill’s work entitled
A Walter Hill Film. Walter is DVDBeaver-reviewer Colin Zavitz's
favorite critic (Film Freak Central and a contributor to The New York Times,
Vulture, NPR etc.) - and with good reason. He discusses the tradition of
filmmakers like Nicholas Ray, Sam Peckinpah, Howard Hawks and, especially,
Robert Aldrich that Walter Hill's cinema echoes. He references specific
conversations with the director and many of his machismo oeuvre.
War Stories, a new interview with director Walter Hill
running over a 1/4 of an hour.
Included is a 1 1/2 hour
roundtable 'Zoom' discussion in which screenwriter Josh Olson (A
History of Violence,
The Movies That Made Me podcast), and directors Lexi Alexander (Green
Street Hooligans), and Robert D. Kryzkowski (one of my favorites;
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot) talk about their
love for The Warriors and the work of director Walter Hill. Filmed
for Arrow Video in 2023. Battling Boundaries is a new 8-minute
interview with editor Billy Weber and Gang Style is new 9-minute
interview with costume designer Bobbie Mannix. Armies of the Night is
a new 6-minute exclusive look at costume designs and photographs from the
archive of designer Mannix. Sound of the Streets is a new 25-minute
appreciation of composer Barry De Vorzon and the music of The Warriors
by film historian Neil Brand. Come Out to Play is a new 10-minute
look at the iconic locations of the Warriors’ Coney Island home turf
with modern day footage. The Beginning is one of four archival extras
from 2005 looking back on how The Warriors came to be. They (plus
Battleground, The Way Home and The Phenomenon with
assistant director David O. Sosna, a the look of film with director of
photography Andrew Laszlo etc.) run over an hour in total and were on
previous digital disc editions. Lastly, on this
4K UHD disc are a
theatrical trailer and image gallery.
What red-blooded male doesn't love Walter Hill's cinema? (Hard
Times,
Streets
of Fire,
Southern Comfort,
The Long Riders,
The Driver). I was
highly impressed with the 2160P image - I didn't think they could do
that much with a film of this era and its less-resilient late 70's film
stock. But again, this higher resolution and HDR pass have raised the bar
significantly when viewing on my system. Notably grittier and still very
effectively film-like - fans will cherish this rendering. I hope you have
the same impressive reaction to the presentation as I did. Audio? The older
Paramount
Blu-rays had lossy Dolby
?!? This
4K UHD has original uncompressed mono, lossless
stereo and an Atmos, surround, option. A dramatic bump to the viewing
experience with significant choices. Before I forget - we get both
theatrical and alternate cuts in 2160P!... great commentary, a plethora of
extras, 100-page booklet and more! Walter Hill's "The Warriors" is
based on Sol Yurick's
1965 novel of the same name, which was, in turn, was based on the
most famous work of the Ancient Greek professional soldier and writer,
Xenophon's entitled
Anabasis. The seven books making up the
Anabasis were
composed circa 370 BC. Film rights were bought in 1969 by AIP (American
International Pictures) but no film, by them, was ever produced. Hill found
the narrative simplicity of the script appealing. Sigourney Weaver was
considered for a part in "The Warriors" and Orson Welles to narrate /
expand upon the Greek themes. Neither partook, but the end result an
addictive cult-classic and delivered to us in a fantastic
Arrow
4K UHD
package. Despite coming out very late in the year (rightly perceived as
potentially neglected by pollsters) our
Year End Best of 2023 includes this remarkable edition. Very
strongly recommended! |
Menus / Extras
Theatrical Cut 4K Ultra HD
Alternate Cut 4K Ultra HD
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY and 4K UHD CAPTURE TO SEE IN FULL RESOLUTION
1) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM
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1) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM
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1) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM
|
1) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM
|
1) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM
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1) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM
|
More full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K Ultra HD Captures for Patreon Supporters HERE
Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: Reissued in a 'standard' 4K UHD edition in March 2024: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD |
Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |