Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Warriors - Sol Yurick, 11 April 2003
If, like me, you're interested in this book because of the superb Walter Hill film, don't expect to read about Swan, Ajax et al. Never before have the words 'based on', as in the film blurb, been so applicable. Yurick's novel(lette) is set a good 15 years before the film therefore the language, costumes etc bear no resemblance to those you will have seen. Even the title has a different meaning, 'Warriors' being a generic term for any gang member as opposed to the name of the lead gang (known as the 'Dominators' on the printed page). All the 'Dominators' are sub-sixteen year-old black kids, something Walter Hill wanted to reflect in his interpretation but was forced into creating a multi-racial gang by studio execs. The story follows the same basic plot as the film, one gang trying to get from a big meet in the Bronx to their homes in Coney Island but the details bear little resemblance. To read it does enhance the film and the book is great entertainment in it's own right. Without getting into serious lit crit, the book is a dark commentary on the nature of urban teenagers and deserves a place in the cannon of cult literature. Enjoy it!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Book vs Film? Same story, different intention., 29 Oct 2004
I read the book first. And it was an almost believable look at what it might be like growing up in an NY gang. I didn't like most of the 'heroes', but I did cry for them! I will always remember the line "big rep makes for big heart" as a life changing observation, the idea that we become what people believe us to be, ("Big rep" = tough reputation, "Big heart" = bravery) is truly scary. The Warriors are a bunch of kids in one of the meanest cities in the world, at time when many thought New York really was "hell bound". And remembering that Sol Yurick is/was (is he still alive?) a 'serious' author, he took a 'serious' veiw of his characters lives.
"The Warriors" is fiction of the same genre as "Catcher in the Rye". And for my money more credible and more fun.
The film on the other hand.....is one of the best kick-ass, fight movies that has ever been made. Fight scenes are brilliant, great chases, high suspense, noble, smart goodies versus sick, evil badies, a really, really fun film. Comparisons with the book? DON'T MAKE THEM! If you want to see the events of the story as an adventure, don't read the book. If you're looking at them as social comment, don't watch the film. If you've got an open mind, do both. But please don't ignore them, the Warriors (both gangs) deserve better.
WOULD'VE GIVEN 5 STARS, BUT YOU GOTTA GIVE WILL SHAK. SOME ROOM!
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8 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Warriors & Xenophon's Anabasis, 26 Jul 2005
Note that this underground teenage warrior movie was inspired by Xenophon's classic Anabasis. And Cyrus is the actual name of a great Persian warrior. In Xenophon's story, Cyrus was accompanied by Greek mercenaries who accepted to travel all the way to Persia to help him get his bad-ruling brother off the trone. As Cyrus dies during the battle against his brother's army, the Greeks decide to return home. Xenophon takes the lead. But the Persian army won't let them pass on their territory, neither does the local armies. Xenophon's (real) story results in non-stop fighting action as in The Warriors - till they get home.
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