October 14, 2014

It’s been a while since we here at Icons Of Fright have been able to host a new “pirate commentary.” And so we were excited when the prospect of this special WARRIORS one came together. I’ve always been a fan of the film; I have vague memories of seeing it during frequent re-runs on cable. A few years back when the “Ultimate Director’s Cut” came out on Blu-Ray, I picked it up, watched it. Was a little baffled as to why all the terrible comic-book panels were in there, but it’d been so long since I’d seen the original theatrical cut that at the time it didn’t bother me. However, a few months back, I caught that original version on the big screen over at the New Beverly Cinema here in Los Angeles and was blown away by just how great it really is. It played so well with a packed audience and I was impressed (now as an adult) to see the top notch filmmaking technique at display from director Walter Hill, the power of which is slightly diminished with the added transitions in the newer cut. And so the next day, I went home, watched the “ultimate director’s cut” again and was disappointed the version I saw on the big screen wasn’t available in pristine high def.

I was curious if anyone knew the distinct differences between both cuts or knew some of the behind the scenes stories on the making of the film. Then I remembered a fantastic piece from Horrorhound magazine issue number 39 (with Leatherface on the cover) by Sean Clark where he did yet another one of his stellar “Horrors Hallowed Grounds” segments covering all the original shooting locations of THE WARRIORS. I figured if anyone would be able to guide me through a fun and candid commentary for THE WARRIORS, it’d be one of its biggest fans! And so, I trekked over to El Casa de Clark, was impressed by his extensive collection of movie props, posters and beyond, including this awesome original Warriors jacket and we were off and running.

I decided to record this pirate commentary specifically for the “Ultimate Director’s Cut” because it’s the most widely accessible version of the movie at the moment. The only way to get the theatrical cut is on the now long out-of-print original DVD original issue. Which is a terrible shame because the picture quality of this Blu-Ray release is absolutely stunning and flawless. Sean admitted to me he’d only seen this version once and so this commentary is his 2nd viewing of it. We were able to pick apart a lot of the differences between the two, but more importantly, we also delved into exactly how Sean tackles a new episode of “Horrors Hallowed Grounds,” a lot of his experiences on the convention circuit with his company Convention All Stars and how THE WARRIORS cast has embraced the movies by attending a lot of these conventions in the last few years. The great character actor James Remar (‘DEXTER’) for example, just made his first convention appearance. Plenty of fun tidbits await!

Grab your WARRIORS Blu-Ray, skip the director’s intro and queue it up to watch along with us. Our Halloween treat for you. Beware of the Baseball Furies!

To Save the MP3 of this commentary, simply “right click” the following link and select “save target as:”

Find Sean Clark at: https://twitter.com/malfuncsean

THE WARRIORS (1979) was directed by Walter Hill, written by David Shaber & Hill based on the original novel by Sol Yorick and stars Michael Beck, James Remar, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, David Patrick Kelly.

Below: Sean over the years in his Baseball Furies Halloween costume!