The Warriors Movie Site Forum

hey all, after shm suggested it, i printed out the original script (took about an hour! ) and spent a few hours reading through. It was really good actually to see how the film could of turned out.

these are my thoughts about the difference between the script and film:

1. they improved cowboy in the film by 'softening him up' because in the script, he and vermin were two of the same person...too similar. the film gave him a more identifiable character. also it prevented ajax being the weakpoint in the park by running tired.

2. in the script, the warriors seemed to really dislike ajax more than in the film. they give him a lot more abuse, and harsher abuse. its more mild and 'jokey' in the film.

3. the script in the film is better, rather than the paper script, as less is said with more impact.

4. the baseball furies fight is better in the script i think, because its more realistic with furies not outnumbering warriors as much at one time and they get a kill...cochise (shouldve been someone else tho).

5. im glad they switched swan to the cameo role with mercy, otherwise the fox would have the main role and swan is warchief.

6. they improved snow by giving him a few lines, as he still has the image of being a quiet but strong figure, without too many 'thumbs up/down' gestures...i thought they may be a little cheesy if left in.

7. the script had an extra kill (cleon, cochise & vermin) rather than just cleon & fox, which was better because it made the night more 'dangerous' and added to the fear element.

8. cochise lived in the film...definately better!! the furies quietly dragging him away was a bit strange cos he could put up a good enough struggle against even 3 furies for ajax to suss it out and help. if not, he should have gone out like a hero.

9. fox was a massive improvement in the film. in the script he sounded a bit juvenile at the start with ajax (so i though he may be a vermin type) then became mr serious. also he gave more abuse to ajax and seemed like a natural born killer in the punks fight (got 3 before taking a blow). in the film, his serious trait and knowledge are emphasised by taking away these other traits.

10. finally, the script was better for name dropping other gangs (fox, ajax and mercy all did this) so we woul know what more gangs looked like!

altogether, i think the film was an improvement but the original script had advantages too. they individualised the characters better in the film, they had better lines and it ran more smoothly. the script i thought was better when adding more 'threat' element and the furies fight was much better...except they got the wrong warrior

defo tho...id take shm's advice and read it cos its good and very interesting...you can download it free from this website.

p.s. i thought it was hillarious in the script when cyrus counted up the number of gang members and then said...including women make that 100,000.

what do you guys think about the script compared with the film?

oh yeah, in the script, then run into territory marked 'scores', but no such gang is in the original listing?

anybody know? :-k

I just recently saw the opening scene on the boardwalk with Cleon and his girl.  I had waited 20 years for a peek of something I'd never before seen of this movie.  It was surreal.  I watched it like 20 times in a row.  I have since read the original script.  I guess the differences can be placed in one of two categories:  Those I wish had happened and those I'm glad didn't.  When I looked over my score sheet.  There was more that I was glad didn't show up.  For example Vermin, although there is little comic relief, what he provides is hilarious.  "...are you kidding?..."

I know some people don't like the opening scene on the boardwalk (apparently Walter Hill doesn't) but I really like it. The first time I ever saw the movie it had that scene at the beginning. I love it when the cool surf music kicks in and they all bop up the boardwalk. 8)

Anyway, I agree with alot of your points about the script wolf. Let me chip in with a few of my own.

I gotta start with the constant bickering between Ajax and Fox, it got pretty tiresome. It reminded me of the book a bit, 'cos in the book there's alot more hostility within the gang than there is in the film. Fox in the script almost feels like a completely different character. And Ajax is so exaggerated, repeating his favourite phrases constantly (you know the ones). There's a lot of flab when it comes to the dialogue, but thankfully it was rewritten and tightend up before it hit the screen.

Also in the script, there's more emphasis on Swan's relationship with his blade. He's annoyed at the beginning because he can't bring it to the big meeting and he's never been any place where he's never been packed. And when Ajax gets in his face about wanting to take over as leader he says to Swan 'Knives are the only reason you're up on anybody else. You're no leader without your blade'. But of course Swan proves later that he can fight without it.

I agree that more deaths heightened the sense of danger the Warriors were in, but I didn't agree with who they chose to kill off. My man Cochise didn't deserve to go out the way he did, especially to the Furies - buncha wimps. I'm glad he made it back to Coney in the film. And I had tears in my eyes when Vermin got killed, but that's only because I was peeling onions while I was reading it.

I think the gang you were talking about were called S.P.O.R.T.S, but I don't know anything about them. It's funny though when Fox says they've got a giant called Goliath and Ajax says 'Aw fuck him. Just some chicken shit like the rest'. Typical Ajax.

Anyway, there's loads of stuff I haven't mentioned, but overall I enjoyed reading the script and it was fascinating to see what could've been, I'm glad the film turned out the way it did though and I wouldn't change anything about it. (Okay maybe I'd save Ajax from the cop, but wouldn't we all?)

http://warriorsmovie.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1244

The above link is a poll on re: opening scene preference. I personally don't think the daylight opening scene added to the film besides explaining who's who and IMO think it actually took away some of the anticaption of the film compared to the opening night scene. I also think the daylight music really dates the film.

The gang with the 6'8" Goliath is a member of the Sports. Strangely enough they are not listed as one of the gangs at the conclave but then again neither are the Mongols.

As I said, the opening scene was at the beginning when I first saw the film so for years it was as much a part of the film as any other scene for me. Not only does it tell you who's who but it also tells you everyone's roles within the gang and you get to see more of Cleon and more of Coney. It's kinda like the calm before the storm.

And I love that music, I think the tune's called Rumble which is a suitable title. It's cool, and it psyches you up too. I think Tarantino used it in Pulp Fiction.

It's gonna be a luxury to have that scene on DVD because I lost my video copy ages ago.

Personally if they suddenly said we have found an hour of extra film and we are going to add it to the original i would be ecstatic The more Warriors the better. I love the opening scene and think it adds to the film but, that is just my personal opinion.

I have seen all the deleted scenes and have them saved on my computer but, i can't wait to see them as part of the film. 8)

That's the way I look at it, the more Warriors the better.

Wait a minute! You can't have the opening daytime speech and the opening night speech. For example, in both, Cleon tells Ajax to "soldier and keep his mouth shut." So, I guess my question is how will they use both of those? Or, are the deleted scenes going to be there for viewing and not necessarily part of the movie?

The TV version has both openings, so yeah Cleon tells Ajax to keep his mouth shut twice, but Ajax says different things both times so it still works.

But I'm not sure how the DVD will work, because if Walter Hill doesn't like the daytime opening scene then he might not include it in his director's cut. So you might only be able to view it separately. I hope he does include it though, 'cos I'd love to be able to watch the film with every deleted scene included.

ive only seen the boardwalk scene once when it was on tv here in aus probably 15 years ago but the the whole movie was cut to crap. i just got the dvd is hard to get here but its not the directors cut so ill have to find that one as well.. would like to see deleted scenes...

Was there any evidence in the original script of "Dead Warriors" or any of their wardrobe in the possession of the Riffs?