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The Wanderers -
Also known as that other 1979 movie about gangs, this is just as great and as deserving of attention as The Warriors. While it explores the gang life and all its violence, racism and camaraderie, it's also a movie about witnessing the end of an era. Set in The Bronx in 1963, besides the titular Italian gang, there's the African-American Del Bombers, the Asian Wongs and the Baldies, which I assumed were all white, but a willingness to shave your head seems to be what gets you in. Regardless, race is very much a factor, exemplified by a social studies lesson on racism that results in more insults than insights. Veteran Wanderer Richie (Ken Wahl) is our guide in all of this, a young man who very much enjoys the privileges of gang life like partying and copping feels and who also has a keen eye on what the future holds, the main arbiter of it being the silent, mysterious and real gang I haven't mentioned yet: the Ducky Boys. Truly the scariest part of the movie, their drab getup, countless membership, inhuman viciousness and seeming lack of interest in what Richie loves about being a Wanderer expertly represent everything we fear about what the future holds. Their invasion of a football game is one of the most terrifying and surreal moments in a movie I can remember. Change manifests in other subtle and not so subtle ways such as at a Marine drafting office and, well...one of the darkest moments from this year and in American history I don't have to describe. Despite these moments, the movie still manages to be joyful and funny without ever coming across as tonally inconsistent, the highlights being any of the Wanderers' interactions with the Baldies and whenever Richie and his long-suffering girlfriend Despie (The Sopranos' Toni Kalem) are together. It helps that the soundtrack is rife with golden oldies like "Walk Like a Man" and "Sherry," and while The Bronx might as well be gentrification-proof, it looks like it was shot in 1963 despite being almost two decades removed. Era shifts, as we all know and as this movie so entertainingly demonstrates, are moments that produce anxiety more than any other moment. Even so, when one is over, you may find yourself dancing with a Wong and a Del Bomber.
Also known as that other 1979 movie about gangs, this is just as great and as deserving of attention as The Warriors. While it explores the gang life and all its violence, racism and camaraderie, it's also a movie about witnessing the end of an era. Set in The Bronx in 1963, besides the titular Italian gang, there's the African-American Del Bombers, the Asian Wongs and the Baldies, which I assumed were all white, but a willingness to shave your head seems to be what gets you in. Regardless, race is very much a factor, exemplified by a social studies lesson on racism that results in more insults than insights. Veteran Wanderer Richie (Ken Wahl) is our guide in all of this, a young man who very much enjoys the privileges of gang life like partying and copping feels and who also has a keen eye on what the future holds, the main arbiter of it being the silent, mysterious and real gang I haven't mentioned yet: the Ducky Boys. Truly the scariest part of the movie, their drab getup, countless membership, inhuman viciousness and seeming lack of interest in what Richie loves about being a Wanderer expertly represent everything we fear about what the future holds. Their invasion of a football game is one of the most terrifying and surreal moments in a movie I can remember. Change manifests in other subtle and not so subtle ways such as at a Marine drafting office and, well...one of the darkest moments from this year and in American history I don't have to describe. Despite these moments, the movie still manages to be joyful and funny without ever coming across as tonally inconsistent, the highlights being any of the Wanderers' interactions with the Baldies and whenever Richie and his long-suffering girlfriend Despie (The Sopranos' Toni Kalem) are together. It helps that the soundtrack is rife with golden oldies like "Walk Like a Man" and "Sherry," and while The Bronx might as well be gentrification-proof, it looks like it was shot in 1963 despite being almost two decades removed. Era shifts, as we all know and as this movie so entertainingly demonstrates, are moments that produce anxiety more than any other moment. Even so, when one is over, you may find yourself dancing with a Wong and a Del Bomber.