'The Warriors' (1979)

About this episode

The episode explores the true events and historical inspirations behind the 1979 film 'The Warriors'.

Today we're on home turf as we take to the streets in gangland New York. For a movie as colourful, comic book-esque and downright bizarre as 1979's "The Warriors" the idea that this could be based on true events feels like a step too far. But with the release of the director's cut in 2005 came a new opening scene revealing that this story isn't just inspired by the warring factions of NYC's various boroughs, but takes its story from a classic tale of endurance from ancient history. Was there really a conference of gangs in New York City? Was one group forced to fight their way back through enemy lines? And did someone really ask "can you dig it"?! Join us to find out on That's Not How It Went Down! Subscribe now for further listening: https://tnhiwd.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Lewis Howard, Elliot Fitzpatrick

Topics covered

• film analysis
• true events
• gang culture
• 1970s cinema
• historical context

Keywords

• The Warriors
• 1979
• gangs
• New York City
• film history
• director's cut
• true story

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: 'The Warriors' (1979)

Places: New York City

More episodes of That's Not How It Went Down

• 'Quiz Show' (1994) · June 9, 2026 · 1h 1m
• BONUS: 'Gladiator' (2000) · June 2, 2026 · 42 min
• 'Memories of Murder' (2003) · May 26, 2026 · 1h 1m
• 'Battle of the Sexes' (2017) · May 19, 2026 · 60 min
• 'Deepwater Horizon' (2016) · May 12, 2026 · 60 min
• 'Heat' (1995) · May 5, 2026 · 59 min