12 Ridiculously Macho Movies You Must See

Walter Hill’s fantasy saga of a gang fighting its way home to Coney Island is an epic tale straight from the legends of old and transposed on to the late ‘70s streets of New York. The Warriors have travelled to a gathering of many of New York’s gangs to listen to Cyrus, a man who proposes to lead the collective street gangs to triumph over the city’s police forces.

When the leader of rival gang, The Rogues, shoots Cyrus, The Warriors are blamed in the ensuing chaos and subsequently battle their way to home turf.

As with the similarly themed Streets of Fire, Hill uses young, unknown actors and instead of the obvious gritty and realistic angle he fills his film with bizarre and colourful characters. Leader of The Warriors, Swan (Michael Beck), is a brooding, quiet, hero type and takes his gang’s safety as paramount after their original leader is killed.

It could be accused of being dated now, but it isn’t really contemporary of its time anyway, more a fable about sticking together and fighting through the odds. A classic formula for a top-class movie.