25 Cult Movies You Must See Before You Die
22. The Warriors
Walter Hill is one of the most under-sung but consistently inventive directors in movie history. His 48 Hrs is best known as Eddie Murphy's feature film debut (and a damn fine one at that), but other than that he's always been a cult prospect. Like John Carpenter, he hopped genres and worked with big names, but never became a celebrity himself.
Recently he got back on the horse with Sylvester Stallone thriller Bullet To The Head, but Hill's best work definitely came in his heyday. It was that heyday which produced The Warriors, an adaptation of a pulp novel that manages to be both high camp and gritty at once as the warring gangs of New York are pitted against each other by an agent of chaos.
Based on the Greek myth of Anabasis, the titular Warriors take the blame for killing a leader hoping to unite the city's gangs against the cops, and then have to make their way home through a whole island that wants them dead. A great soundtrack, iconic characters in each uniquely designed gang and a simple, well-executed premise make for a real gem.