10 Things You Didn't Know About The Warriors
8. The Original Novel Is Far Bleaker Than The Film
Although many would see The Warriors as a relatively light-hearted and palatable in comparison to many of the hyper-violent and uncompromisingly depraved films that are made today, it's highly unlikely that any studio would've green-lit an overly faithful faithful adaptation of Sol Yurick's novel when the movie was shot.
Bearing little resemblance to the film in terms of tone and featuring very little of the same events aside from its core structure, the original book follows the plight of 'The Coney Island Dominators' as they attempt to make their way back to their home city following a conclave that quickly went awry.
Inspired by the author's time as a youth worker, The Coney Island Dominators that act as the book's central concern are far less relatable or favourable as protagonists than their celluloid incarnation and scenes of indiscriminate murder and even gang rape can be found within the novel.
Ending on a much more solemn note after gang member Hinton (a character whose arc most closely resembles The Warriors' graffiti artist Rembrandt) returns home from their ill-fated expedition to find his baby sister neglected whilst his mother has sex with her boyfriend, the book draws to a close with the disillusioned 'Dominator' sleeping on the fire escape of their apartment whilst innocently sucking his thumb.
As expected, Yurick wasn't overly happy with Walter Hill's reimagining and viewed it as 'thrashy' in comparison to the more poignant novel.