Newcomers were cast to create the feel of "real people caught in dangerous situations". The cast felt like they were a gang before filming started.
Filming during the scene with the Orphans was interrupted by a police chase.
There were always crowds of spectators during filming, even at 3am in the freezing cold.
Filming was allowed to take place uninterrupted during the entire course of the night, which was a first.
Walter Hill wanted this to be an adventure film like The Guns of Navarone.
When the ficticous Turnbull ACs visited a hamburger joint during filming, people fled in fear of being attacked.
1,000 extras were used at the big meeting, many coming from Riverside Drive Park.
The Warriors aimed to create "tribal feeling of going into battle together, of loyalty, of support and chared goals" and to have "the audiences' sympathy as they fight off all the other gangs in the city".
The scene in the mens room with the Punks was the only scene shot on set. The set was located at Astoria Studios, Long Island City - Queens.
Filming started on June 26th, 1978.
Marcelino Sanchez (Rembrandt) was quoted as saying "Sometimes I wonder if this is a motion picture or a marathon". Due to the large amounts of running in the movie the cast had to undergo intensive warm-up sessions.
The name Ajax came after the Greek Warrior and not the household cleaner!
The Homicides were the real gang of Coney Island and didn't approve of fictional gangs wearing colours on their turf and so the wardrobe department made sure nobody walked off location wearing The Warriors colours. The gang were safe in the cemetary scene in Brooklyn due to a fence that surrounded them.
Filming had to be relocated on occassion due to the noise of crowds that came to watch. Some crowd members were forcibly removed from set.
Crew members were sent threats on their lives because local gangs had not been cast. Thousands of dollars worth of equipment were damaged when one gang tore through the set during a lunch break.
Crew lighting caused the light-sensitive street lights to switch on in the scenes below the subway. The crew had to go and tape over the light sensors of the street lights.
The Baseball Furies were created due to Walter Hill's love of baseball and the music group Kiss.
The crew once got urinated upon from a tower block due to the noise they were creating in the night.
The film trucks were "protected" by a real gang called The Mongrels for $500 a day.
David Patrick Kelly (Luther) improvised the famous line "Warriors, come out to play!" and based it upon a taunt that an old neighbour used to chant to him as a kid.
Swan was to be abducted by a homosexual and sadomasochistic gang who had doberman pinschers. He was scripted to escape and lead The Warriors home.
Michael Beck and David Harris often sneaked off to Times Square to watch the movie.
President Ronald Reagan called up Michael Beck to tell him that he enjoyed watching The Warriors when he watched it at Camp David.
The leader of the Punks (Konrad Sheehan) appears as a Ducky Boy in The Wanderers.
Walter Hill originally wanted a tough Puerto Rican girl to play Mercy. (Thanks to Wanda).
Deborah audtioned many times for the part, competing against Italian talent. Hill picked Deborah as she wasn't the obvious choice and because he wanted someone unknown.
Deborah's real boyfriend starred in the other gang movie of the time - The Wanderers. Both Deborah and her boyfriend tried to get her a part in the movie. (Thanks to Wanda).
In the subway where Mercy is running with Fox's double, she fell and sprained her wrist because the actor didn't let go of her hand. This is why she later appears in a jacket as it is covering up the bandage. (Thanks to Wanda).
In one take, Michael Beck (Swan) swings a bat into Deborah's face (in the scene where he throws it at the cop). She was rushed to hospital at 3am for stitches and still has a scar. (Thanks to Wanda).
Vermin was scripted to be killed before the end of the movie.
Terry Michos who played Vermin made his character more comical to make it more memorable and to get more on-screen appearances in the movie.
Though it wasn't shown fully in the film, Cleon was killed.
The film apparently took 60 days to shoot from 8am to midnight.
The park at the beginning of the movie was supposed to be in the North Bronx. The scene was actually shot in Riverside Park on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
The original poster featured the words "These are the armies of the night. They are 100,000 strong. They outnumber the cops five to one. They could run New York City." This upset and outraged many people and some tried to have the film banned.
After several violent incidents that occurred at various showings of the film, the producers decided to change the poster as a way of cutting down on the violence. The original poster featured the logo as well as a picture of several tough looking gang members. The second poster just featured the logo against a white background.
The Warriors supposedly caused many gang outbreaks in large cities.
The film is based on the novel by Sol Yurick, who bases his novel on Xenophon's The Anabasis. The movie is closer to The Anabasis than to Yurick's novel.
The Warriors director; Walter Hill, originally wanted the Warriors to be an all-black gang. Producers disagreed. He also wanted an initial subtitle which read "Sometime in the future" but Paramount thought it sounded too much like Star Wars.
The fight with the Punksn took 5 days to film (eleven hours a day!).
James Remar (Ajax), David Patrick Kelly (Luther) and Marcelino Sanchez (Rembrandt) all starred in the film 48 Hours. James Remar plays the bad guy (Ganz), David Patrick Kelly plays another guy called Luther and Marcelino Sanchez is a parking lot attendant. The policeman from The Warriors who had a baseball bat thrown at him is also in 48 Hours and plays Billy Bear.
The IND Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station in Brooklyn was used for the 96th St. Station scenes. The train operated on one of the unused outer tracks. Some external shots were taken at 72nd Street.
The television version started with a day shoot at Coney Island with Dorsey Wright and Pamela Portier playing his girlfriend. The producers cut this scene stating that the only day scene should be at the end of the film after a night of horror.
Thomas Waites (The Fox) left the film midway through filming and was replaced by a body double who was tossed on to the train tracks. This becomes obvious when watching the film as when he runs in front of the camera, you can see him trying to hide his face. See the bloopers page.
Real street gangs made it into the film.
The Warriors' vests were made of fake leather.
The Baseball Furies were all around the age of 30 or older and were from Stunt's Unlimited.
The Warriors sign that was painted on the bath house for the lobby card photo was actually painted over a real gangs tag. The gang didn't take to lightly to this, so the producers paid them to be in the film.
Subway equipment throughout the entire movie consisted of IND/BMT R-27 and R-30 units, even though the IRT is implied in many instances. Apparently, no attention was paid to train markings, which varied considerably and were often unrelated to the actual routes traveled on. Other subway cars seen briefly are R-12, R-42 and R-46 units.
The subway footage during the opening titles was filmed along the express tracks of the IND Fulton St. line in Brooklyn.
Apparently, Robert De Niro was asked to be Cowboy, but he passed on it and they chose an unknown instead.
