This vivid and violent gangland thriller from director Walter Hill is, essentially, an urban western. It centres on a New York gang whose members battle their way back to home turf following the murder of a rival gang leader during a ceasefire meeting. Despite the gritty storyline and locations, there's a doomed, romantic feel to the film and a poetic quality to the exhilarating fight scenes. Hill sketches the characters with some sympathy and is rewarded with excellent performances from the largely unknown cast, led by Michael Beck and Drugstore Cowboy's James Remar.

Prominent gang leader Cyrus calls a meeting of New York's gangs to set aside their turf wars and take over the city. At the meeting, a rival leader kills Cyrus, but a Coney Island gang called the Warriors is wrongly blamed for Cyrus' death. Before you know it, the cops and every gangbanger in town is hot on the Warriors' trail.