This is Part 2 of a then-and-now look at the New York City filming locations of The Warriors. Click here for Part 1!
Resuming where we left off, the Warriors are on a train heading toward Union Square when a nearby fire forces them out into the the Tremont section of the Bronx on foot. This is definitely somewhere under the J train, most likely near Broadway Junction where the chase scene was filmed, but I wasn’t able to identify it. Any thoughts?
Meanwhile, we find Luther and the Rogues gang (responsible for murdering Cyrus, then pinning it on the Warriors) cruising around:
This was shot on First Avenue approaching 1st Street:
They stop at a soda fountain to make a phone call, located at 17 First Avenue…
…which is now a locksmith shop:
Meanwhile, the Warriors continue through Tremont to the next stop. Except, they’re not in the Bronx…
They’re on 45th Road (just off of 23rd Street) in Long Island City, Queens:
45th Road, along with the extraordinarily beautiful 45th Ave one block north, are routinely used in movies because they can be easily faked as Any Borough, NYC. Here they’re given a down-and-out look, but they’re typically used as upscale neighborhoods:
The Warriors run into the Orphans gang, who watch them from all sides:
Across the street, the stationary store is now a barber shop:
Just as it seems all will be OK, a woman named Mercy comes out to cause some mischief:
Mercy convinces the Orphans to deny them passage, but the Warriors continue through anyway. So sad to see that great porch building is gone:
The Warriors continue down the block and turn a corner…
…and are magically transported to way way way out in Brooklyn at 62nd Street and 15th Avenue, a block away from the New Utrecht Ave subway station:
The Orphans arrive, and it looks as though a fight will break out:
As tensions rise, Mercy heads toward the scene, though she’s technically going in the wrong direction. This shot was filmed on 15th Avenue right around the block, but to find the gangs, she should head in the opposite direction to the corner, then turn left.
But such is filmmaking, and she winds up at 62nd Street anyway:
The two gangs square off…
Then, one of the Warriors throws a Molotov cocktail, allowing them to escape:
They run just up the block to the New Utrecht Ave subway stop…
…head through the doors…
…and the camera rises to catch them as they come out on the platform upstairs:
This is one of my favorite shots in the film, as the layout of the subway perfectly facilitates this graceful, non-stop motion:
Meanwhile, Luther and the Rogues stop at a gas station to make another call about the status of the hunt for the Warriors. I did a lot of searching, but wasn’t able to locate this one…Anyone recognize it?
If it helps, there’s an insanely distinctive building right across the street:
Back en route to Union Square, The Warriors find the train lingering suspiciously long at 96th Street station and decide to make a run for it.
At first glance, you’d assume this was shot at the 96th Street and Broadway station, except…
…why do the walls say Hoyt on them?
That’s because this was actually filmed on the abandoned platform at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn:
Dozens of movies have been shot here, including The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (remake), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the City Hall subway station), and Michael Jackson’s Bad music video.
Unfortunately, the police spring on the Warriors, and the gang splits up:
Four of the Warriors head up to street level…
…and suddenly, they’re at the 72nd Street 1-2-3 station in Manhattan:
They go outside…
…and run into the totally creepy Baseball Furies gang. This was shot on West 72nd Street looking north-east from the station:
The Warriors head south-west, with the Baseball Furies right on their tail…
…passing this restaurant on the corner.
From West 72nd, they then jump again to West 100th Street between Riverside and West End Avenue, heading toward the park:
A second shot – always great to see how those trees have grown up:
The Warriors rush into Riverside Park by way of the Firemen’s Memorial, another fantastic use of existing New York statuary:
Despite the grittiness of New York circa 1979, this graffiti is a little too photogenic to be completely authentic:
Stone benches have now replaced the old wooden ones:
The Baseball Furies continue their pursuit:
The action then moves a few blocks south, as the Warriors enter Riverside Park via the 97th Street ramp:
Now in the park, they run north along the dirt path that still exists today. Compare the tree on the left for accuracy!
A fight breaks out in the field just a few blocks north, and the Warriors are victorious:
But they still have a ways to go to Coney Island…
Click here for Part 3! (and Click here for Part 1!)
-SCOUT
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