You Can Watch the Theatrical Cut of THE WARRIORS in HD Now!

The Warriors is in my Top 10 films of all time, if not Top 5. I remember seeing it on a fuzzy VHS tape long ago and just fell in love with the production design, the score and the direction. However, it’s a film that I still don’t own on Blu-Ray. Why? Mainly because, there wasn’t a way to watch the original Theatrical cut of the film in HD. Paramount put the film out in a barebones DVD release back in 2001. However, the film went out of print. In 2005, a better transfer of the film was released on DVD and it was being touted as The Warriors: Ultimate Director’s Cut. Walter Hill never meant for the film to be serious so with this release, he inserted comic book panels and transitions and a new introduction. This changed the whole film. Some liked it, others did not. I didn’t mind it but wanted a way to watch the original as well. I personally felt that some of the transitions were good but the overall feeling of it felt a bit gimmicky.

Once the HD DVD & Blu-Ray started, fans hoped that both versions of the film would be released in one package. The film debuted on HD DVD but it is the same Ultimate Director’s Cut as was to be found on the DVD. The Blu-Ray that was released later simply mimicked the HD DVD release. As such, as much as I love the film, I opted out on purchasing the Blu-Ray.

Earlier last month, some sites that do a post on what is leaving and coming on Netflix reported that on July 1, 2015, The Warriors would be available. Last night, I was on my Amazon Prime account and saw that the film also showed there. I decided to watch it – as it is free with my Prime membership – and my eyes perked. The film opened on the Wonder Wheel instead of the Greek mythology found in the Ultimate Director’s Cut. Sure as shit, the original theatrical cut was displaying in HD on my television! I pulled up Netflix on my phone and found the same transfer as the one I was watching via my Amazon Prime account.

I did a search last night and no one seems to be reporting this at all. Therefore, I’m putting the word out there for all you boppers & streamers out there. You can now watch the theatrical cut in HD via Netflix or Amazon Streaming – having Prime makes it free! While I would still like this version on physical media, this will fulfill my appetite.