Who’d have thought Walter Hill’s The Warriors was so authentic? According to this brisk mix of interview and archive footage, the turf wars fought across New York between 1968 and ’75 were bitter and brutal. But the leaders of the Ghetto Brothers insist that street gangs rekindled communal pride and engendered a cultural renaissance.
Some of their claims feel far-fetched and their stories never address issues like drugs, crime and violence in meaningful depth. Yet, despite its sketchiness, this offers a vivid insight into the rejuvenation of a decaying city through fury, activism and music.