{"id":24829,"date":"2017-03-30T16:10:51","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T20:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=24829"},"modified":"2017-03-30T16:10:51","modified_gmt":"2017-03-30T20:10:51","slug":"the-wanderers-1979-blu-ray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/30\/the-wanderers-1979-blu-ray\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wanderers (1979) [Blu-Ray]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>After spending many years in a hard to find DVD version, \u201cThe Wanderers\u201d is finally given the proper treatment on blu-ray by Kino Lorber with a beautiful 2K restoration. \u201cThe Wanderers\u201d is one of the many films from the nostalgia boom of the late seventies and early eighties, that peeks back in to the sixties, where great change was taking shape, and the world was at war. With films like \u201cAmerican Graffiti\u201d making waves, \u201cThe Wanderers\u201d is another of those defining era dramas that is shockingly overlooked and not often appreciated. \u201cThe Wanderers\u201d is very much a gangland picture but more so a coming of age drama about a young boy growing up in a world filled with allegiances, dividing loyalties, and uneasy questions about where he stands in a gradually shifting society.<\/p>\n

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Phillip Kaufman\u2019s \u201cThe Wanderers\u201d is essentially the seventies\u2019 \u201cThe Outsiders\u201d pitting the focus on the Bronx in 1963 where a lot of division and battles were about to be considered petty in the light of rising tensions with war and civil rights. The Wanderers are one of the many street gangs dominating the Bronx, where the group of Ritchie, Joey, and newcomer wile their days away looking for new ways to survive high school and their dysfunctional (sometimes non-existent) family lives. The Wanderers soon become targets for rival gangs including Terror and his female sidekick from the Fordham Baldies, and the Del Bombers, a very outspoken gang of African Americans threatening to dominate them on the football field. This sparks a lot of interesting conflicts inside and outside the gang scene, as we get a sense of the variety of gangs dominating New York, including the swift Asian gang the Wongs, and the ever looming presence of the psychotic Ducky Boys.<\/p>\n

Along the way we meet Joey, an artist who is dealing with a viciously aggressive domineering father, and his friendship with drifter Ritchie, who takes a particular protective stance over his friend. Director Kaufman jumps back and forth between normal drama and gangland turmoil not offering much of a cohesive movie, and this may prove jarring for some viewers. One moment the movie is a romantic teen drama, the next it\u2019s a stern gang picture, the next Kaufman highlights sexual teen antics, while other times, there\u2019s a concerted effort to comment on racial turmoil in the city. While \u201cThe Wanderers\u201d is uneven in tone, it still manages to be rather engaging, as Kaufman stages some genuinely entertaining moments including a racially driven insult swap between the Wanderers and Del Bombers during a history class, and a scene where a game called \u201celbow titting\u201d goes wrong.<\/p>\n

There is also the incredible climactic scene in the big football game where the gangs are forced to unite as an army in order to battle the psychotic Ducky Boys, all of whom are intent on massacring everyone unfortunate enough to be within spitting distance. It\u2019s easily the best fight sequence I\u2019ve ever seen in film. If anything, \u201cThe Wanderers\u201d deserves a look for this rather amazing battle where all out chaos splashes on to the screen, destroying all ideas of race and territory. \u201cThe Wanderers\u201d is a very good and well drawn out drama with some fine performances from the seasoned cast, and garners and impressive soundtrack. It\u2019s a worthwhile companion to films like \u201cAmerican Graffiti\u201d and \u201cCooley High.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new release from Kino Lorber contains the restored theatrical cut which clocks in at almost two hours, while the Preview Cut is a rougher unpolished edit clocking in at a little over two hours in length. The Theatrical Cut portion contains a text based introduction with production and exhibition history, the films cult legacy, and a word from director Kaufman who expresses excitement for the new release. There\u2019s an audio commentary by Kaufman, and the thirty five minute HD \u201cBack to the Bronx.\u201d This garners a conversation with writer Richard Price who takes the crew around various locations of the Bronx with the help of Google Earth. He spends more time exploring how various spots of his youth have changed, which is quite entertaining, and he is candid about the film\u2019s adaptation of his book and how they differ greatly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWanderers Forever\u201d is a sixteen minute filming of the 2016 reunion at the Film Forum in New York, hosted by Bruce Goldstein. It features Karen Allen, Toni Kalem, and Tony Ganios. There are discussions about their auditions and updates on various missing cast members. Finally, there\u2019s an HD theatrical trailer for the movie. With the preview cut there\u2019s a forty second introduction with Allen, Kalem, and Ganios, and a commentary with Columbia University Film Professor Annette Insdorf. There\u2019s the “Wanderers Q&A at The Cinefamily” clocking in at thirty minutes with a conversation with director Kaufman, and becomes a group chat about the production and development. There\u2019s a nineteen minute Audio Q&A #1 with Kaufman via Skype, and another Audio Q&A hosted by Brian Rose, who sites down with writer Price who explores his history with \u201cThe Wanderers.\u201d Finally there\u2019s a TV Spot, and a re-release trailer for the film.<\/p>\n