Rating: 
Summary: The original Boys from the Bronx........
Review: "The Wanderers" is a class act and a stylish movie that has a brassy toughness to it that is both infectious and moving. It was probably overshadowed on it's release by the other gang movie of 1979 "The Warriors", but "The Wanderers" easily holds an equal footing as an excellent period piece of working class lives in 1963. The film centres around the lives of a gang of young boys in the Bronx in mid 1963 coming to terms with friendships, school, girls and other gangs. Ken Wahl ( a promising actor who for some reason never quite made it to the big time !! ) plays a great lead as the smooth talking and charismatic, Richie, the leader of the Wanderers. Richie is struggling to maintain his gangs strength and position in the local neighbourhood as well as juggling his many relationships with different girlfriends. He meets a young and attractive Karen Allen whilst out on the streets with his buddies, and from there another relationship develops. Allen plays her role with style, and even though Allen is not a great beauty, she has that unmistakable feminine charm, especially when that wonderful smile lights up her face. What makes the movie all the more interesting is the way it goes behind the scenes into the home lives and the hopes, fears and dreams of some of the gang members. We see Joey's artistic talents put down by his fearsome, aggressive father...we see Turkey struggle with his own identity within the different gangs...and we see Richie forced to take responsibility for his actions near the film's conclusion. Backing the movie up, is a dynamite soundtrack containing some top numbers including "Stand by Me", "Runaraound Sue", "Soldier Boy" & of course "The Wanderer" !! A movie that has charm & talent, and stands up to repeated viewings with ease...if you haven't seen it already....catch up with "The Wanderers" soon !!
Rating: 
Summary: Stylized Nostalgia
Review: "The Wanderers" is an entertaining nostalgia piece about the exploits of a group of Italian-American teenage gangmembers who engage in various turf wars with other gangs of varied ethnic types. The film contains many amusing vignettes and I highly recommend it. That said, the film definitely is aiming to comment on more serious issues and it is there that it falls short. It is the very stylishness that director Philip Kaufman employs that undermines this goal. The social upheavals of the time are treated perfunctorily so they have no real resonance. The soundtrack, though appropriate(Dion and the Belmonts, The Four Seasons) comes off as somewhat hollow. I kept thinking that if Martin Scorsese, who later collaborated with writer Richard Price, author of the film's source novel, had directed this film it would be a completely different animal. If your looking for a better film that deals with the social upheaval that occured in the Bronx at approximately this period of time a better film would be "A Bronx Tale", the only feature to be helmed by Robert DeNiro.
Rating:
Summary: AN INCREDIBLY ENJOYABLE FILM.
Review: "The Wanderers" is the kind of movie that you don't expect a lot from it before you watch it, but after the movie is over, you feel that seeing this film was the right choice, because it's incredibly amusing. In fact, "The Wanderers" is one of the few films that can make that the audience cares and feels interested for the life of the teenagers portrayed in the movie, "The Warriors", "West Side Story" and "American Graffiti" are some films that have that quality too. All the characters in "The Wanderers" are very human and believable, some performances are slightly better than others, but overall all the cast is uniformly well in their roles. Definitely "The Wanderers" is a very recommendable movie, the characters, the situations and the script (based in a Richard Price's book) are very good. This is an enjoyable movie from beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: The original Boys from the Bronx........
Review: "The Wanderers" is a class act and a stylish movie that has a brassy toughness to it that is both infectious and moving. It was probably overshadowed on it's release by the other gang movie of 1979 "The Warriors", but "The Wanderers" easily holds an equal footing as an excellent period piece of working class lives in 1963. The film centres around the lives of a gang of young boys in the Bronx in mid 1963 coming to terms with friendships, school, girls and other gangs. Ken Wahl ( a promising actor who for some reason never quite made it to the big time !! ) plays a great lead as the smooth talking and charismatic, Richie, the leader of the Wanderers. Richie is struggling to maintain his gangs strength and position in the local neighbourhood as well as juggling his many relationships with different girlfriends. He meets a young and attractive Karen Allen whilst out on the streets with his buddies, and from there another relationship develops. Allen plays her role with style, and even though Allen is not a great beauty, she has that unmistakable feminine charm, especially when that wonderful smile lights up her face. What makes the movie all the more interesting is the way it goes behind the scenes into the home lives and the hopes, fears and dreams of some of the gang members. We see Joey's artistic talents put down by his fearsome, aggressive father...we see Turkey struggle with his own identity within the different gangs...and we see Richie forced to take responsibility for his actions near the film's conclusion. Backing the movie up, is a dynamite soundtrack containing some top numbers including "Stand by Me", "Runaraound Sue", "Soldier Boy" & of course "The Wanderer" !! A movie that has charm & talent, and stands up to repeated viewings with ease...if you haven't seen it already....catch up with "The Wanderers" soon !!
Rating:
Summary: A "B" movie classic.
Review: "The Wanderers" is one of my two all time favorites (the other.....Slap Shot). It exemplified a true coming of age in a hilarious way. The characters were priceless. Only one thing could improve it......DVD!
Rating:
Summary: A VERY ENJOYABLE FILM.
Review: "The Wanderers" is the kind of movie that you don't expect a lot from it before you watch it, but after the movie is over, you feel that seeing this film was the right choice, because it's incredibly amusing. In fact, "The Wanderers" is one of the few films that can make that the audience cares and feels interested for the life of the teenagers portrayed in the movie, "The Warriors", "West Side Story" and "American Graffiti" are some films that have that quality too.
All the characters in "The Wanderers" are very human and believable, some performances are slightly better than others, but overall all the cast is uniformly well in their roles. Definitely "The Wanderers" is a very recommendable movie, the characters, the situations and the script (based in a Richard Price's book) are very good. This is an enjoyable movie from beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: Don't %@&*%$ With the Wongs
Review: A cult classic from the minute it hit cable, the music soundtrack came out amidst the New Wave music domination of 1979 and was promptly ignored. But the cream always rises to the top and this soundtrack is simply superb. This is a movie steeped in urban New York mythology. Not to be missed. The movie could double as a Sociology class on the immigrant New York experience as we watch the Irish, Italian, Polish, Black and Chinese youth struggle over their piece of the turf in the Bronx of 1963. The movie works on multiple levels -- unearthing a tender love and care for the Italian youth who comprise the gang of the Wanderers.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Sleeper Films of 1979
Review: For anyone that thinks that the Wanderers is just another nostalgic film about New York City street gangs in the 1950's, they are wrong. One has to carefully unravel the social undercurrents that stream below the surface of a seemingly insignificant story about a group of Bronx teenagers called the Wanderers. William Andrews is cleverly cast as the dominating Emilio; the insecure father of Wanderer member Joey. Joey is a bright, artistic teen who cannot fill the blue collar, tough guy pretense that his father hopes will keep him trapped in tenament obscurity. Middle aged Emilio hides his social inadequacies by lifting weights and entering amatuer body building contests in hopes of finally beating "the Greek", his unknown nemesis. Emilio's wife (Olympia Dukakis) can only ponder younger days while smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee in her housecoat. She is hopelessly content, just like many of the second generation Italian and Greek women that settled in the Bronx with their families in the 1950's. She is not happy, neither is Emilio who only finds temporary bliss when he sleeps with the alcoholic widow who lives down the hall. These are unfulfilled adults who live together, eat together, and sleep together, but cannot tear themselves away from their shallow lifestyle. The Wanderers, full of energy, youth, and bravado do; well some of them anyway. The Wanderers led by Richie (Ken Wahl) are about to cross the threshold into manhood. Highschool graduation looms near and lower class European immigrants in N.Y.C. had few career choices in the late 50's and early 60's. Most teens married early and rooted themselves in jobs provided by friends or family. Throughout the film's progression Joey and Richie slowly begin to realize their plight, while also becoming aware of a powerful unconventional cultural change that is creeping into the seemingly stable structure of post World War II America. Karen Allen in one of her better film performances represents the tide of change that is about to arrive. Nina, pretty, educated,independent, and daring is no close minded, gum snapping girl of the 50's. Nina embodies a multi-dimensional free spirit; she doesn't need a red jacket with a gang name emblazoned on the back to make her social statment. She is everything that Richie and Joey's mom will never be. When Joey falls for Nina after Richie and the gang harass her on a street corner, pathos sets in because Richie's handsome looks attracts Nina's attention. Maybe Nina feels that she can lure Richie into her bohemian lifestyle. In one of the most culturally dichotomous scenes ever captured on film, Richie with his slicked backed DA haircut and gang jacket peers through the window of a smokey coffeehouse focusing in on Nina immersed in conversation with other educated rebels. No coffeehouse dialogue is heard, none is needed, only the lyrics of Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changing" portends the future. Friendships are destroyed, group members flee, others stay trapped in the conventional lifestyle that has been planned for them. One of the most disturbing additions in the film is the inclusion of the gang the Duckie Boys. They appear in smokey, dark, slow motion frames. They never speak and their presence is mystifying. They appear, disappear, and then re-appear. Who or what do they represent? Theories abound from their symbolic representation of the impending Viet Cong menace, to the aborhant treatment of the mentally retarded. Until recently mentally handicapped people were considered outcasts of society by all races. Maybe this is why all the racially segregated gangs join together in the confrontation with the Duckie Boys. Homosexuality is treated and exposed in a bizarre way during the film. The Baldies are easily distinguished by their clean shaven domes, yet in the transitional period from the 50's to the 60's few homosexuals were ready to come out of the closet. The character Terror is the most intimidating Baldi, 300 pounds of presence who is broken down by a pint sized girl who wishes she was a boy so their relationship can be consummated. On a final note, Tony Ganios, who became famous in the role of Meat in the Porky flicks makes his film debut in the Wanderers. His character is not allowed much latitude, but his sheer presence as the tough heavy loner is memorable. LEAVE THE KID ALONE
Rating:
Summary: Walk like a man!!!
Review: Great film of the late 70's. Ken Wahl did a excellent job as Richie, a Italian gang member in the early 60's dealing with friendship, race and poverty in the Bronx. Shows in great depth of how people of different origins were looked upon in the early 60's. What I liked most about the film is how they were able to overcome their differences to celebrate Richie's marriage and stick together against the Ducky Boys.
Rating:
Summary: Underappreciated classic
Review: Happy this film is finally available on DVD, as it's one of my favorite films! It was really great to watch the film with the direcor (Kaufman) commenting scene by scene. My only complaints are the lousy, bottom of the barrel packaging, no additional footage, and no comments whatsoever from any cast members. Having said that, I'm still very happy to add The Wanderers to my collection.
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