The Wanderers (1979)

I saw this movie at the cinema back in 1980 when it was in a double bill with the choirboys,I didn't expect too much having been let down by numerous other offerings in the same mould. But pleased to say of all the teenage films aimed at a male audience during the era of the 70's and 80's this was easily the best. Set in the early sixties in a Hollywood vision of the Bronx we are introduced to such fearsome gangs as the wongs the notorious baldies and off course the title making wanderers. For once what we get is what we want,a bit of banter,a bit of fun with the ladies, and most importantly a fair amount of brawling. All this set to a most glorious soundtrack(thank you frankie!) If you want to kill an hour and a half with some mindless violence,nothing too serious, great music and a bit of the other then you could do a lot worse than this movie.

Oh well, I'm the type of guy who will never settle down Where pretty girls are well, you know that I'm around I kiss 'em and I love 'em 'cause to me they're all the same I hug 'em and I squeeze 'em they don't even know my nameThey call me the wanderer Yeah, the wanderer I roam around, around, aroundOh well, there's Flo on my left and there's Mary on my right And Janie is the girl with that I'll be with tonight And when she asks me, which one I love the best? I tear open my shirt I got Rosie on my chest'Cause I'm the wanderer Yeah, the wanderer I roam around, around, aroundOh well, I roam from town to town I go through life without a care And I'm as happy as a clown I with my two fists of iron and I'm going nowhereI'm the type of guy that likes to roam around I'm never in one place, I roam from town to town And when I find myself fallin' for some girl I hop right into that car of mine and ride around the worldYeah I'm the wanderer Yeah, the wanderer I roam around, around, aroundOh yeah, I'm the type of guy that likes to roam around I'm never in one place, I roam from town to town And when I find myself a-fallin' for some girl I hop right into that car of mine and drive around the worldYeah, 'cause I'm a wanderer Yeah, a wanderer I roam around, around, around'Cause I'm a wanderer Yeah, a wanderer I roam around, around, around'Cause I'm a wanderer Yeah, a wanderer

The Wanderers Is one of the most underrated,overlooked movies of all time and a classic of gang films,teen films and coming-of-age films and one of my all time favorite movies.Based on Richard Price's novel and set In 1963 Bronx,New York, The Wanderers tells the story of an Italian gang called The Wanderers focusing on three members of the gang Richie(Ken Wahl),the leader of the gang,Joey(John Friedrich),the hyperactive little guy In the gang who lives with an abusive Father and Perry(Tony Ganinos),the gentile giant who's new In town and joins The Wanderers and Is a neighbor of Joey's. The three characters along with The Wanderers deal with love, growing up, changing of the times, and rival gangs such as the all-black gang The Del-Bombers, the bald headed gang The Fordham Baldies, an Asian gang called The Wongs and probably the scariest gang of them all The Ducky Boys a group of small guys who are silent,but come in large numbers.The Wanderers Is a great film from beginning to end and will stay with you after you watch it because it's funny,tragic,nostalgic,haunting and unforgettable. The film is funny because of the way it depicts teenage life for The Wanderers in the early 60s,whether it's picking up girls,going to parties,or getting in fights with other gangs. The music fashions,style and the way the characters act seems true to what was going on at the time and they're definitely is a realism to it. The film is like a great mixture of George Lucas' American Graffiti,Walter Hill's The Warriors and Barry Levinson's Diner all in one. The film also paints a world where every teenager in the Bronx is in a gang and all of the gangs are different by race like the all Italian gang (The Wanderers),a Asian gang(The Wongs) Black gang(The Del-Bombers),Bald gang(The Baldies),a silent gang(The Ducky Boys). The way the gangs are shown in the movie is exaggerated,funny,surreal and at times scary but also unique. The film has an episodic nature where some scenes aren't connected to one another and sometimes character tend to disappear,but there isn't a wasted scene in the film and the movie has a great energy and flow. Some of the scenes will have meaning and will stick with you after you finish. Like the best Teen films or Coming Of Age films The Wanderers is a film about dealing with the last grasps of being a teenager and facing the tough challenges of being an adult,where the characters face the fact that they're not going to be teenagers or in a gang forever,or it's dealing with life teenage and other relationships,parents or an uncertain future. This is one of the reasons why The Wanderers sets itself apart from other gang films. Like American Graffiti,The Wanderers is about the end of the 50s and the beginning of the 60s where the innocence and fun of the late 50s was being replaced by the dark times of the 60s. The characters especially Richie,Joey and Perry know that the times are changing faster than they and they're is a bunch of powerful moments in the film that give way to the changing of the era's and will stick with you after the film is over. The film moves at a solid pace and at times feels like a 90 minute film than a 117 minute film with great energy and break neck speed. Although The Wanderers is not an Action film they're a couple of fight scenes in the film that are well done and brutal and add to the greatness of the film. I know people have been comparing The Wanderers and The Warriors and trying to say which film is better,stop comparing them. As someone who owns and loves both films they both shouldn't be compared,The Wanderers is coming of age Comedy-Drama,The Warriors is an Action film,the only thing they have in common is that they're both gang films. Both are classic films and shouldn't be compared. The ending of the film is beautiful,sad,tragic and at the same time optimistic and will make the viewers make up their minds about what happened to the characters. A great ending.The whole cast does a great job. Ken Wahl does a great job as Richie,the leader of The Wanderers. John Friedrich is wonderful as the hyperactive Joey. Tony Ganios is wonderful as Perry,the gentle giant who's new in the neighborhood and becomes a member of The Wanderers. Karen Allen does a great job in her small role as Nina,a girl Richie and Joey meet. Toni Kalem does a fine job as Despie,Richie's girlfriend. Alan Rosenberg is funny as Wanderers' weasel Turkey. Jim Youngs does a great job as Buddy,a ladies man. Erland Van Lidth is excellent as Terror leader of The Baldies. Linda Manz is outstanding as PeeWee Terror's girlfriend. Dolph Sweet gives a memorable performance as Chubby,Despie's father and a local gangster who helps The Wanderers out when needed. William Andrews frightening and intense as Emilio,Joey's abusive Father.Director Philip Kaufman does a masterful job Directing the film moving the camera when ever he can, never slowing down. Kaufman's direction gives the film a since of edge and realism and at times creepiness. A year before in 1978 Kaufman directed the great remake Invasion of the Body Snatchers a creepy and terrifying film and Kaufman brings the same terrifying tone in this film with The Ducky Boys scenes. The soundtrack is amazing with great songs like Walk like a man,Soldier Boy,Baby It's you,The Wanderer,Stand By Me and many more. The soundtrack greatly fits with the tone of the late 50s and early 60s. In final word,if you love Gang films,teen films,Coming of age films and love films like The Warriors,The Outsiders,Rumble Fish and American Graffiti or cinema in general,I highly suggest you see this underrated classic. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

I was born and raised in California. I love the Wanderers for the many characters. It was great to see a different take on life in the sixties from mine. I can't believe I didn't know about this movie before. I love American Graffiti too. Just two different life styles of movies. I think all the actors did a good job. You have to cut some of them some slack since they had never acted before. I certainly have seen worse. To say that the Wanderers was the real American Graffiti. I don't think is correct. Just a different way of growing up. I don't think any of the big cities in CA have the same vibe as the inter-city feel of either the Bronx or any of the other Burroughs. All of the cities here are spread out. You know huge land mass. We didn't have the separation of kids by ethnicity. We were all civil to each other. There were some cliques. The jocks, cheerleaders vs the geeks and regular people. No clubs or gangs in my school. Maybe the big cities had some. Since I have never been to NY, I have to assume Richard Prices memories are correct. Just as George Lucas is correct of his teen years. I lived it, the same time period just as he depicted in his movie. CA was and still is a car culture. You had status based on your car, whoever had the coolest one was top dog. Everyone had to have a car to drive, even if it was your parents. We were always on the move. We had the parties just as they did, and listened to the same music, did the same dances. We didn't dress up for parties like in the movie. We were more laid back. School dress wasn't all that different either. I still love the music from that time. A huge Dion fan, always was always will be. We are as much the same as we are different. To reflect back it does seem like it was the best of times. Sometimes wish I could go back, it was great!