Infamousta
brilliant actors, brilliant editing
Myron Clemons
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Taha Avalos
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
PimpinAinttEasy
The Wanderers is a really nice coming of age gang war movie that is mostly comedic but contains some commentary on race relations. The film had many cool actors. These were the ones that stood out for me - TONY GANIOS was really cool as the alpha male tough guy who always came to the gang's rescue. I'm surprised he did not become a big B-movie star. KAREN ALLEN looked gorgeous. JOHN FRIEDRICH is nearly as memorable as De Niro in Bang the Drum Slowly. A young LINDA MANZ makes quite an impression. Her role as the aggressive wannabe Peewee is almost like a precursor to her role as the murderous Cebe in OUT OF THE BLUE (1980). I also noticed KEN FOREE as one of the promoters of the football match.It is sort of a film of place. The chase scene at the beginning through the dark alleyways of New York with the jumps over the wire fences (might have inspired the chase scene in POINT BREAK), the garden-museum where Richie (KEN WAHL) and his girlfriend go to kiss, the bowling alley, the small apartments where the characters live. The film is full of these cool places (atleast from the viewers point of view).The film has eve teasing and groping scenes that would put most Bollywood movies to shame and make feminists convert to Islam. It is probably a bit long at 2 hours but its great entertainment.(7.5/10)
The Couchpotatoes
Just finished watching The Wanderers again after so many years. It still stays an all time classic to me. When it just came out I couldn't get enough of that movie. I think it aged well and it's still good after all those years. Maybe the acting and the dialogs are not the greatest but to me it just brings me back to my youth. Okay I preferred The Warriors that came out that same year, but that movie is not comparable even if it is also about gangs. In the Wanderers it's nice to see how the gangs were in that time in New York. It's absolutely not comparable with the gangs from now. The gangs in that time were just friends hanging out together but now they are just gangsters selling drugs and weapons. Anyways, after all those years I still enjoyed this movie, especially the soundtrack.
Charles-lewis1
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.
Wrapper30
I love this film. I remember this was one of the first videos I hired in the early 80's and loved it initially as a teenager for the fighting, humour and great soundtrack. I revisit it a couple of times a year and it grows on more even more and you realise there is a lot more to it. Turkey's death is more and more harrowing and most of the guys fight and play (american) football to escape from poverty and abusive parents. I am quite surprised that other than Karen Allen and Ken Wahl, none of the leads really went on to bigger and better things as there are some fine performances in this. I much prefer it to the better known "The Warriors".
