Textual analysis

1)Conventions

The warriors is a film from the 1970's which follows a lot of the conventions that are in film openings today. It does this 

very effectively as it manages to set the film up and the problems that the main cast will come across along the way. The 

film opening is 6:43 minutes long which goes over the 5 minute convention for a film opening but this is necessary in order 

to get as much information into the opening for the audience to understand what is happening later on in the film. The 

main characters are talking to each other a lot about where they are going in the opening which allows the audience 

to understand the scene they are going to and also why they are going, this is one of the conventions of film openings and 

in my opinion the warriors uses this very effectively. The characters are shown to the audience in the way that they stand 

in the 'gang', this is due to one of the characters always being questioned and knowing the answers also this same 

character proving dominance as the others look up to him and do not want to displease him. The opening credit titles are 

shown in a graffiti form of style this suits the era and style the film is set in. This is due to the film being about gangs and 

therefore them being associated with graffiti. 

2)How is tone/genre established?

The genres that The Warriors fits into would be action, adventure, drama, crime and 

thriller. These genres are portrayed through the opening sequence in many different ways. 

The action part of the film is shown through the quick transitions between clips which 

shows fast paced action and therefore making the audience feel like the film is very fast

paced and action packed. Adventure is shown through the main cast asking so many 

questions about where they are going and what they are doing there, this shows lack of

understanding about what they are doing therefore implying that the cast are going on an 

'adventure'. The drama part of the film is shown through the characters asking so many 

questions about the man they are going to see and also where they are going to meet this 

man, some of these questions are left unanswered or answered vaguely to maintain a 

sense of mystery and drama among the audience. Crime is shown due to the characters 

discussing the act that the place they are going to is filled with gangs and that they are 

going in 'like everyone else, nine guys and no weapons'. However one of the characters 

insists on fighting other gangs which is obviously a crime. this is also backed up by the 

titles being in graffiti which is a crime in itself. The thriller aspect in the film is not really 

played on in the opening as all that can be commented on in the opening regarding 

thriller is the characters building suspense through their dialogue by leaving a lot of 

questions unanswered.

3)Music

The music at the start of the opening is high pitched but with long tones, 

this is to build a sense of mystery among the audience as they are 

watching the train enter the platform. This makes the audience question 

what the significance of this train is and why it is relevant. The music when 

the 'the warriors' title appears goes into a sound sting, this is to get the 

audiences attention in order for them to read the title. When one of the 

cast members is telling the rest of the cast where they are going the music 

stops so that the audience can listen to what he is saying, the music is 

replaced with soundscape of the carnival they are at, this is mechanics and 

trains. When the cast enters the train the music picks up again but with a 

faster pace to build tension among the audience as they are now watching 

their journey to the location which the opening is focused on. whilst the 

journey is happening the camera cuts to a lot of different groups that are 

implied to be attending the same place as the cast, the music is played at a 

constant rate but however starts to pick up the pace whilst the cast are 

getting closer to their location. Once they reach their destination the music 

stops for an ambient silence, this is used so that the audience can pay more 

attention on taking as much information about the scene as possible.

4)Text/font

The text is in the font of graffiti, this fits the cast of the film and the setting of the film very well as the film is mainly about 

gangs -which are associated with vandalism and graffiti. The text also helps set the scene as in the area that the film is set 

there is a lot of graffiti and vandalism.  The red font could signify blood or danger among the cast which portrays the casts 

future in the film among the audience. The title of 'The Warriors' is the only text that is large among the title sequence, this 

is due to the fact that the director does not want this t go unnoticed, the members of the cast who helped produce the film 

are in a smaller font as the director does not want to cover any of the mise-en-scene with text that is not as important as 

the title. The negative space that has been used to contain the text is effective as when it is covered up by the words it 

does not cover any of the information that could be taken in by the audience on screen. 

5)Main characters

The main characters of the film are shown in the opening, the audience 

can identify that they are the main characters as they appear the most and 

also have dialogue among the opening sequence. One of the main 

characters appears to be the 'leader' of the cast, this is due to the other 

members asking him lots of questions during the clip and him having the 

knowledge to answer back. As well as, this character is the one telling the 

rest of the cast where they are going to which also proves leadership 

among them. Some of the casts characters are shown in the opening and 

their characteristics are shown in a short clip. This helps the audience 

understand what each character is like and therefore gain a further 

understanding of the story and characters. 

6)Technical codes

The opening starts with an establishing shot of the train coming into the station, this is effective as it sets the 

scene for the audience by showing them where the film is starting and it also allows them to be able to get a 

picture in their head about the economy of this certain area. the next shot is a close up of the main 

characters of the opening with a fair ground ride behind him, the depth of field is shown to have him in the 

foreground and the focus on him therefore the ride being very blurry behind him so the audience can only 

see the colours of the ride. The ride is shown to be very symbolic as it is already shown twice in the opening 

scene in a short period of time. It is also shown along with the title of the film at the start of the opening. An 

over the shoulder shot is used several times in order to show conversation between two characters, the 180 

degree rule is used several times in order to show the audience they are talking and to also stop confusion 

among the audience. 

7)Mise en scene

The main characters in the opening are all dressed in similar attire, this is due to the 

film reflecting that this group are a 'gang' in the city that the film is set. The gang lifestyle is 

reflected through the number of crimes and harassment that is present throughout the film. 

An example of crimes in the opening would be the amount of graffiti on the train and around 

the surrounding areas. Lots of the clips in the opening involve other gangs around the city, 

this is shown through the way that they act and also that they are all also in similar attire to 

one another. The whole opening is set during the night, this gives it a dull tone and therefore 

gives it a more impacting start due to the audience not focusing on the background as they 

cannot see it but rather on the characters and surrounding

8)Impact on audience

The overall impact on the audience changes throughout the audience, this is due to the tense music at the start further 

developing into a fast paced and action based piece. The characters actions also change the way the audience feels as 

when they are seriously talking about their journey the audience would be feeling tense but however once they get onto 

the train and start messing around the audience would feel more at ease with the situation. This opening is effective at 

setting up the story for the audience overall due to the minimal dialogue which doesn't make the audience stop listening 

and also does not include any unneeded dialogue to set the story.