The Wanderers

"It was The Wanderers against the world ... and the world never had a chance!"

1979 1h 57m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 238

Drama

Synopsis

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The streets of the Bronx are owned by '60s youth gangs where the joy and pain of adolescence is lived. Philip Kaufman tells his take on the novel by Richard Price about the history of the Italian-American gang ‘The Wanderers.’

“It was The Wanderers against the world ... and the world never had a chance!”

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Cast

Ken Wahl
Richie
John Friedrich
Joey
Karen Allen
Nina
Toni Kalem
Despie Galasso
Alan Rosenberg
Turkey
Jim Youngs
Buddy
Tony Ganios
Perry
Linda Manz
Peewee

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Philip Kaufman
Writers: Rose Kaufman, Philip Kaufman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

Did you know

47 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Philip Kaufman, shot by Michael Chapman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ronald Roose shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Ken Wahl and John Friedrich and Karen Allen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It was The Wanderers against the world ... and the world never had a chance!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0080117 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Philip Kaufman directs. Michael Chapman behind the camera. Ronald Roose cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

147 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Philip Kaufman, shot by Michael Chapman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Editor Ronald Roose shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
4Ken Wahl and John Friedrich and Karen Allen carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "It was The Wanderers against the world ... and the world never had a chance!".
6IMDB entry: tt0080117 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Chapman
Editing: Ronald Roose
Production design: John Jay Moore
Costume design: Robert De Mora
Makeup / hair: Enrico A. Cortese
Stunt coordinator: Victor Magnotta
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $23,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Wanderers (1979)

Also by

Philip Kaufman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-07-10
★ 8/10
Rumble in the Bronx. The Wanderers, an Italian street gang in the Bronx 1963, preparing for a rumble with rival gang the Del-Bombers, try to enlist other gangs to help their cause. However, as the times are a changing, The Wanderers and all the other gangs of the city must come to terms with pending adulthood, and, the ending of an era. Directed by Phillip Kaufman, this adaptation of Richard Price's novel stands up as one of the best pictures to deal with gang culture. Laced with crackling adolescent humour, and sublimely sound tracked, The Wanderers triumphs better than most because it captures the time frame perfectly. Encompassing the killing of JFK, and subtly showing (during an hilarious sequence) the enlisting of ignorant youths into the Marines, to be carted off to Vietnam no doubt, The Wanderers has far more to offer than merely angst and high school jinx. The cast are surprisingly strong, Ken Wahl, Karen Allen, Tony Ganios and Erland van Lidth all shine in their respective roles, whilst Kaufman directs with a knowing sense of purpose of the thematics to hand. All of which culminates in a quite eerie final third as the deadly Ducky Boys enter the fray. Not quite as serious as The Warriors, which was released the same year, it's a film that much like this one now feels part of my teen education. The Wanderers is however the smarter picture of the two in terms of substance. The coming together at the finale, the racial harmony bursting out from the screen, is and always should be eternally embraced. All together now, "I'm the type of guy who will never settle down" 8/10
griggs792025-03-28
★ 6/10
The Wanderers definitely isn’t perfect—some moments felt awkward and dated, especially that uncomfortable racist word battle, which made me cringe more than once. But if I look past those issues, there’s plenty here to enjoy, particularly as a lively jukebox film with echoes of American Graffiti and The Last Picture Show. It nailed the nostalgic beats for me, nicely capturing teenage friendships, rivalries, and classic coming-of-age drama. I could sense the director’s genuine fondness for his 60s youth, balanced with a welcome dash of 70s/80s grit. Sure, it’s uneven, occasionally clumsy, and won’t win prizes for subtlety, but the cracking soundtrack alone kept me hooked. If, like me, you’re partial to movies that whisk you back to a slightly romanticised past, you could do far worse than spending an evening with this one. Imperfect, yes, but undeniably good fun.