Fresh from the success of his 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, director Philip Kaufman shifted gears for this lyrical, serio-comic adaptation of Richard Price's acclaimed debut novel about an Italian-American greaser gang coming of age in the streets of The Bronx in the early 1960s. In his charismatic film debut, future Wiseguy star Ken Wahl plays Richie, the proverbial leader of the pack, while Linda Manz (Days of Heaven) nearly steals the film out from under him as the pint-sized girlfriend of a Hercules-size rival gang leader. Rumbles aplenty ensue in this latter-day West Side Story - arguably the best of the late 1970s explosion of gang pictures - with Leonard Bernstein replaced by the jukebox hits of the era, including "Do You Love Me," "Soldier Boy," "Wipe Out," and "Tequilia." Co-starring a pre-Raiders of the Lost Ark Karen Allen as a nice girl from the right side of the tracks, The Wanderers is an American classic whose time has come.
Join Miami Herald film critic Rene Rodríguez for a Skype Q&A as he discusses Philip Kaufman's beloved cult movie with the master director himself.