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Once Were Warriors
Directed by
Lee Tamahori
R
1995
1h 39m
Drama
,
Crime
7.9
93%
95%
7.4
Add to Watchlist
A family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
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Where to Watch Once Were Warriors
Hoopla
Free
Film Movement Plus
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Film Movement Plus Amazon Channel
Subscription
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Cast of Once Were Warriors
Rena Owen
Beth Heke
Temuera Morrison
Jake Heke
Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell
Grace Heke
Julian Arahanga
Nig Heke
Taungaroa Emile
Mark 'Boogie' Heke
Rachael Morris Jr.
Polly Heke
Joseph Kairau
Huata Heke
Cliff Curtis
Bully
Pete Smith
Dooley
George Henare
Bennett
Mere Boynton
Mavis
Shannon Williams
Toot
Calvin Tuteao
Taka
Ray Bishop
King Hitter
Ian Mune
Judge
Robert Pollock
Policeman
Donald V. Allen
Jake's Mate (as Donald Allen)
Lee Tamahori
Director
Riwia Brown
Screenplay
Robin Scholes
Producer
Once Were Warriors Ratings & Reviews
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
Once Were Warriors has more to say than the traditional TV-movie about spousal abuse. But some viewers will have to pay a price: This is a movie that requires strength and fortitude to sit through.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Roger Hurlburt
Once Were Warriors is a savage and dismaying tale of a venerable culture in decay and a film difficult to recommend.
Seattle Times
John Hartl
Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, who plays Grace, had never acted before, and neither have a couple of the other key players. But under the careful direction of television veteran Lee Tamahori, they all do credible and forceful work.
Baltimore Sun
Stephen Hunter
It's a fine, fierce and nearly unforgettable movie.
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
A gritty, powerful first feature by Lee Tamahori.
TV Guide
There's little new here, but uniformly powerful performances (especially Owen's) give the tale unexpected power and depth.
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
The howling raging energy of the prize-winning New Zealand film Once Were Warriors rushes at you, hits you like a smack in the face.
Reel Film Reviews
David Nusair
The film isn't, ultimately, quite able to reach the heights attained by its star...
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
The violence in Once Were Warriors (Fine Line, R), a tumultuous domestic drama from New Zealand, erupts with terrifying suddenness.
Variety
David Stratton
The barren lives of members of an urban Maori family are rigorously exposed in this rugged and painful picture, based on Alan Duff's novel.
Newsweek
David Ansen
The urban Maori milieu, however, is something we haven't seen before, and the images stay with you.
EmanuelLevy.Com
Emanuel Levy
One of the most powerful, ultra-realistic dramas about domestic violence--As the battered wife, Rena Welson should have received a Best Actress nomination.
New York Times
Janet Maslin
Left floundering in an inhospitable urban world, they have lost touch with their tribal past to become part of a rootless global subculture. The misery seen here would be familiar anywhere.
San Francisco Chronicle
Edward Guthmann
A gut-grabber from New Zealand ... that stays with you for days.
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
As often happens when films are intent on getting a message across, Once Were Warriors can't stop itself from overdoing things.
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
It is powerful and chilling, and directed by Lee Tamahori with such narrative momentum that we are swept along in the enveloping tragedy of the family's life.
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
The film's searing performances are matched by the lovely camerawork of cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh.
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
Reserve judgment until this raw, uncompromising working-class saga is over, and you might find yourself unforgettably moved -- and grateful for the experience.
The New Republic
Stanley Kauffmann
Yet familiar as the pattern is ... the film holds because of the acting and because it functions as travelogue.
Washington Post
Rita Kempley
The actors, many of them of European-Maori descent, are wonderful to look at. They also deliver authoritative yet sympathetic performances that get at the roots, or rootlessness, of their characters.
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