One of a number of 1979 "gang movies" which were first released in that year. The other films were Chicanos gang (1979), Les Guerriers de la nuit (1979) and Les seigneurs (1979). Then hot on the heels in 1980 came John Carpenter's New-York 1997 (1981).).
Added to the National Film Registry, December 2017.
Marta DuBois's debut.
The film was heavily protested by a variety of activists, including anti-racism campaigners and anarchists, who claimed (without having seen the movie) that it was a typical anti-Latino film which presented inner-city residents as pawns to be used by the capitalist elite. Roger Ebert, while giving the movie a mixed review on his TV show, made a point of stating that the protesters didn't know what they were talking about. He said the movie showed good and flawed characters trying to deal with a world of senseless, worthless tribalism and violence, and did not make any of the blood and conflicts in the movie look exciting or glamorous.