Boulevard Nights (1979) - Warner Archive Collection

You haven’t seen the true “colors” of vicious gang life in Los Angeles unless you’ve also seen Boulevard Nights. From Executive Producer Tony Bill (The Sting, Taxi Driver) comes this gritty drama that remains timely and powerful as when it first appeared in 1979. Said Bill: “Everything in this film is authentic. We’ve broken important new ground”. Today, the continuing problem of gang activity re-emphasizes the importance of this trailblazing film. It’s itsight into gang life remains vital. Boulevard Nights’ gang members are cholos from the city’s Mexican-American barrios, with the film taking a point of view of the gang kids themselves. Two of those kids are the Avila brothers. Raymond Avila (Richard Yniguez) is an ex-gang member trying to build a better life. Kid brother Chuco (Danny De La Paz) is a sullen low-rider, wasting his days with his angel-dusted gang. In spite of their differences, the brothers are bound by strong family ties. But those ties are violently tested when rivals challenge Chuco’s gang….and ignite a full-blown neighborhood war. In 2017 the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”