The film is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Price; its screenplay was written by Philip Kaufman and his wife Rose.

After filming the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Kaufman went to New York City and successfully pitched The Wanderers to Martin Ransohoff.

[3] The film's increasing popularity and cult status led to The Wanderers being given a theatrical re-release in the U.S. by Warner Bros. in 1996.

Before Turkey can ask, Terror's girlfriend Peewee overhears Joey insulting the Baldies, calling them a "bunch of pricks with ears".

After being cornered, the Wanderers are helped by a tough stranger named Perry, who has recently moved to the Bronx from New Jersey.

With no other options, Richie asks his girlfriend's father, alleged local mafia boss Chubby Galasso, who agrees to help solve the gangs' dispute.

Before reporting for training, they decide to crash Despie's party, where Turkey—who has recently joined the Baldies—is told to draw the Wanderers outside.

In school, while the Wanderers are mourning Turkey's death, the rest of the gang oust Richie for sleeping with Joey's date Nina.

In the climax, we discover the Wanderers and the Del Bombers are settling their dispute not with a street fight but with a football game organized by Chubby.

The remaining players join forces with spectator gangs in the stands, including one called the Wongs and even Emilio.

Additional actors include Olympia Dukakis as Joey's Mother,[8] the novel's author Richard Price as a Hustler,[9] Wayne Knight (in his film debut) as a Waiter,[10] and Faith Minton as The Big Lady.

Academy Award-winning producer Scott Rudin was the film's casting director who found Erland van Lidth and Linda Manz.

The film was the acting debut of four cast members; Ken Wahl, Tony Ganios, Erland van Lidth and Michael Wright.

Kaufman intentionally cast unknown actors; someone sent a photograph of Wahl on his way to his job in a pizza parlor to Rudin, thinking he could play one of the smaller roles in the film.

[4] To cast the role of Perry LaGuardia, Kaufman telephoned every gymnasium around New York asking for a "six-foot, four inch, 18 year-old kid".

"[4] Rose Kaufman eventually told them to "fuck off",[15] which nearly resulted in a brawl between the former gang members, Wahl and several other actors.

[15]The final battle with the Ducky Boys, which takes place during a football game, was filmed in Van Cortlandt Park.

[13] When asked further about this scene, Ganios said: The final fight with the Ducky Boys was absolutely wild, [and] for all practical purposes it was real.

[7] In 2012, the director's cut of The Wanderers was screened to the Film Society at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

After an advance screening on December 31, 1978, Variety praised it, saying that "despite" the "uneasy blend of nostalgia and violence", The Wanderers "is a well-made and impressive film".

[5] Janet Maslin of The New York Times criticized the film in her 1979 review, saying "the movie never attempts to tell a single story" and instead "settles for a string of boisterous vignettes, which are heaped carelessly atop one another without any consistent scheme".

[6] A number of critics praised the film, including Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle, after its 1996 theatrical re-release.

Stack noted Kaufman's talent for effectively changing the film's tone and praised the acting abilities of Wahl and Ganios.

[18] Time Out praised the film, saying it "deliver[s] some great, gross, comic book capers; and rock history gets its most intelligent illustration since Mean Streets".

[20] In 1988, Danny Peary said the film's "sensitive depiction" of teenagers coming-of-age was partly responsible for its cult status.

[25] The film features Bob Dylan performing "The Times They Are a-Changin'", but the song was not included on the soundtrack album.