Streets of Fire (Widescreen): Amazon.ca: Michael Par�, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, Willem Dafoe, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Richard Lawson, Rick Rossovich, Bill Paxton, Lee Ving, Stoney Jackson, Grand L. Bush, Andrew Laszlo, Walter Hill, Gene Levy, Joel Silver, Lawrence Gordon, Mae Woods, Larry Gross: DVD

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Walter Hill's updated (1984), highly stylized take on biker movies still looks like a determinedly eccentric project that happens to work at times, but not at others. Michael Paré plays a biker who agrees to rescue his ex-girlfriend (a rocker played by Diane Lane) from kidnappers (led by Willem Dafoe). The ensuing battle against a nocturnal background of industrial blight, chrome, and loud music is like some fever dream of a Springsteen fan who listened to the song "Born to Run" far too often. The audacity of the film carries it a long way even after it becomes clear that Hill's experiment is crumbling under its own weight. Dafoe, who looked even spookier back then than he does now, is memorable, as are Amy Madigan and Rick Moranis. Music is by Ry Cooder, with an appearance by the Blasters. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, optional French soundtrack, optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

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Customer Reviews

54 Reviews

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (54 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "You can kiss your baby goodbye.", Feb 24 2004

By

Found Highways (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Streets of Fire (VHS Tape)

If you recognize the name Ellen Aim you know your cult sci-fi rock movies, or, as director Walter Hill called his 1984 film Streets of Fire, your "rock and roll fable[s]."

Ellen Aim and the Attackers are a band that plays in an alternate version of the eighties, or maybe an alternate version of the fifties. It's either the eighties that couldn't let go of Elvis and pre-British Invasion rock and roll, or it's the fifties anticipating an urban underclass where everyone is on the edge of violence. Walter Hill loads the movie with a retro neon look, blending genres, similar to what he did in 1979's The Warriors, where he mixed the post-war social-issue movie with the seventies exploitation film, along with some ancient Greek history. (As Cyrus, the would-be savior of all the warrior gangs, booms at us, "Can you dig it?")

Michael Pare (as Tom Cody) stars in Streets of Fire. Cody's just out of the army in a what-if America that still has the social restraints from fifties Tab Hunter movies, but wallows in the corruption and depravity of Reagan's eighties. On this particular morning in America it's raining and everyone's on the verge of killing someone. Willem Dafoe's first appearance as Raven, the villain in black rubber, fresh from God knows what perversity, to the song "One Bad Stud" performed by the Blasters ("If he likes your baby, you can kiss your baby goodbye"), may be what got him typecast as a psycho in so many movies.

But in a fifties movie there has to be a love story. You can't have a guy without a girl. There has to be a Natalie Wood for James Dean, even if the romance is between James Dean and Sal Mineo. In Streets of Fire, Michael Pare's Natalie Wood is Diane Lane as singer Ellen, who Aims her Attack straight at your heart while she caresses one of those old round microphones that look like a hood ornament. Raven kidnaps Ellen and her old boyfriend Tom Cody (Buffalo Bill to the rescue) is called to save her. Unfortunately, Lane doesn't get to do much more than play the frail here.

Cody's real emotional connection is with McCoy (Amy Madigan), another vet who makes Cody hire her to rescue Ellen. McCoy brushes off Cody's half-hearted passes with "You're not my type." McCoy wears greasy old clothes and fixes cars better than Cody so I think I get the point. Especially when McCoy leers at a female nude dancer at the club where Ellen is being held. It seems like the movie was going to be more explicit about McCoy's sexuality but chickened out.

I won't spoil the story but you know how it ends.

I have a soft spot for movies that are original, even if they're not entirely successful. The music's good, the look of the film pulls you into its unique world, and the story is one of those mythic restatements that move you even when you know they're corny.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Grows on you kind of flick!", Feb 29 2004

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Tracey L. Cordero "CrimsonDusk" (Abilene, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Streets of Fire (Widescreen) (DVD)

Ok...when I first saw this movie the first thing out of my mouth was..."Ok...what was that all about?" lol...but after watching it again...and being a really big (self-proclaimed) Michael Pare fan, I gave it another try, and was really suprised that I enjoyed it! It grows on you...it's a "You can't help but love it" kind of film! The more you watch it, it becomes a guilty pleasure! A must see...if you like the kind of movie that you can love, and still think..."WOW...I really like that?!?!?!"

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Terrible Movie That You Can't Help But Love, Jan 9 2002

By

Logan Albright "thellama73" (Marietta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Streets of Fire (Widescreen) (DVD)

Personally, I really like Streets Of Fire, but strictly speaking, it's terrible. The script is really bad and the dialogue is some of the worst I've ever heard. However, it can be very fun to watch. The cinematography is excellent, and the beginning and ending concert scenes are the reason I bought this dvd in the first place (I'm a huge Jim Steinman fan). It really is fun to grab a few friends and some snacks and just laugh at Rick Moranis and Michael Pare overacting their corny lines. It also has Elizabeth Daily, whom you may know as the voice of Buttercup on The Powerpuff Girls. I love her! She's a joy to watch. I was dissapointed in the lack of special features on the dvd, and somehow I don't think there will be a special edition version. But hey, it's always amusing to watch corny dialogue transform into corny French dialogue, right?
Simply put, if you're a fan of cheesy movies and you don't take things too seriously, you will probably get a kick out of this film.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Streets of Fire
Older movie I always wanted to have. I love Diane Lane and she look pretty good in that movie. I also love the songs throughout the movie

Published on Jan 5 2010 by Mario J. P. Croft

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, cheesy but the best kind though...
I truly love this movie, even though it is chock full of horrible writing and over acting, but all of this is done in a very cool way. Read more

Published on Dec 31 2003 by J. Meinecke