Streets of Fire, 1984.
Directed by Walter Hill.
Starring Willem Dafoe, Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Bill Paxton and Mykelti Williamson.
SYNOPSIS:
A mercenary goes after his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a gang.
By prefacing the film with the words “another time, another place…” Walter Hill allows himself the freedom to mesh 1950s cars with 1980s fashion and spit out a world that is both unique yet familiar. Neon and metal crash in every exterior and like Hill’s earlier work The Warriors, there isn’t a street in the entire city you’d risk walking down alone.
As any good rock and roll fable should, Streets of Fire opens with a catchy, fist-pumping power ballad, courtesy of Ellen Aim (Diane Lane); a big league rock chick performing a benefit concert in her run-down home town. Unfortunately not all her fans are happy go lucky locals. Willem Dafoe becomes mega-creep Raven Shaddock – leader of an evil biker gang who’s intent on dragging Ellen back to his hideout. Snatching the singer off stage (but thankfully not until she’s finished her big number), Raven rides off into the night with his new prize, leaving boyfriend and manager Billy Fish (Rick Moranis) to devise a rescue plan. Unfortunately Billy is no gang brawler, but he does have enough money to pay Ellen’s ex boyfriend/all round tough guy Tom Cody (Michael Paré) to cash in as the hero.
And that’s the plot in a nutshell; sneak into the lion’s den, grab the girl and then get out in an explosion of fire and glory. The pacing and dialogue may be a little more clunky than The Warriors, but the theatrical B-movie fun is still there in every exploding motorbike and window-smashing fight.
The film was originally planned to be the first in a trilogy titled “The Adventures of Tom Cody” but after Streets of Fire sadly flopped on its release, the follow ups were cancelled. Perhaps audiences struggled to embrace the cheesy comebacks (every character has a crappy one-liner up his sleeve) or maybe the sight of Dafoe in PVC dungarees was enough to scare viewers away. Regardless, its failure to impress in cinemas shouldn’t deter you. For every story flaw and creaky line there’s a killer song or a badass showdown ready to distract, and everyone should see those dungarees at least once.
Almost thirty years after its original release the film has aged surprisingly well and despite its slow beginnings, Streets has thankfully developed enough of a cult following to justify this Blu-ray release. It’s silly, it’s scruffy, and as long as you don’t take it too seriously, it’s a helluva lot of fun.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Sushan Mansley
Originally published November 18, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
