Streets of FireHow far would you go to save the girl you left behind? Streets of Fire is a stylized action movie and musical described as a "rock and roll fable", co-written and directed by Walter Hill. It is the story of tough ex-soldier Tom Cody (Michael Paré), who comes home to the industrial city of Richmond at the behest of his sister, Reva (Deborah Van Valkenburgh), after Tom's ex-girlfriend and rock star, Ellen Aim (Diane Lane), is abducted by Raven Shaddock (Willem Dafoe), the leader of a band of rowdy bikers who call themselves the "Bombers". Struggling with his lingering feelings for Ellen, Tom embarks on an explosive mission to rescue her.
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There are few filmmakers who have the kind of raw nerve to make a movie with such a unique sense of identity like Walter Hill has done with Streets of Fire. Like his earlier cult classic, The Warriors, Streets of Fire seems to exist outside of the normal space-time continuum, embodying stylistic motifs of both the 1980s and 1950s simultaneously; from the start, the film boldly proclaims the story is of "another time, another place". But Streets of Fire stays consistent with its anachronistic flourishes. The cars look half a century old, as does the flattop haircut sported by local bartender, Clyde (Bill Paxton), while the neon glow drenching the rain-slick streets of Richmond--beneath an endless elevated train--is more contemporary (for the time the film was released). The soundtrack for Streets of Fire is a standout feature; songs are often performed in their entirety, giving it a kind of "MTV" sensibility, with music ranging from rockabilly to pop ballads. Ellen performs songs like "Nowhere Fast" and "Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young" with a magnetic stage presence befitting her rock star persona, emulating musical artists like Bonnie Tyler or Stevie Nicks. Other acts include "The Sorels"--who perform Dan Hartman's "I Can Dream About You" (which ended up becoming a chart-topping hit due to the film)--and they carry themselves with more of a "doo-wop" style. Characters exist as archetypes in Streets of Fire, like larger than life embodiments of classic cinematic figures. Tom Cody, with his cool indifference and tough-guy persona would hardly be out of place in a Western as a Clint Eastwood or John Wayne type, and his gravelly voice and slightly sardonic wit makes him sound like the return of Robert Mitchum. Raven is the quintessential greaser, dressed in all leather clothes, with a persistent, menacing smirk on his pale face--he oozes trouble out of every pore. We immediately get what we need to know about these characters as a result of their exaggerated depictions. Ellen's manager (and current boyfriend), Billy Fish (Rick Moranis), comes across as a money-grubbing weasel between his bow tie, thick-framed glasses, and his condescending attitude. So when Tom decides to coax Fish to pay him ten grand as an "incentive" to rescue Ellen, the extortion seems a little more justifiable.
Writers Walter Hill and Larry Gross have described Streets of Fire as a combination of a rock and roll musical in a comic book world. While the sets look deliberately staged, this gives them a sense of heightened reality. Large, industrial pillars rise up out of the ground, and billowing steam rises from the vents along the streets. Even the dialogue in Streets of Fire flows like a different language, with subtleties and intonations perhaps from some other dimension...the "another time" and "another place" where this realm that straddles the Fifties and the Eighties exists. Sharp cutaways and fast-moving action give the film a rock and roll tempo and adrenaline-infused energy, evidenced by the bold rock concert opening of Ellen Aim and her band, The Attackers. The opening montage is so electrifying that it was homaged in the first episode of the classic anime series, "Bubblegum Crisis". And the action packed story of a hero named "Cody" rescuing his lovely girlfriend from a gang of depraved thugs in the slums of the city no doubt inspired the classic beat 'em up video game, "Final Fight".
Tom is a bit of an anti-hero; he's willing to brave "the Battery"--the bad part of town--and confront the Bombers at a dive bar called Torchie's to rescue Ellen. But he's also not above stealing a nice car for the sport of it...or even the Sorels' busted-up bus under the threat of violence. It's clear that Tom's never really gotten over Ellen. He's cold--even short--with her after he rescues her, as if he blames her for his broken heart, while she tries to figure out what she "did wrong" to make him leave her two years prior and join the Army. Tom hasn't forgiven himself for making this mistake, and now has to confront the fact that she has had to move on without him. His relationship with Ellen and the love triangle between her and Billy Fish is fundamentally the same as that of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, with the tortured protagonist using the same kind of confused resentment as his medicine to try to numb the pain in his heart. Tom befriends a former soldier named McCoy (Amy Madigan), a tough and sarcastic woman whose motor pool experience makes her a valuable asset in his raid on Torchie's. But after their successful return to Richmond, Tom is so filled with self-pity and anger at pushing Ellen away that he also fails to recognize the sympathy McCoy shows him over his broken heart. Going into deadly combat, blowing up motorcycles with a rifle...these things seem to come easy to Tom; but with matters of the heart, he flounders to find the words to express himself, and this is his biggest conflict.
Recommended for: Fans of a hybrid of assorted films genres--from action, musical, neo-noir, even occasional comedy--all rolled into one delirious package, that somehow emerges with its own unique identity. This unique combination makes Streets of Fire a film that may not immediately engage all audiences, but it makes a bold, well-defined statement that warrants repeat viewing.
Writers Walter Hill and Larry Gross have described Streets of Fire as a combination of a rock and roll musical in a comic book world. While the sets look deliberately staged, this gives them a sense of heightened reality. Large, industrial pillars rise up out of the ground, and billowing steam rises from the vents along the streets. Even the dialogue in Streets of Fire flows like a different language, with subtleties and intonations perhaps from some other dimension...the "another time" and "another place" where this realm that straddles the Fifties and the Eighties exists. Sharp cutaways and fast-moving action give the film a rock and roll tempo and adrenaline-infused energy, evidenced by the bold rock concert opening of Ellen Aim and her band, The Attackers. The opening montage is so electrifying that it was homaged in the first episode of the classic anime series, "Bubblegum Crisis". And the action packed story of a hero named "Cody" rescuing his lovely girlfriend from a gang of depraved thugs in the slums of the city no doubt inspired the classic beat 'em up video game, "Final Fight".
Tom is a bit of an anti-hero; he's willing to brave "the Battery"--the bad part of town--and confront the Bombers at a dive bar called Torchie's to rescue Ellen. But he's also not above stealing a nice car for the sport of it...or even the Sorels' busted-up bus under the threat of violence. It's clear that Tom's never really gotten over Ellen. He's cold--even short--with her after he rescues her, as if he blames her for his broken heart, while she tries to figure out what she "did wrong" to make him leave her two years prior and join the Army. Tom hasn't forgiven himself for making this mistake, and now has to confront the fact that she has had to move on without him. His relationship with Ellen and the love triangle between her and Billy Fish is fundamentally the same as that of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, with the tortured protagonist using the same kind of confused resentment as his medicine to try to numb the pain in his heart. Tom befriends a former soldier named McCoy (Amy Madigan), a tough and sarcastic woman whose motor pool experience makes her a valuable asset in his raid on Torchie's. But after their successful return to Richmond, Tom is so filled with self-pity and anger at pushing Ellen away that he also fails to recognize the sympathy McCoy shows him over his broken heart. Going into deadly combat, blowing up motorcycles with a rifle...these things seem to come easy to Tom; but with matters of the heart, he flounders to find the words to express himself, and this is his biggest conflict.
Recommended for: Fans of a hybrid of assorted films genres--from action, musical, neo-noir, even occasional comedy--all rolled into one delirious package, that somehow emerges with its own unique identity. This unique combination makes Streets of Fire a film that may not immediately engage all audiences, but it makes a bold, well-defined statement that warrants repeat viewing.