The movie was named after a Bruce Springsteen track from his album Darkness on the Edge of Town. The producers made several attempts to secure the rights to use the song in the climatic finale and finally, when the deal was almost done and the Boss was on board, they told him that they were gonna have the film characters perform it on-screen. The Boss balked and that's how a movie named for one of his songs lost the rights to use said song.
Billed as "A Rock & Roll Fable...from another time, another place", Streets Of Fire was heavily promoted with hopes of being a blockbuster in the Summer of 1984. With a budget of nearly $15M it barely made half of that at the box office. HERC did his part to insure the financial success of the movie, squiring no less than four young women to the cinema a total of six times, including a Midnight Movies screening, before it disappeared from the local cinemas.
The trailer admittedly does not paint a favorable picture, stressing the abduction above all else but it does feature a cast of relatively unknown actors and actresses, most of whom went on to bigger and better things.
Wearing what appear to be high hip-waders throughout the film, Willem DaFoe is a sick and twisted dude named Raven. Diane Lane, as singer Ellen Aim, had just turned 18 when filming began in 1983 yet she brought a seasoned toughness and tender vulnerability to the role. Michael Pare as our hero, Tom Cody, was the tough, silent type. His first film, Eddie & the Cruisers, featured Bruce Springsteen sound-alikes on the soundtrack but had bombed at the box office nine months earlier. <HERC liked it.>
Rounding out the supporting cast were Ric Moranis before he shrunk the kids; Amy Madigan in a sidekick role originally written for a heavyset male and Ed Begley Jr as an alley dweller. Bill Paxton, Robert Townsend and Mykeletti Williams have tiny roles. E.G. Daily also plays a small role as one of Ellen's biggest fans - close your eyes and listen to her voice. Does it sound familiar? She later went on to fame as one of the primary voices on "Rugrats".
Plot is paper thin: Bad Guy kidnaps girl singer off of stage in middle of concert. Girl singer's ex-boyfriend comes back to town and rescues girl singer back from under Bad Guy's nose. Bad Guy and Ex-Boyfriend fight with sledge hammers. Girl singer performs another concert.
HERC likes Streets Of Fire for three reasons: 1) the dialogue is old school "tough guy" tough without resorting to profanity; 2) the music performances in the movie and on the soundtrack album and 3) the whole look and atmosphere of the film - dark, moody, wet, neon.
HERC likes Streets Of Fire for three reasons: 1) the dialogue is old school "tough guy" tough without resorting to profanity; 2) the music performances in the movie and on the soundtrack album and 3) the whole look and atmosphere of the film - dark, moody, wet, neon.
Part of the studio's bid for summer blockbuster-ness was a companion video Music Videos and Inside Streets Of Fire released on VHS. It featured three music videos and a short documentary (above) on making the movie. It has never been re-issued in a digital format although it would make for a perfect set of Bonus Features. Through the generosity of You Tube users, HERC is proud to offer the contents of that tape to you via blog magic.
For HERC's Mix of the soundtrack, he rearranged the sequence so the songs play in the order they do in the movie and tacked on a few bonus tracks at the end. Enjoy!
POP QUIZ: Raise your hand if you knew that Streets Of Fire was the first of a planned trilogy? Keep your hands up if you knew that the projected titles of the two sequels were The Far City and Cody's Return and that the disappointing box office of the original put the kabosh on the follow-ups.
Alrighty then, here's an extra credit stumper for those of you with your hands still up in the air: Who knew that there is actually an unofficial remake/sequel to Streets Of Fire starring Michael Pare as Cody and Deborah Van Valkenburgh (who played Tom Cody's sister Reva in the original and has not aged well) as his sister? Didn't think so. Although the poster [HERE] looks straight to video bleak - serial killer, spree killers and "introducing Roxy Gunn as Ellen" - the trailer makes it look much, MUCH worse.
Watch videos below at your own risk -
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
(emdedding disabled so link provided)
I never liked this movie, but I watched it only once because I liked Diane Lane. That was years ago. I'll have to watch it again someday.
ReplyDeleteI remember this film because it was released right before the summer of 1984, and I had just moved from Honolulu. My family went to Universal Studios and we did the tour. Our tour guide mentioned that we were looking at the back drop for all of the city scenes in STREETS OF FIRE, "the biggest film of the summer". At least that's what they wanted us to believe. I do remember it being pushed and some of the songs were already gaining airplay on radio and TV, but "biggest"? Nonetheless, the guide also stated that all of the evening city shots in the film were primarily shot in the morning and afternoon. They were on a bit of a budget and did not want to wait around for the actual evening to shoot, because that meant having to pay the crew extra. Anyway, they would block out the sun with tarp, which meant surrounding the city (or the section of the city) as if it was THE SIMPSONS MOVIE or something. Then they shot the scenes and went home. It seems laugable since anyone who has ever visited Universal Studios knows that that section on that mountain (or hill or whatever it is) is quite nice, and probably very visual in the evening. They didn't care or bother. So when anyone ever watches STREETS OF FIRE and gets caught into how dark and eerie the evening shots look, keep in mind it was probably an hour before lunch.