Review for Streets of Fire

Streets of Fire
Director: Walter Hill

"You got a better volunteer?”

Introduction

In 1984. Film director and Sam Peckinpah protegee Walter Hill, was riding high. His 1978 masterpiece, The Driver, had been a flop, but he bounced back a year later with the seminal, The Warriors. Coming off the success of that, Hill enjoyed critical applause for his 1980 and 1981 classics, The Long Riders, and Southern Comfort respectively.
However, it was 1982 that really established Hill's success at the box office, with the hit Eddie Murphy vehicle, 48 Hours. One of the best "buddy-cop" films of the decade, it excelled thanks to a mixture of genuine wit and exciting action- traits that Hill had masterfully adapted from his more serious efforts.

Hot on the heels of 48 Hours, came Streets of Fire, a fairly size-able budgeted fantasy actioner that harked back to the Warriors, and would prove the perfect example of Hill's ability to present the themes of Westerns, in any genre. Over the years, the film has garnered itself a cult reputation, despite being more widely regarded only for the outstanding soundtrack. Much like the vast majority of Walter Hill's efforts though, Streets of Fire is ripe for rediscovery and revaluation.

Film

Ella Aim (Diane Lane) is lead singer of Ella Aim & The Attackers. In her oddly unidentified violence hotpot of a home-town, she's kidnapped during a benefit gig, by a gang of merciless bikers. Boyfriend/Manager Billy Fish (Rick Moranis) is powerless to stop the assault as the gang terrorize audience members, led by Raven Shaddock (Willem Dafoe). Fortunately, there's one man who can do the job of rescuing Aim, ex-boyfriend, Tom Cody (Michael Paré). He's contacted by his sister, Reva (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) who was caught up in the incident. Cody ends up hooking up with McCoy (Amy Madigan) in a bar, a tough-talking grunt looking for work. She and Tom meet the politically incorrect Fish, and cut a deal to track down and rescue Aim. This pursuit however, is the only the beginning of Cody's battle with Shaddock's gang.

The cast is a cracking ensemble, Paré himself, Willem Dafoe, Rick Moranis, the beautiful Diane Lane, action stalwart Rick Rossovich, and Bill Paxton combining to produce a tasty combination of the respectable, and more cult-like figures. Elizabeth Daily, so memorable as Candy in The Devil's Rejects, adds a likably naive presence here as Baby Doll. Meanwhile, minor appearances for the likes of Mykelti Williamson ("Bubba" of Forrest Gump fame, who was so good as Al Pacino's right hand man in Heat), and Grand L.Bush (perennial authority figure in Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, who also appeared in Forrest Gump incidentally), as members of "The Sorels", a doo-wop band, are hugely pleasing supporting performances.
When he first slaps about a bunch of punks in the diner, it's a terrifically edited piece of business, brilliantly introducing the character of Tom Cody as a likable anti-hero. Willem Dafoe is a cracking counterpart; at one point emerging from a wall of flames, clad in a ludicrous pair of PVC dungarees.

From the outset, characters are cleanly defined; Moranis is the weasely Billy Fish, Ellen's repugnant boyfriend and manager, a twerp whose first lines makes his intent clear "I could be making real money", he drones.
Diane Lane, as she so often did throughout the Eighties, exudes astonishing presence on stage, looking ever inch the pop star. In stark contrast to her is gritty soldier Amy Madigan "you're not my type," who's equally as impressive.

Their dialogue has a weirdly out-of-time feel to it, with Paré in particular sounding the absolute antithesis to your traditional 80's hero. He appears to have been plucked from three decades earlier, despite his distinctly Christopher Lambert trench-coat. The villainous greasers also come laced with a much more old-fashioned aroma than the music would indicate, Dafoe in particular, looking like an extra rejected from The Last Picture Show for being too slimy.
"Nobody tells me where to take my bus.... You dig?" offers one member of "The Sorels" in one of the most memorably amusing moments, and a great example of how difficult it is to articulate how exciting and compelling a film that should be laughable, actually is.

Ry Cooder's grubby twangs add enormously to the film, grounding the more fantastical aspects of the scenario with an energetic, but grounded score.
Elsewhere, the thunderous, electro-influenced rock ballads of Ellen Aim and the Attackers are surprisingly pleasing and contrast fantastically with Cooder's strumming, and the salty blues numbers that permeate the bar scenes. Many filmgoers have fallen into the trap of believing this film to actually be a musical, but it really doesn't accurately categorise such a unique experience. But music is integral to the off-kilter ambiance, a mis-mash of styles and sub-genres that helps move the story along and give audio cues to the various characters.

Streets of Fire also looks stunning, offering a bizarre but often breathtaking combination of eighties' fog machines and neon pink lighting, but the filth of a run-down city crawling with gangs and crime. It's a slick marriage of gloss and grime. Often, this sort of wacky amalgamation can lead to a kind of camp silliness that's difficult to take seriously or connect with. That isn't the result here; Hill expertly balances the combustible mixture of tough guys and sharp talking dames with a finely tuned dose of romanticism.

On one hand, Streets of Fire is absolutely a typical Hill film; stylized and exhibiting a hyper-kinetic faux reality. But on the other, its musical tendencies and somewhat teen friendly subject matter render it something of a departure for the director. Either way; it's a brilliant love-letter to no singular genre, a thrilling diversion through various familiar sub-cultures served up in the most unpredictable fashion.

Extras

Streets of Fire is presented here with a very respectable transfer that shows up some grain, and pretty solid blacks with good contrast, particularly for a film of this period, shot mostly in very dark night scenes. It's hardly prototype HD material, but it's difficult to imagine it looking (or sounding for that matter) much better.

Original music videos for "Tonight is what it means to be young" by Fire Inc, and "I can dream about you" by Dan Hartman (Sung however, by Winston Ford on the actual film's soundtrack, as opposed to the released soundtrack).

"Rumble on the Lot" is the biggie here, a brand spanking new eighty minute documentary revisiting the film. It is an outstanding piece of work.
As per usual, Walter Hill's own contributions are absolutely invaluable. But the producers have also managed to cull together Pare and Madigan, and key figures such as the Art and Production Designers for director Robert Fischer's piece.
Of particular note, are references to the various little changes to the script that were made along the way, and the participants discussing the run-down look of the film, There's some really absorbing tales to be had here, including the difficulties of shooting on a lot during night, and having to switch to day-for-night shoots, We're treated to production art-work, and proper dissections of the art direction by James Allen. They also affectionately recall the work of the late cinematography, Andrew Laszlo.
They go into great detail discussing how Madigan's role was originally written as a male part, but she convinced Hill after some haggling, that she was perfect for it. They also highlight the scene with Bill Paxton that sees Madigan punch him out in a bar, that almost operates as both a trial run for her, and the perfect summary of her suitability in the spot.
There's also an abundance of anecdotes, such as Paré revealing that he had no idea how to ride a motorbike, something which the crew where not clued into! In fact, Paré is an invaluable contributor here, recalling ridiculously minute details and stories.

In addition to the new material, the original "electronic press kit" is also included. Rather enticingly, this includes 23 minutes of assorted behind the scenes clips and the original trailer. Although the quality of this stuff is much rougher, it's interesting to have access to footage that goes some way towards demonstrating how the film was marketed.

Overall

Boasting fine picture quality, a plethora of outstanding extra features, and a hugely underrated, misunderstood gem of a movie, Streets of Fire is a hugely exciting release from Second Sight.

On one hand, Walter Hill has crafted a colossally ridiculous film, but it's bursting with so much fun, frenetic action and inventive, it's impossible to resist its stylized charm. One of the most underappreciated films of the Eighties finally arrives in a special edition that it deserves.