Streets of Fire (Collector's Edition)

You and me, we're goin' nowhere slowlyAnd we gotta get away from the pastThere's nothin' wrong with goin' nowhere, babyBut we should be goin' nowhere fastIt's so much better goin' nowhere fastJim Steinman bookends "Streets of Fire" with a couple of his operatic rock epics that make it clear he does not need Meatloaf or even Bonnie Tyler to make his songs sound great (Laurie Sargent and Holly Sherwood get the honors respectively) and director William Hill tries to get us from the big opening to the grand finale by telling a story about a guy trying to get his girl back with a little help from his friends. Ry Cooder provides the rock pulse in the middle aided and abetted by the Beaters and their raucous "One Bad Stud." There is no doubt that the soundtrack fuels this 1984 rock & roll fable that has achieved cult status with its fans, of whom I would clearly be one.This is a biker movie where Fifties sensibilities are dressed up with a touch of haute couture, Studebakers are the king of the road, the elevated train tracks dominate the city streets, and do-wop groups do the Moonwalk. Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) and the Attackers are doing a big concert back home when the Bombers show up and kidnap the singer at the order of their leader, Raven Shaddock (Willem Dafoe). So Reva (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) who runs the local diner wires her kid brother, Tom Cody (Michael Paré), an ex-solider and Ellen's ex-flame to come home and put things to rights. He walks into the diner and the arrival of a gang of young punks gives him an immediate opportunity to demonstrate that even though he has skinny arms Tom can take care of business (plus he is way cool, as demonstrated by his giving the first punk a second opportunity to try and get his switchblade act together). He also gets a nice fire engine red convertible in return.Of course, not even Tom Cody can take the Bombers on all by himself, so along for the fun is McCoy (Amy Madigan), another ex-soldier who gets to do the driving and Billy Fish (Rick Moranis), who is not only Ellen's manager but her (for lack of a better word) current boyfriend. Billy has a mouth on him and while Tom never slaps him down McCoy has some fun egging him on about Tom being Ellen's old flame. But getting Ellen out of the Battery is only part of the job, because Tom has to get her back home and you know there is going to be a show down between Raven and Tom (but you probably be surprised by Raven's choice of weapons).The movie is something of a let down after the credits end, especially since the film editors do some nice wipes and freeze frames that make for a memorable title credits. That comes back for the bit set to Steve Nick's "Sorcerer" (also sung by Sargent), but the opening number "Goin' Nowhere Fast" gets you hooked and it is not until "Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young" at the end that there is that much energy on the screen. I suppose it would have been exhausting to have twice as many Steinman numbers in this film, but this is a musical where the performer needs to be on stage to sing, which is underscored by the music video on the television sets in the bar that allows Ellen to sing a third song.There is also a problem because the chemistry between Tom and Ellen is pretty sedate. I know what I see in Ellen Aim because I had a crush on Diane Lane when she was in "A Little Romance" and in this film she is grown up enough from being on the cover of "Time" that such thoughts are no longer bad things (By the time she was nominated for an Oscar for "Unfaithful" she could not be more grown up as far as I am concerned, although her Stella in the Baldwin-Lange version of "Streetcar" was pretty good too). But whatever Tom say in Ellen is pretty much buried in the past. Her emotional high point is when she runs to him in the pouring rain, while his is the long last look he gives her at the end. As Ellen sings in "Sorcerer," they are just a "man and woman on a star street in the middle of a snow dream" (go ahead, try and prove something that metaphorical does not hold true).Still it proves impossible for me not to just go along for the ride. After all, a boy can be the next best thing to an angel and Ellen might not be an angle but at least she's a girl and I've got a dream that when the darkness is over they'll be lyin' in the rings of the sun, but these lovers are star crossed not star kissed. But, hey, it's all we've really got tonight and when I start treating Steinman's overblown lyrics like a Shakespearean sonnet you know I have no choice in the end but to round up on this one even though the DVD does not include the memorable music videos that were released separately on video way back when.Let the revels beginsLet the fire be startedWe're dancing for the desparate and the brokenheartedTonight is what it means to be youngBefore you know it, it's goneSay a prayer in the darkness for the magic of loveNo matter what it seemsTonight is what it means to be young

I enjoyed the movie, a bit of a cult classic. If you only want the music, get it on CD (I own that, too) but if you like the music, this on a big TV with the soundbar blasting when the songs come on is a fun experience.Don't look for a deep, thoughtful plot, it's just a really fun adventure.

Good movie. Hidden gem. All the actors are awesome, the soundtrack is amazing. Great blend of 50's feel & 80's flavor.

We’ve seen it along time ago and couldn’t wait to re-rent it. Absolutely absolutely loved it!

First off. This movie has one of the greatest openings i've ever seen in any film. It opens up on this epic 80s style concert set in what looks like 50s New York with our lead character Ellen Aim(played by Diane Lane) rocking out to this epic and catchy song "Nowhere fast" all the while a group of villainous biker gang members calling themselves "the Bombers" slowly sneak in front of the stage and get ready to kidnap her. The music is awesome and the way the cinematography keeps cutting from the concert happening onstage to the villains creeping in closer, is perfectly edited together and sets up the story in a really nice way. The way I'm describing it doesn't really do it justice. You just have to see it for yourself, it's awesome! Sadly the rest of the film never really lives up to how great that opening is. It has a good set up. A popular rock singer gets kidnapped by a gang of bikers and it's up to a soldier of fortune, Tom Cody(Played by Michael Pare) to venture into crime ridden streets with the help of his side kick and Ellen's manager(who is played by Rick Moranis in a surprisingly serious role for him) in order to save her. Your typical "Masculine hero saving damsel in distress" kind of story, but with some truly great music and visuals. Unfortunately, the story is just too generic and never really does anything interesting. There's no twists or turns to spice things up. It all plays out in the most basic way you could imagine. Like, most of the movie is just our group of characters walking to and from each destination talking about stuff. This does lend itself well to some nice character development but narrative wise, it just doesn't go anywhere. Not to spoil anything, but the hero very easily saves the girl from the biker gang without much thought or effort and it all culminates in a very forgettable fist fight showdown with our lead hero and villain. This would have been fine if the action was really good, but it's mostly just Ok. The back of the blu ray box says that our heros encounter several "deadly assassins" which might make you think that this film will be like "the Warriors" where the characters have to escape from an certain area all the while fighting against various armed assailants but that's kind of blatant lie. There's really only 2 real action scenes in the movie, one being when our hero rescues the girl from the gang headquarters which is fine but it goes by too fast, and the other being a fist fight at the end which like I said is pretty forgettable. Most of the movie is just characters walking around and there really isn't much action. It's such a shame because the movie is nice looking and clearly very well made. It's a period piece taking place in the 50s and the film really nails the look and feel of 1950s downtown New York, plus the soundtrack is Fantastic. On top of that, the lead actors all do a really good job in their roles. In particular, I loved how we get to see a young Willem Dafoe ham it up as the leader of this evil biker gang who has a great villainous look to him. He could have been a great and memorable villain but Sadly, he really isn't given much to do and comes off extremely one-dimensional. And that's kind of how the whole story is. It starts off great and has amazing music and visuals, but ultimately just ends up telling a very basic and uninteresting story. Like honestly the whole film can be summed up in just a few sentences: Bad guy kidnaps damsel in distress. Good guy gets her back. Bad guy follows good guy back to concert building. Good guy and bad guy have fist fight and everyone celebrates afterwards. It's as basic as it gets and it's just frustrating to me since this film had so many other good qualities but yet fails to deliver on the most important part, that being the story. Ultimately, it's a generic story with some great music and cinematography. It could have been so much more but it is worth watching for the great soundtrack and heavy atmosphere. Plus, like I said, the cinematography is fantastic and especially looks great on the high definition blu ray released by Shout Factory. I'd recommend renting this first if you want to watch it before deciding to buy the blu ray or not.

I liked the theme of this movie with the locations and actors. Google says it's neo-noir, but not sure neo needs to be in the description. Hill also directed another film in the same style called "The Warriors" about a Coney Island gang who is chased back to their home turf. I think he did a great job on both films.

Freaking stellar.The color, editing, sounds, and soundtrack are brilliant.This does not get enough props; someone rented it forever in our local video store, but was well worth the decades long wait.

Great love it thank you

This is a story told on a gothic city backdrop re.inding you of a 50s-early-60s time. Music going with the characters and setting is perfect, and I never grow tired of watching it.Actors like Willem Dafoe and Rick Moranis are in their early days. Music by Ry Cooder, Dan Hartmann and others is featured.IMO it's a little better than Warriors - another one I enjoy. DVD was delivered quickly!

Conforme a l annonce

Great sound,great movie

懐かしくなり買いました。

Alles super.