‘A Rock & Roll Fable’

Director: Walter Hill
Written by: Larry Gross, Walter Hill
Cast: Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Willem Dafoe

Year / Country: 1984, USA
Running Time: 90 mins.

Walter Hill, who brought us many cinematic treats during the 1980s, now delivers a rock & roll fable. Streets of Fire makes a fitting companion piece to Hill’s own cult classic The Warriors. It offers an unusual mix of action, musical, and romance. The idea behind it – from Hill, screenwriter Larry Gross, and producers Joel Silver and Lawrence Gordon – was to create ‘the perfect film for teenagers’. They only partially succeeded.

Tom Cody (Michael Paré) is a badass who once had a love affair with Ellen Aim (Diane Lane), a rock goddess. She’s kidnapped during a benefit concert by a biker gang led by the strange and menacing Raven (Willem Dafoe). Cody agrees to rescue her, but since he feels she abandoned him for her career, he demands a reward from her suave agent and current boyfriend, Billy Fish (Rick Moranis). Cody also brings along the tough, hard-drinking McCoy, played by Amy Madigan in a role that strongly resembles Holly Hunter.

What follows is a fairly enjoyable ride that – unfortunately – holds only a few surprises. The dialogue and art direction are pretty fantastic, but the film lacks intensity. Not one situation in the screenplay is fully exploited for drama or tension. Had more of these opportunities been seized, this could have been a dream of a movie. As it stands, it’s just an entertaining action flick – nothing more.

Streets of Fire was poorly received both commercially and critically. It was released as a major blockbuster but failed to turn a profit. Still, it retains a cult following, thanks in part to its soundtrack featuring original songs by Ry Cooder, Stevie Nicks, and Tom Petty. It was intended to be the first in a trilogy of action films starring Michael Paré as Tom Cody, but due to its disappointing box office performance, it never got to that.

Rating:

Biography: Walter Hill (1942, California) has been an active member of the Hollywood community since 1967 when he became a 2nd assistant director. Ever since, he has produced, written and directed a significant number of movies. He once said in an interview that he considers all the films that he directed as westerns. If you look closely, you can see western touches, such as revolvers, Winchester rifles and cowboy hats in all of his work. Hill frequently works with character actors James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Brion James and Ed O’Ross.

Filmography (a selection): Hard Times (1975), The Driver (1978), The Warriors (1979), The Long Riders (1980), Southern Comfort (1981), 48 Hrs. (1982), Streets of Fire (1984), Brewster’s Millions (1985), Crossroads (1986), Extreme Prejudice (1987), Red Heat (1988), Johnny Handsome (1989), Another 48 Hrs. (1990), Tales from the Crypt (1989-91, TV-episodes), Trespass (1992), Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Wild Bill (1995), Last Man Standing (1995), Deadwood (2004, TV-episode), Broken Trail (2006, TV), Dead for a Dollar (2022)