Streets of Fire

Posted on 12 mei 2025 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

‘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.

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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)

The Warriors

Posted on 10 mei 2025 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

‘Warriors! Come out to play!’

Director: Walter Hill
Written by: David Shaber, Walter Hill
Cast: Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright, David Patrick Kelly

Year / Country: 1979, USA
Running Time: 89 mins.

Under the glow of neon lights, a bloody war takes place within New York’s underworld. The armies of the night are 100.000 heads strong, five times bigger than the entire police force. But instead of taking over the city, they are fighting each other. Cyrus, leader of major gang ‘The Riffs’, wants to unite the gangs and calls for a meeting. Nine representatives of each gang come to listen to Cyrus’ takeover plans.

But it is not meant to be. The insane leader of a small gang called the Rogues blows Cyrus away. ‘For no reason. He just likes doing things like that.’ Another small group called the Warriors get wrongfully accused of the attack and have to run for their lives. It is going to be a dark, long night riddled in fear. Not only do they get the police on their case, 100.000 bloodthirsty gang members are looking for them as well. Will all the Warriors make it back to their home base in Coney Island?

Based on the novel by Sol Yurick, Walter Hill has delivered an action film that shows a subculture involved in a gang war around Coney Island. The Warriors have to fight for life or death within an immense asphalt jungle. Only loyalty in the group can lead them to survival. But this is easier said than done. After all in any group, like in a bunch of chimps, leadership conflicts arise. So besides having to deal with gangs and police, they also have to overcome internal problems.

Can we dig it? Yes, we can. The Warriors is a cult classic. The minimalist plot works to the film’s advantage, because the focus lies on art-direction and creating tension, two elements that are executed extremely well. All the gangs look amazing. So does their environment. The tension comes mainly from the fight- and chase scenes, in which the Warriors make one narrow escape after another.

For fact fans, here are the names of all the major gangs; The Baseball Furies, The Blackjacks, The Boppers, The Electric Eliminators, The Fire Tasters, The High Hats, The Jones Street Boys, The Lizzies, The Moon Runners, The Orphans, The Punks, The Riffs, The Roques, The Saracens, The Satan’s Mothers, The Savage Huns, The Turnball AC’s, The Van Courtland Rangers, The Warriors, The Zodiacs.

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Dungeon Classics #7: Last Man Standing

Posted on 6 september 2020 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Last Man Standing (1996, USA)

Director: Walter Hill
Cast: Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, David Patrick Kelly, Ned Eisenberg
Running Time: 101 mins.

The story of Last Man Standing – in which a mercenary arrives in a small town and hires himself to two rival gangs – has been told before. The original Yojimbo (1961) is a samurai movie. And the remake A Fistful of Dollars (1964) a spaghetti western. Both are absolute classics. Last Man Standing is not, but hey! This is still a cult favorite. In this version, the setting is a dusty Mexican bordertown during the prohibition where two gangs of violent bootleggers are fighting a bloody war. The rough gunslinging drifter Willis (named John Smith) arrives and starts playing both sides off against one another, earning himself a nice payday for his efforts. But the play is not without personal danger. Plus, he starts helping two dames who are hooked up with the gangs’ leaders. Pretty soon, the town turns into a bullet festival, so Smith can display his incredible gun skills. The heavy action that follows is perfectly directed by Hill. Add to this a fine selection of actors, including a creepy Christopher Walken, and you have an irresistible action movie on your hands.

Bullet to the Head – Stripreview

Posted on 13 juli 2013 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Er wordt een hoop bloed vergoten in Bullet to the Head, een misdaadstrip van de Nieuw-Zeelandse artiest Colin Wilson en Franse schrijver Matz (The Killer). Het grafische driedelige boek is oorspronkelijk uitgebracht in Frankrijk in 2004-2006 onder de titel Du Plomb Dans La Tete en is nu voor het eerst in het Engels verschenen. Het eerste pluspunt is dat de dialogen prettig gestoord zijn en doen denken aan Tarantino films. Twee huurmoordenaars discussiëren over schoenen, terwijl ze op weg zijn naar een klus; het omleggen van een senator. Na de moord waarbij ook twee honden en een minderjarige prostituee om het leven komen, raken verschillende andere personages betrokken bij het politieke spel en vallen de lijken al snel bij bosjes. Het stijlvolle geweld en verassende verhaal, trok actieregisseur Walter Hill aan, die de strip in 2012 verfilmde met Sylvester Stallone in de hoofdrol. De 5,8 op IMDb doet vermoeden dat dit geen meesterwerk is geworden, maar de strip is zeker de moeite waard… Check it out…