Streets of Fire **** (1984, Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis) – Classic Movie Review 9218

Co-writer/ director Walter Hill (48 Hrs) takes a splendidly stylish, exciting and imaginative ride into Eighties pop-video land in his 1984 film Streets of Fire, starring Diane Lane as Ellen Aim, a rock and roll singer kidnapped by bikers, and Michael Paré as Tom Cody, her ex-boyfriend mercenary called on to rescue her.

The rock ‘n’ roll Western plot fades into the background beside the soundtrack (mainly Ry Cooder and Jim Steinman) and sleek, neon-lit visuals filmed, though they don’t look it, in the studio.

Streets of Fire is fairly foul-mouthed and violent, set, thankfully, in ‘another time, another place’, as the opening title declares.

Also in the cast are Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, Willem Dafoe, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Richard Lawson, Rick Rossovich, Bill Paxton, Lee Ving, Stoney Jackson, Grand L Bush, Robert Townsend, Elizabeth Daily, Mykelti Williamson, Lynne Thigpen, Marine Jahan, Ed Begley Jr, Harry Beer, Olivia Brown and Kip Waldo.

It was shot between 1 April 1983 and 18 August 1983 on the New York Street set, on the Backlot at Universal Studios, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California.

Despite all the energy, excitement and youth appeal, it disappointed at the box office. On a cost of $14,500,000, it took $8,089,290 in the US.

Streets of Fire is directed by Walter Hill, runs 94 minutes, is made by Hill-Gordon-Silver Production, RKO Pictures and Universal Pictures, is released by Universal, is written by Walter Hill and Larry Gross, is shot in Technicolor by Andrew Laszlo, is produced by Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver, is scored by Ry Cooder and is designed by John Vallone.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9218

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