Every now and then I like to rewatch Streets of Fire, one of my own personal cult movies. There is something really special about it for me, in part because I watched it as a kid, when movies seize you in a particularly strong way, but also because of its sheer oddity. A mixture of 50s juvenile delinquent movies, rock and roll, Jim Steinman songs, war, Westerns, fantasy, shooting on a sound stage, most scenes at night, kissing in the rain, fights with sledge hammers, bikers, blues, strippers, tough talking types.
The opening scene remains terrific with its thumping drums and base, and MTV tight editing of Diane Lane as "Fire Inc" or whoever they were singing "Nowhere Fast" - a tune that sounds completely incongruous to the 1950s look of everything else but I went with it. To be honest Diane Lane, while stunning, is never completely convincing as a rock chick - she lacks the fire of a true rock star (I have no idea of what over young actress at the time could have played it better but the fact remains she's the weak link in the main cast) - but the number is spectacular and has a spectacular ending with Willem da Foe (great entrance) and his bikers going on the attack. We see a teary black woman yell at the bikers and never see her again (I've seen this movie so many times I notice the little editing quirks - like holding on Michael Pare for an extra close up when he's driving in the car with Rick Moranis and Amy Madigan; and also the word echoes grate on me).
Anyway then Michael Pare comes into the action and has a fantastic star entrance, looking cool on the train, then beating up some enjoyably convenient thugs accompanied by a thumping Ry Cooder song - I've never been able to find out the name, if anyone can help me I'd love to know. Which then half way through changes to a different tune ("Get Out of Denver" I believe) that jars.
But anyway the rest of the first half stays at the high level I love of Streets of Fire - meeting Amy Madigan (one of the all time great sidekicks and worthy of another movie), Bill Paxton's turn as a bartender, Rick Moranis' hilarious turn as a tough talking manager (NB his character is actually quite brave), the mechanic who gives Pare the guns, going into the Battery, meeting Ed Begley Jnr's cameo as a homeless man, the action at the Battery (the sort of place that turns up in lots of Walter Hill movies- bikers, strippers, blues), the thrilling rescue sequence with some top lines ("McCoy I'm a great fan") jump cut editing and stunts, with a fantastic confrontation between Pare and de Foe among the flames.
After that the movie becomes less sure. The whole sequence where they go to that weird neon lit section where everyone's acting like they're in a late 80s video with big hats and kissing and listening to rock videos on the TV seems strange and out of place of the rest of the movie (the Battery and Richmond all seem like they're part of the same world - this place doesn't). Why have that girl character who joins them? She just tags along, doesn't go out with anyone, doesn't complicate things. The all-male black singing troupe aren't that memorable either, although at least they have some pay off, appearing at the end to mime "I Can Dream About You".
There are some good moments in the second half - Michael Pare's little speech to Diane Lane that prompts her to kiss him in the rain, their love sequence, the Bombers trapping everyone in Richmond (I wish more could have been made of this). The final fight between DaFoe and Pare is expertly choreographed and shot, but it does feel underwhelming for a finale (with bikers and townsfolk just looking on) and I wasn't too wild about Pare punching Lane in the face, even if it is for "her own good". Still I can forgive a lot for that ending with Lane and Pare kissing, and her singing "Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young" with her support group and new band really getting into it as Pare walks off into the sunset and goes to have adventures with Amy Madigan. So romantic...
Very very much a flawed movie. I'm not sure if it would have been a success even had the last half's script problems been fixed but lots of people love it. Such as me!
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