Streets of Fire [DVD]

As a child of the 80s, Streets of Fire catapults me back to a time when neon lights clashed with leather jackets, and every street corner seemed to pulse with the rhythm of rock 'n' roll. This film is a love letter to the era's unique blend of raw energy and unapologetic style, wrapped in a thrilling tale of romance and redemption. From the moment the opening credits roll against the backdrop of a gritty urban landscape, you're transported into a world where music isn't just background noise—it's the beating heart of the narrative. The electrifying performances by Diane Lane as the fiery songstress Ellen Aim and Michael Paré as the brooding hero Tom Cody are nothing short of mesmerizing. Their chemistry crackles on screen, fueling a quest through the dangerous streets to rescue Ellen from the clutches of the sinister biker gang leader, Raven (portrayed with menacing charm by a very young Willem Dafoe). What truly sets Streets of Fire apart is its seamless fusion of genres. It's part action-packed thriller, part rock opera, and all 80s cool. The soundtrack, featuring iconic tracks like "Nowhere Fast" and "I Can Dream About You," propels the story forward with a pulse-pounding beat that mirrors the characters' relentless drive. Director Walter Hill's vision of a dystopian urban landscape is both gritty and visually striking, a perfect backdrop for the larger-than-life characters who inhabit it. The cinematography captures the neon-lit streets and shadowy alleys with a stylized flair that feels both nostalgic and timeless. As a fan of 80s cinema, Streets of Fire delivers everything I could ask for and more. It's a film that doesn't just entertain; it transports you to a world where every moment pulses with excitement and every chord strikes a chord deep within. Whether you're drawn in by the music, the action, or the sheer charisma of its stars, this is a movie that leaves an indelible mark—a reminder of a time when cinema dared to be bold and unapologetically cool. Streets of Fire isn't just a film; it's a neon-lit journey through a bygone era that continues to resonate with the rebel spirit in all of us. Strap in, turn up the volume, and let the magic of Streets of Fire ignite your imagination once again.

I saw “Streets of Fire” on its first release at the Empire Leicester Square in London. Its huge screen and amazing sound system did justice to this film that is eye candy for the senses and made for a stunning experience. Although the film did not gather the praise and box office returns it deserved on first release, especially in the USA, it’s great to see that through home video it has gained such a cult status and appreciation. The film is visually stunning, set in some amazing undefined past era with the screen bathed in neon light. Like Walter Hill’s previous film “The Warriors”, this owes less to the real world and far more to graphic novels. With “Streets of Fire” it even borrows its main story from the western genre and its anti-hero is dressed in a coat that looks like it came from Hill’s western “The Long Riders”. The dialogue is stylised as is the acting with its cast doing a great job. Michael Pare looks great and plays the role as the somewhat dumb anti-hero with his heart in the right place exactly as the part needed. Diane Lane looks tremendous as the female lead especially during the stage sequences: the climactic scene in that red dress is awesome! Willem Defoe is terrific as the villain though I have never warmed to the idiosyncratic clothing he wore. The film has a really visceral climatic fight sequence with sledge hammers. The film’s back bone is its awesome music that drives the film. Apart from the very effective songs, the score by the wonderful Ry Cooder is excellent: it’s a pity so little of his score has ever been released on CD. The Earlier UK blu ray release was an awful disappointment. The picture was far too grainy. There was also a fundamental problem with the 5.1 sound: nothing out of the rear channels! Shout Factory’s new release is far better than the UK version. The picture is as good as you could expect from an 80’s film. The 5.1 mix is well-reproduced, with those amazing wipes swishing round the rears, but don’t expect it to sound as good and well-defined as a modern film. All of the UK extras are included on the second disc plus a brand new 100 minute documentary. Although there is some duplication with the UK 80 minute documentary, there is plenty new to make it worth seeing both. An excellent release from Shout.

Walter Hill has always been one of my all time favorite directors. Not since Sam Peckinpah, has there been a more fantastic action director then he. From his 70's films, "The Driver(1978)" and "The Warriors(1979)" til his classic 80's films the western, "The Long Riders(1980)", "Southern Comfort(1981)", and his most commercial success: "48hrs(1982)". I always felt that "Streets Of Fire" was his most underrated and his one of my personnel favorites of his. This film has one of the great 80's soundtracks ever, right up there with "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Risky Business". There are songs written by Jim Steinman who wrote Meatloaf's classic "Bat Out Of Hell" album, the late great Dan Hartman with the wonderful "I Can Dream About You"(If that song doesn't define the 80's, I don't know what does?), and other music performed by The Blasters, Ry Cooder, and The Fixx with that kick ass end theme song, "Deeper and Deeper". The night time photography is terrific by cameraman, Andrew Laszlo who also shot Hill's "The Warriors", and of course Walter Hill has great actions scenes throughout the film: the sledge hammer fight between Michael Pare and Willem Dafoe. is tops. The story line maybe simple but at the same time, so unique: An Alternate world, taking place perhaps in the future trapped between a rock and roll set fifties era, and a female rock star Ellen Aim(Diane Lane) is kidnapped by the motorcycle gang, The Bombers led by the vicious, Raven(Willem Dafoe). Her only hope for rescue lies with her ex-boyfriend, soldier of fortune Tom Cody(Michael Pare), his hard drinking sidekick, McCoy(Amy Madigan) and Ellen's manager Billy Fish(the very funny Rick Moranis). I had an old dvd copy of this film, this new blu-ray Collector's Edition enhances the film even more, with a new 2k scan copy of the film, two awesome documentaries: "The Making Of Streets Of Fire" and "Rumble On The Lot: Walter Hill's Streets Of Fire Revisited", Vintage Featurettes and music videos. If you love this film enough like me or a fan of Walter Hill in general, this blu-ray edition is a must. Highly recommended!!

Awesome movie. Great purchase

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.

Great movie

You and me, we're goin' nowhere slowly And we gotta get away from the past There's nothin' wrong with goin' nowhere, baby But we should be goin' nowhere fast It's so much better goin' nowhere fast Jim 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 begins Let the fire be started We're dancing for the desparate and the brokenhearted Tonight is what it means to be young Before you know it, it's gone Say a prayer in the darkness for the magic of love No matter what it seems Tonight is what it means to be young

A rock and roll fable. It's not meant to be serious, just great, stylish fun from the costumes, set design, stage design, music and lighting, this is stylish. Even the graffiti interstitials were unique and full of color. Incredible music from the Ry Cooder originals which drove the film, or the set pieces produced by written by the likes of Stevie Nicks, and the concert song written by Jim Steinman (the man behind Meatloaf and Bonnie Tyler). And don't forget TWO songs by the Blasters. Dianne Lane does some of the best lip syncing of ANY actress portraying a singer on stage, or any real life modern pop singer who almost all use lip synching to perform now days. A young Willem Dafoe is incredibly menacing and Lee Ving (from the group Fear) does a cameo as one of the henchmen) Michael Pare is Michael Pare. Also look for Amy Madigan, Bill Paxton, Rick Moranis, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Robert Townsend and a quick Ed Begley Jr cameo. And who doesn't love a very partially clothed Marine Jehan dancing at Torchy's. She was the body double in the movie "Flashdance". TONS OF FUN. It's schlock, but it's meant to be schlock. Again, it's a rock and roll FABLE, not meant to be an accurate depiction of a time or a place The 2017 re-release has very good sound and very good video quality. There is some dust barely noticeable, but the lighting is incredible. They even hired lighting and stage design by people who work with major touring shows like Pink Floyd. Here, the whiting out or blacking out lens flare and light against grain are used creatively. The older European releases are NOT up to par. I just wish the internegative could have been at 4K instead of 2k. Even then many videophiles still use this as a test disk and it was very positively reviewed by bluray bloggers.

ウォルター・ヒル監督の最高傑作にして、伝説的アクション映画の円盤です。寡黙な主人公のなんとカッコイイこと❢敵役の名優ウィレム・デフォーの素晴らしいこと❢ヒロインのダイアン・レインの美しくも愛らしいこと❢そして流れるロックの名曲たち。凄まじいアクション❢最高です。

Pero la digitalización no aporta gran mejoría a la fotografía. Hay mucho grano y definición apenas superior a la edición en DVD. Luego está la aversión manifiesta de la Universal a incluir audio y/o subtítulos en español. Tengo el DVD de la película. Fue un fracaso de taquilla en USA y cortó la trayectoria ascendente de su director Walter Hill. Pero es una gran película. Lástima, que no se esmerasen demasiado en hacer una edición en Blu-Ray más cuidada. Por eso la califico con tres estrellas. La película en si misma merece cinco.

Nn si può vendere in Italia un DVD senza la lingua dove è commercializzato il dvd

What more can be said about this great Rock 'N' Roll fable other than it is a cult classic that deserves all the recognition that is afforded it. If you love movies and music and over the top acting and just a fun story that will entertain you for an hour and a half, sit back and the let the show begin. It is beautifully filmed with all the actors doing a wonderful job of keeping the story moving along at a quick pace. You will be singing the songs long after the movie has ended. I highly recommend this wonderful movie that should be required viewing for those that have a love of movies.

Muchos y muy buenos extras, un print bastante decente. La película es muy entretenida a pesar de lo ridículo que es el héroe. La música se convirtió en un clásico. Una compra muy satisfactoria.