80s Flashback Road Trip by Donald McDermott

Streets of Fire 

Okay, so something dawned on me after completing last week’s 80s Flashback Road Trip entry,  and then again when I was starting the new one for this week. While I am definitely a fan of certain specific directors, I seem to be hooked on the movie or movies that maybe they are not QUITE as well known for. That is definitely the case here. Director Walter Hill is famous for big screen classics such as Hard Times, The Warriors, Brewster’s Millions, and the movie that helped launch young Eddie Murphy into the stratosphere, 48 Hours. I have to tell you, I’ve seen all of those movies probably dozens of times over the past few decades, and of course I love each of them.

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But today’s flashback is for another Walter Hill offering. It was released in June of 1984 and it is called Streets of Fire. The premise is a pretty simple one in movie lore. Basically a mercenary sets out to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer named Ellen Aim who has been kidnapped by a biker gang. The movie is filled with a mix of music, action, drama and comedy, with a look that had sort of a dark, 1950’s kind of feel to it.  Sounds pretty cool right? And with Walter Hill at the helm you would think you can’t go wrong. Unfortunately audiences didn’t agree. Streets of Fire ended up being both a critical and commercial flop. As for me, I saw it in the movies way back when….



….and despite what those critics said, I loved it the first time and still love it today. Hill took a chance with the look and feel he created. Obviously it didn’t click with everyone. I know it did with me. It has a solid cast that includes Michael Pare, Diane Lane (an early crush that I still have today by the way), Bill Paxton, Amy Madigan, Willem Dafoe, and Rick Moranis in a refreshing turn as Lane’s sleazy manager. It moves along at a pretty quick pace, thanks in part to a cool soundtrack that includes the Dan Hartman 80’s classic “I Can Dream About You.” And if all that isn’t enough, the climactic fight scene between Dafoe and Pare using sledgehammers while being surrounded by cops and bikers, is always worth the cost of admission to me.

As a child of the gnarly, fresh, dope, totally tubular period in time known as the 1980’s, I have grown into adulthood with a genuine love and appreciation for the decade whose movies helped shape me into the person I am today (for better or worse). So lace up your shell top Adidas, pull on your Kangol, grab your copy of the Necronomicon and hop into the nearest DeLorean for a trip back in time. Don’t forget to feed your pet Mogwai before you go…just not after midnight!