Reviews on movie Streets of Fire (5)

'Streets in Fire' is a film capable of giving a thoughtful viewer a real aesthetic pleasure, or probably disappointing if the viewer does not grasp the essence of this work. But what is it about him that makes me give such a flattering description?

First of all, while watching, it is important to understand in time that we are not just a banal story, integrated into a world full of conventions and assumptions. That the components of this world are not some incoherent and completely illogical set of weird nonsense mixed with outright inconsistencies. It is important to capture the very essence of the spectacle presented to your attention and then everything in the picture will instantly fall into place. I do not think that a sophisticated viewer needs such explanations, because a real movie lover will notice all this himself in the first ten minutes of timing. But I want to focus on that.

In the end, not everyone is well acquainted with the films of the past decades and can read their features from what is happening in the tape, which itself has already remained somewhere there - in the legends, albeit not deep, but ancient. Is 1984 a joke? It's been almost forty years.

But what am I talking about? The film 'Streets in Fire' is a stunning fusion of seemingly incompatible genres and styles, absolutely different eras and trends. The film 'Streets in Fire' is not just a tribute to fashion, but a tribute to cinema ("American first and foremost") in all its diversity and diversity. The film 'Streets in Fire' is something more than a passing light picture, designed to entertain the evening and forget forever.
And do not be misled by the entourage, props and scenery, because the skeleton of the film is a real classic spaghetti western in its refined manifestation. But on this basis already strung everything else. Here you have a rich atmosphere of noir without the noir itself, as such; and bright, almost musical inserts from a romantic rock and roll movie with pretentious leather leathers and nabriolinen hair; and rusty nooks of slums, giving almost a gangster sweetness, straight from films from the great depression, and then suddenly turning it all upside down and turning the local environment into some dystopia because of the angle of which the conditional Snake Pliskin emerges. Here you and carefree riders from gangster dramas of the 70s, and completely detached from reality, almost comic world, which in my opinion would be almost ideal for the embodiment of, say, the slums of classical Gotham.
And the main characters fit all of the above. For example, the character Michael Pare... who only I did not recognize in him during the viewing ... and the whisper of the unforgettable Clint Eastwood from the dollar trilogy, and a piece Harrison Ford from ' Blade Runner' mixed with a fraction of his own Han Solo. There was also a place in it for the cult Kyle Reese Michael Bien from the first ' Terminator' however, it is obvious that this reference could hardly have been intentional, since the films themselves were released in the same year. But this does not bother me at all, since Michael Pare did not actually perform any individual character, but an archetypal character 'The Thousand-Face Hero'.

And the other characters are also archetypes, as if descended from the notorious analytical work of Joseph Campbell.
A separate mention deserves Willem Defoe, still young, but already habitually demonic. And he, placed in the same entourage of conditional Gotham, reminded me of the sad reality, where this actor never embodied the role of the cult villain - the Joker on the screen, although this film is a clear example of the fact that Willem Dafoe is simply created for her!
Okay, empty.
I could crucify for a long time, trying to describe all the associations that caused me the picture 'Streets in Fire', but it does not make much sense. I will only say that this film was a kind of exquisite dish, wrapped in a simple, but such... a lamp or something. Shell.

I am not sure that it will appeal to everyone, but if you are a fan of cinema, well acquainted not only with novelties, but also with the classics, and with how this very cinema ("first of all American") developed, what milestones of formation have passed, then I think the creation of Walter Hill will appeal to you. For my part, I received a lot of pleasant impressions from watching and with a light heart I can recommend this film to everyone who knows how to see the forest behind the trees.
8 out of 10

A story from the history of rock 'n' roll. Somewhere. Once upon a time.

Violent bikers led by brutal Willem Defoe kidnap during the performance of the singer Elle performed by the beautiful Diane Lane. A fan of the star calls for the help of her brother Tom, who is played by handsome Michael Pare. Turns out he's Ellem's ex-boyfriend. We are shown who is good and who is bad.

The plot of the film is like a familiar song without intriguing twists, but something catching, and forcing to sing along to the very end. Expected, but cute. A cheerful story with cruel bikers, a bad hero, a boy girl a la Sarah Connor, a hot beauty, a manager resembling a nerd, a group of black musicians and incendiary music.

Walter Hill shooting a picture ~Streets in Fire~ correctly and deftly used all the materials available to him from the actors to the songs sounded in the film. Long live rock 'n' roll! Long live the 80s!

The final is not much, but it will surprise. Enjoy watching and listening.

This is an unusual director, Walter Hill. Let me explain why I think so. His career began in 1975 and until 1981 he made as many as five films. We cannot say that they enjoyed wild popularity, but still they could not be attributed to consumer goods either. Walter Hill was still the director who took up his business with all responsibility. And in 1982, he shoots one of his most famous films comedy action movie "48 Hours", where he opens to a wide audience talented comedian Eddie Murphy. And then he has a period of abrupt success of the paintings, then all in admiration (" Crossroads), then all in bewilderment ("Streets on Fire) that such a movie could shoot the creator of those very "48 hours". And since I mentioned the movie “Streets on Fire”, then this is only about him.
The film is shot in the genre of an action movie with a fairly significant amount of rock music, so you can somewhat exaggerately call “Streets on Fire” a musical action movie, this is a unique genre. Screenwriter Larry Gross (his debut happened just in “48 Hours”) came up with a story in which a young girl Ellen Aime, but already a rock star, becomes a victim of kidnapping by a gang of thugs-bikers. She dreams of their leader, the odious and cruel Raven Shaddock. By kidnapping and holding a girl in prison, he tries to show that he is a good guy and thereby fall in love with her. Let's face it, the guy has a mental health problem. Meanwhile, Ellen’s ex-boyfriend Tom Cody and Ellen’s sister, seeing inaction from the police, persuade Cody to find Ellen and snatch her from the clutches of the vile kidnappers. Meanwhile, Cody is joined by an assistant named McCoy and Ellen producer Billy Fish. Cody and his team challenge the biker gang.

The beginning of the film really impressed me. Being a fan of heavy music, I heard a couple of juicy songs, and even performed by such a seductive vocalist as Ellen Aime (played by Diane Lane). A small digression: later I searched for who the composer was and who sang them, but I could not find it, and if Diane Lane sang it herself, I applaud her standing up. Keep going. But after such an exciting start, the film turns into a kind of cross between street fights with a marginally minded gang, and the development of the situation is not completely believed. Do you remember the cult movie The Raven with Brandon Lee? Here, a bunch of scumbags fell into the very concept and atmosphere of the picture, but in “Streets on Fire” the situation contrasts sharply with the behavior of the characters involved. And only the desire to hear at least a couple of strong compositions forced to watch this film, which as it moved more and more turned into porridge from hastily assembled episodes of filmed material.
Something similar happened to the main characters of the film. Diane Lane after the songs sung at first gradually went into the shadows, and did not show anything in this picture, which was even strange, because closely before that she became a star of Francis Ford Coppola himself, playing the main roles in his “Fight Fish” and “Rogues”. Apparently, Walter Hill and Diane Lane did not find a common language. Michael Pare, who played Cody, has long walked in potential heroes of action movies, but “Streets on Fire” directly proves why this did not happen: the guy is not able to pull the whole movie. Wille Dafoe appeared in the role that many later became accustomed to, that is, an inveterate antagonist. For him, “Streets on Fire” was his first big movie role, so let’s just say that for him, Raven Shaddock became a kind of provider of experience. Rick Moranis (producer Billy Fish) is known as a comedy actor, here he will not even try to laugh, the role is not the same and therefore it is difficult to accept him as he is in “Streets on Fire”. And only Amy Madigan (McCoy) is any holistic and interesting character.
If you want to hear strong and colorful rock songs in the female performance, but are ready to expect them for an hour and a half, then please, just do not forget that there is practically nothing in the film except them.
4 out of 10

A gang of bikers led by a nasty bad guy named Raven kidnaps popular singer Ellen Aime. Her manager and boyfriend Billy Fish hires tough guy Tom Cody to bring her back. He was once a lover of the singer.

In general, the plot in this rock 'n' roll ballad has no special significance. More important is how it's done. Director Walter Hill, behind which were already "Warriors" and "48 hours" made a youth action, filled with excellent visuals, lashy dialogue, scorching scenes of action (one fight on the hammers of what is worth) and charismatic heroes.

In the foreground here is Michael Pare, cool and charismatic in the prime of his years and career. He ate a lot of porridge and this is his finest hour as an action hero. The former chef of a New York restaurant with the appearance and voice of a porn star later finally rolled into thrash. Here he is grindingly good and armor-piercing convincing.

And then there's Diane Lane, a real rock diva. Rick Moranis is in a non-comic role. And the big bad guy, Willem Defoe. There is still a stunningly filmed night city and streets, shrouded in fog, chic sound and musical numbers that make you really nostalgic for the 80s.
Action and rock 'n' roll, they don't make that kind of movie anymore. It's nostalgia, baby. Those who do not remember it are unlikely to fully appreciate it.
8 out of 10

Revisiting "Streets on Fire" you understand how the American cinema of recent years lacks such good quality semi-fighters-half musicals and how important the musical component of the film. And when in the director’s chair one of the best action directors of the 80s – 90s Walter Hill, cameraman John Wallone, producers Joel Silver and always composer Ray Cooder, you understand that you will get a great fairy tale in the style of “rock and roll”. This film, judging by the music and outfit of musicians, is still more correct to call the new wave stories, but due to the presence of bikers and rockabilly, you can put up with the initial credits. Sergey Kudryavtsev, when writing about Hill’s films, most often uses the term “strong professional”. But he seems to me more like the last Western philosopher. Still, in all his films there is a struggle between good and evil, everything is always extremely clear in terms of the balance of forces, there is magnificent southern music with a slide to the liquor “Southern Comfort” (as even one of his films is called), and there is always a charismatic protagonist. In this film, the start for a film career turned out to be mega-talented Diane Lane (in this film nothing particularly outstanding except a song with tears in her eyes did not play) and brutal Michael Pare. Looking closely, you can see Bill Paxton, and the main villain was well played by another Hollywood megatalent Willem Dafoe. And all this in a costumed cocktail of fights, dances and drive songs, flavored with brutal dialogue.

Three years earlier, in my favorite Wars, there had already been an attempt to do something like rock fairy tales to the cool music of the 70s. In the next film “Crossroads” Hill will go even further and dilute the blues chords of the great Steve Vai and many of the findings of these films will always be considered a sign of his unique directorial style.
Michael Pare in this film is young and handsome, then there were not hundreds of films of class B, and there was an aspiring talent, in which only recognized the future brutal macho with a machine gun at the top. It is a pity that later Walter Hill began to shoot mainly action films and forgot founded by him this wonderful genre.
In general, I highly recommend watching his big three ("War, Streets on Fire and Crossroads) in order to understand how smarter and more diverse the great directors of the last century were.

10 out of 10