"Tonight is what it means to be young." Walter Hill's totally awesome and oft-misunderstood "rock n roll fable" follows the adventures of Tom Cody (Michael Pare), a soldier of fortune called on to rescue his ex-girlfriend, Ellen Aim (Diane Lane), a rock star who's been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang led by the vicious Raven (Willem Dafoe). Cody is assisted by a jane-of-all-trades named McCoy (Amy Madigan, who steals the show) and, more reluctantly, by Ellen's manager and current squeeze, Billy Fish (Rick Moranis, doing quite well as an obnoxious sleazebag). Hill's film is self-described as an attempt to make a movie that contained all of the elements he thought were great when he was a teenager: "custom cars, kissing in the rain, neon, trains in the night, high-speed pursuit, rumbles, rock stars, motorcycles, jokes in tough situations, leather jackets and questions of honor" -- it's all here, taking place in a stylized fictional metropolis that mixes '80s fashion with a retro '50s kind of vibe. The soundtrack kicks ass, too, featuring Dan Hartman's hit, "I Can Dream About You," and Ry Cooder's electro-twangy score. For the special edition DVD release of The Warriors, Hill added comic-book panel transitions between some scenes, claiming he envisioned the now-classic tale of New York gangs to be a "comic book movie," but it's Streets of Fire that really looks -- and feels -- like the comic book movie Hill wanted to make. Enjoy!
New On Netflix: Streets Of Fire
