Streets of Fire is one of those movies that you either like or don’t give a darn about it. It is a cinematic Music Video in an era when MTV actually played music videos. I liked the music, the atmosphere (some mythical New York-like city but without what you don’t like of NY) during what looks like the 50’s, cool cars, good and great actors beginning their careers and with 2 exceptions nothing but lever action rifles and revolvers. Walter Hill directed the movie and I came to find out he also directed some of my classics like The Warriors, Southern Comfort, Long Riders (I just watched it for  the first time 2 months ago), Crossroads and written produced or was somewhat involved in a bunch of other movies, TV shows and miniseries.

Eve though the movie was supposed to ride on the fame of Michael Pare, just fresh from the hit movie Eddie and The Cruisers, my attention got caught by a couple of relative unknowns:

The bad guy was called Raven Shaddock played by Willem Dafoe. It was his second role in a movie and I cannot think of anybody back then who did not have a comment to make about him.

Make no mistake, all the characters in the movie are two dimensional, but Dafoe even back then manages to pop above and makes you think that there is something more that you need to know.

The love interest, Ellen Aim was played a very nubile Diane Lane.

During the whole thing she was nothing more than eye candy but I was not the only one that went “Whoa!” at the closing when she “sings” the centerpiece song of the movie “Tonight is what it means to be young.” She let’s herself go and she’s been in my radar ever since.

In summary, not an Oscar winner movie and Diane won the Razzie that year for worst supporting actress but I enjoy the heck out of the darn thing. Any movie with classic cars, classic guns, Willem Dafoe and Diane Lane can never be too bad.