A mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.A mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.A mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 1 nomination
Grand L. Bush
- The Sorels - Reggie
- (as Grand Bush)
Mykelti Williamson
- The Sorels - B.J.
- (as Mykel T. Williamson)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was intended to be the first in a trilogy of action films starring Michael Paré as Tom Cody. However, its failure at the box office had put an end to the project. Despite this, Pare and Deborah Van Valkenburgh reprised their roles as Cody and Reva in Road to Hell (2008), the unofficial sequel to this film which has not seen an official physical or digital release though its trailer and renditions of "Nowhere Fast," "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young" and end credits have surfaced online.
- GoofsWhen the Sorels' bus is stopped by the cop roadblock, as McCoy is pulling the bus to a stop, there's a shot of her in the driver's seat. Seated directly behind Amy Madigan is a middle aged woman who looks like a crew member, present throughout the entire shot. She disappears immediately after the cut and is never seen again, nor was she a passenger on the bus prior to this scene.
- Alternate versionsAn 'R' rated version of the film was shown to theater exhibitors before being cut to a 'PG' for theatrical release.
- ConnectionsEdited into Quantum Leap: Miss Deep South - June 7, 1958 (1990)
- SoundtracksNowhere Fast
Performed by Fire Inc.
Vocals: Holly Sherwood, Rory Dodd, Eric Troyer
Written and Produced by Jim Steinman
Featured review
Extraordinary kinetic work
Walter Hill, whose fine directorial achievements include "Hard Times", "The Warriors", "Southern Comfort", "Crossroads", "Johnny Handsome" and "Extreme Prejudice", scored another creative bullseye with this self-proclaimed "rock and roll fable". Though it is simplistic in the extreme, it is an extraordinarily kinetic work with great music, stunning cinematography, cutting edge editing (from Hill regular Freeman Davies) and fantastic production design.
From a purely visual perspective, it was way ahead of its time, and like most things that were ahead of their time, it flopped badly (at the box office). So much of the film is worthy of praise -- the opening credit sequence employs a bravura graphic technique that has been much imitated; the kidnapping of Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) is a stunningly staged sequence, as is Lane's mimed rendition of Jim Steinman's fabulous "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young". The climactic fight sequence between Michael Pare and Willem Dafoe (in one of his first screen roles) is magical, as are all the film's scenes of physical combat.
Hill makes mean, lean, muscular movies and populates them with both fresh faces and screen vets. Michael Pare, who had a limited career, is just fine as the mythical Tom Cody, the film's reluctant hero (is there any other?). Dafoe shines as Raven Shaddock, the lead of the kidnappers, and the MIA Amy Madigan is just terrific as the tough-talking McCoy, Pare's feisty sidekick.
Andrew Laszlo, who worked with Hill on "Southern Comfort" and even shot Tobe Hooper's "The Funhouse", does a knockout job with the cinematography and, working with ace production designer John Vallone (another Hill reg) creates a magnificent retro universe on the Universal backlot.
Not to be missed!
From a purely visual perspective, it was way ahead of its time, and like most things that were ahead of their time, it flopped badly (at the box office). So much of the film is worthy of praise -- the opening credit sequence employs a bravura graphic technique that has been much imitated; the kidnapping of Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) is a stunningly staged sequence, as is Lane's mimed rendition of Jim Steinman's fabulous "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young". The climactic fight sequence between Michael Pare and Willem Dafoe (in one of his first screen roles) is magical, as are all the film's scenes of physical combat.
Hill makes mean, lean, muscular movies and populates them with both fresh faces and screen vets. Michael Pare, who had a limited career, is just fine as the mythical Tom Cody, the film's reluctant hero (is there any other?). Dafoe shines as Raven Shaddock, the lead of the kidnappers, and the MIA Amy Madigan is just terrific as the tough-talking McCoy, Pare's feisty sidekick.
Andrew Laszlo, who worked with Hill on "Southern Comfort" and even shot Tobe Hooper's "The Funhouse", does a knockout job with the cinematography and, working with ace production designer John Vallone (another Hill reg) creates a magnificent retro universe on the Universal backlot.
Not to be missed!
helpful•9316
- fertilecelluloid
- Dec 23, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Streets of Fire: A Rock & Roll Fable
- Filming locations
- Chicago, Illinois, USA(Location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $14,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $8,089,290
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,426,500
- Jun 3, 1984
- Gross worldwide
- $8,090,173
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content