Promptly bounced out of theaters by the competition and quickly forgotten, the self-described "Rock & Roll Fable" has always held a special place in my heart. I actually saw it in the theater opening weekend as a 13-year-old and always loved its infectious music and undeniable style. Over the years more and more people have discovered its charms on home video and through revival screenings, elevating one of the more costlier and misunderstood flops of the '80s to revered cult status.
Set in "another time and place," a neon-infused '50s-meets-'80s city with no name, Fire tells the story of Tom Cody (Paré), a former soldier who returns home at the behest of his sister Reva (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) to rescue former flame Ellen Aim (Lane), an on-the-rise rock singer who has been kidnapped by local thug Raven Shadduck (Dafoe) and his motorcycle gang the Bombers.
Cody is willing to help, for a price, and recruits Ellen's smarmy manager Billy Fish (Rick Moranis) and a down-on-her-luck drifter (Amy Madigan) to help. But freeing Ellen is the easy part, as the group is pursued by first the cops and eventually Shadduck, looking for a final, winner-take-all confrontation with Cody.
In between the action we get a lot of music and video-type set-ups, obviously meant to push the soundtrack, a growing trend at that time. The songs more or less drive the story, which is simple, concise and quickly paced. You know what you're getting for the most part with the film, but you wouldn't want it any other way.
Finally released on Blu-ray this week by Shout! Factory and sporting a new 2K scan, this is the best Streets of Fire has looked on any home-video format. Presented in its native 1.85:1 aspect ratio, all those great visuals now fill the screen like never before. Colors are bright and deep, while natural film grain is maintained throughout. There are a couple of discernible blemishes on the print, but they disappear quickly and don't take away from the presentation. Overall, a very nice transfer and light years ahead of Universal's 1998 DVD.
Both The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 tracks are fully immersive and sound great at minimal levels.
Extras are loaded on a second disc and include music videos, five vintage featurettes and two feature-length documentaries, one from 2013, the other new to this set, that give fans an definitive, in-depth history of the film from concept to release.
Streets of Fire is a hard film to categorize - part Western, musical and gang picture all rolled into one - and maybe that's why it initially failed to connect with audiences in a crowded summer field 33 years ago.
Fortunately, new generations get a chance to experience a worthwhile film that was solely conceived to do nothing more than transport and entertain. Exactly the reason we go to the movies.
