Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6665 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-06-28
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Walter Hill's updated (1984), highly stylised take on biker movies still looks like a determinedly eccentric project that happens to work at times, but not at others. Michael Paré plays a biker who agrees to rescue his ex-girlfriend (a rocker played by Diane Lane) from kidnappers (led by Willem Dafoe). The ensuing battle against a nocturnal background of industrial blight, chrome, and loud music is like some fever dream of a Springsteen fan who listened to the song "Born to Run" far too often. The audacity of the film carries it a long way even after it becomes clear that Hill's experiment is crumbling under its own weight. Dafoe, who looked even spookier back then than he does now, is memorable, as are Amy Madigan and Rick Moranis. Music is by Ry Cooder, with an appearance by the Blasters. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, optional French soundtrack, optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

Synopsis
Romance and violence collide in this rock 'n' roll fantasy set against a background of highly stylized urban decay. A sexy female singer (Diane Lane, Rumble Fish, The Perfect Storm) is kidnapped by a gang of vicious bikers led by Raven Shaddock (Dafoe) and her cool, laconic ex-boyfriend must come to her rescue. The pounding soundtrack features songs by Stevie Nicks, The Blasters, Ry Cooder and others.

Customer Reviews

Great music, sweet biker-lover film
This film is typically eighties! If you grew up around then, this movie will sooo take you back. It is perhaps not the most complicated plot ever; it is simple - yet it works great for what it is. You have the beautiful, the bad, and the brave - the bikers, the lovers... And on top of all, you have Jim Steinman (Meatloaf) making music: It is absolutely great! So curl up into you man or woman, and enjoy! We most certainly did!

Streets of fire
Set in a surreal world where fashion is a mixture of 50s rock & biker gangs, with 80s skinny ties & leggings.

It's not particularly intelligent, but it does have a certain visual flair, a good rock soundtrack & a few witty one liners.

In short, this is an entertaining and fairly original action movie. That's achieved something of a cult hit status.

The soundtrack is a Dolby Prologic mix. Better than standard stereo, with some rear channel effects, but it lacks the ooomph of a 5.1 mix.

This is a slight shame as the rock tracks would have benefitted from a decent DTS remaster, similar to the one given to Flash Gordon.

Picture quality is sub-standard and looks like a good quality VHS tape.

There's very little dirt & only the odd sparkle, but the picture is soft and slightly grainy. In one or two scenes the grain is really bad.

The black levels are also a little off, which is a problem as most of the film is set at night & many characters wear black.

Overall I'd give the film itself 4 stars, but the DVD 2 stars, so I'm going to average this to 3 stars.

Warriors 2
I remembered seeing this on vhs soon after release in 1984/5 and thought it was a great 'rock'n roll fantasy'. It still holds up well today.

Walter Hill is a fabulous director (Warriors,Southern Comfort,48 Hours) and all his films have a great cinematic look.

This movie reminds me of Warriors, and it's a shame some of the cast like James Remar and David Patrick Kelly were not employed here as they would have fitted perfectly.
The Michael Pare leading roll here is similar to the Michael Beck in Warriors roll,both relatively unknown at the time (and still).

Great early viewing of Diane Lane and Willem Dafoe.

Avoid the region 2 pan & scan 4:3 version.
The original region 1 dvd is the way to go, widescreen 1.78:1 (non-anamorphic but sharp picture) and a 5.1 surround mix to die for.
This soundtrack stands comparison to modern blockbusters, truly amazing.

The next step is the HD-DVD version...