The reckless, Springsteen-inspired revelry of “Streets Of Fire”

Walter Hill’s wild “rock ‘n’ roll fable” from 1984 screens on 35mm at UW Cinematheque on April 26.

It’s almost hard to put the spirit and essence of Walter Hill’s Streets Of Fire (1984) into words. The film really is something that has to be experienced, absorbed—inhaled, even. A loose cross between the urban Western adventure of The Warriors (1979) and the musical theater romance of Grease (1978), Hill’s “rock ‘n’ roll fable,” as he called it, soars above his previous releases. The storyline wraps around the grit and the grime of a musical moment later dubbed the Sound Of Asbury Park (S.O.A.P.), creating a stunning thrill ride from start to finish.

The story turns on Raven (played by the versatile Willem Dafoe), leader of the Bombers motorcycle gang. He is obsessed with Ellen Aim (Diane Lane), lead singer of The Attackers, and kidnaps her during one of the band’s shows. Former soldier Tom Cody (Michael Paré)’s sister Reva (Deborah Van Valkenburgh) tries to convince him to rescue Ellen, who happens to be his ex-girlfriend. Tom is reluctant to get involved, as Ellen is now dating her manager Billy Fish (Rick Moranis). The plan is for Billy to finance the rescue, as Raven has trapped Ellen in a dangerous area called The Battery. Tom enlists another soldier of fortune, McCoy (Amy Madigan), for the rescue. 

While not well-received during its initial release, Streets Of Fire is a bona fide cult classic today. Hill’s writing and directing had a finger on the pulse of the times, specifically the 1980s vision of near-future dystopia here. The soundtracks of Hill’s films breathed life not just into the stories but into the characters themselves. Whenever I hear The Eagles’ “In The City,” for instance, I instantly picture the end credits of The Warriors. Shot in an anachronistic style, both of these Hill films share timeless qualities.

Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets Of Fire” was going to serve as Streets Of Fire‘s anthem, but Springsteen changed his mind once he found out that Hill had planned to re-arrange and re-record the song with a different singer and without the E Street Band; and so it was replaced by Jim Steinman and Fire Inc.’s “Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young.” But the recklessness and all-out revelry of ’80s-era Springsteen is still present in the film’s car-chase scenes and non-stop action sequences. While the music of “the Boss” ironically didn’t make the cut, his spirit is imbued throughout. On Born To Run‘s titular song, when Springsteen belts out, “The highways jammed with broken heroes on a last-chance power drive,” he’s singing about the Tom Codys of this world.

In the hands of a less-capable director, Streets Of Fire surely would have gone off the rails. Some might even argue that it did; but the final edit of this distinctive musical and visual masterpiece is assuredly one of the best of Hill’s entire pantheon. Dust off your black leather jacket, and head to UW Cinematheque’s 35mm screening of the film this Friday, April 26, at 7 p.m.