Streets Of Fire (1984)
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Ex-soldiers embark on a dangerous mission to rescue a kidnapped rock singer from an outlaw motorcycle gang in a stylized, dystopian world.
The story
In Richmond, a city district in a near future dystopian time period that resembles the 1950s, lead singer Ellen Aim is kidnapped by the Bombers, an outlaw motorcycle gang led by Raven Shaddock. Her sister, Reva, telegrams her brother Tom, an ex-soldier and Ellen's ex-boyfriend, to come home. Upon his return, Tom meets a tomboyish mechanic and ex-soldier named McCoy. After a change of heart, Tom agrees to team up with McCoy and Ellen's manager, Billy Fish, to infiltrate the gang's territory, the Battery, and rescue Ellen.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In Richmond, a dystopian city resembling the 1950s, rock singer Ellen Aim is kidnapped by the Bombers, a biker gang led by Raven Shaddock. Her sister Reva telegrams her brother Tom, an ex-soldier, who returns and meets McCoy, a mechanic and fellow soldier. Tom agrees to rescue Ellen with McCoy and Ellen's manager, Billy Fish. They head to the Battery, where McCoy holds some Bombers at gunpoint while Tom creates a diversion by blowing up motorcycle gas tanks to rescue Ellen. The group escapes by hijacking a tour bus, eventually ditching it for a train. After a series of encounters with corrupt police and the gang, Tom eventually confronts Raven Shaddock in a brutal duel with sledgehammers and fists, emerging victorious. Tom decides to let Ellen stay with Billy, promising to be there if she needs him, and rides off with McCoy.
- First release year
- 1984
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Walter Hill
- Writers
- Walter Hill · writer; Larry Gross · writer
- Cast and characters
- Michael Paré · Tom Cody; Diane Lane · Ellen Aim; Rick Moranis; Amy Madigan · McCoy; Willem Dafoe · Raven Shaddock; Deborah Van Valkenburgh · Reva Cody; E.G. Daily · Baby Doll; Bill Paxton
- Genres
- action; crime; musical
- Themes
- honor; good vs evil; artifice vs reality
- Tone and mood
- stylized; fairy tale; visceral
- Setting
- Richmond, a dystopian city district resembling the 1950s in a near future time period.
- Premise and plot tags
- action; crime; musical; rock & roll; motorcycle gang
- Source material / true-story basis
- Original character/concept
- Franchise connections
- The Adventures of Tom Cody
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure, grossing $8.1 million against its $14.5 million production budget.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 59 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Awards and nominations
- Best Actress · Sitges Film Festival · 1984 · Win; Best Foreign Language Film · Kinema Junpo Awards · Win; Worst Supporting Actress · Golden Raspberry · 1984 · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film's title came from a song by Bruce Springsteen.; No blood was shown and none of the characters died.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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