Streets of Fire (HD DVD)

Streets of Fire is yet another welcome addition to the ever growing number of high def titles. This movie, self-described as a rock and roll fable, was first made in 1984 and stars Diane Lane, William DaFoe, Michael Pare and Rick Moranis in a rare serious role. Diane Lane plays Ellen Aim, who has returns to an old haunt that looks much like the Battery of New York City, to give a charity concert. After the conclusion of her first song, Ellen is kidnapped by a biker gang. Her manger, Billy Fish wants her back. Enter the film’s hero, a soldier of fortune named Tom Cody (Michael Pare).

Cody is reluctant due to his history with Ellen. He agrees to help after Fish offers him $10,000. The rest of the movie follows the rescue attempt as well as a hilarious over-the-top fight and a great closing concert scene.

Despite being a “fable”, Streets of Fire seems like more of a satire of 1950’s America and other early rock and roll clichés. Check out Bill Paxton’s hair, Amy Madigan’s character, or the tough guy cops for further evidence. A lot of the dialogue is very colorful and fun, making for a whimsical time. It’s obvious that this one is probably playing off of 1950’s cliches as the cops apparently haven’t heard of the Miranda Rights as they just sit back acting like cheerleaders. Definitely a funny and amusing time. Anyhow, my favorite scene in the movie is the concert at the end where “Tonight Is What it Means to Be” is performed. It is a high-energy piece of rock and roll that is really enjoyable; it is similar in style to Meat Loaf’s songs, given that the songwriter is the one and the same Jim Steinman.

It took me awhile to see Streets of Fire, despite recommendations from my family, but I’m glad I finally saw this one. Even though it may not be the best cliché film, the entertaining songs and wall-to-wall audio, make it easy to forget about the silliness in front of us. Sit back and crank this one up folks. You’ll thank me later.

Video

Presented in a 1080p, VC-1 Encoded, 1:85:1 Widescreen Aspect Ratio, Streets of Fire has quite the fine transfer for a film that’s over 20 years old.

Given that the film has a fairly dark tone to it as a majority of the film takes place at night, the color usage had to present itself in a manner that was appropriate. Luckily, color usage was impressive. Blacks, obviously the biggest color choice here, was fine. There are a few instances of washed out and smeared blacks, but that’s probably the age of the print showing. Speaking of the print, comparing this one to its SD counterpart, shows that Universal may have re-worked this one for this HD release. The film’s grain was present but was more acceptable as it helped to capture the film’s thematic issues and elements. All in all, especially when one considers the age, Streets of Fire looked great.

Audio

Arriving with the standard Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 track, Streets of Fire is a success audio-wise.

Dynamic Range was spot-on excellent here. This is especially apparent during the concert scenes with explosive bass and drumming audio. Bass, drums, guitars and vocals ringed throughout my living room creating a truly awesome experience. Some may not agree with me here, but possibly because of my enjoyment of the songs, I’m going to use the few performances as a new demo. Anyhow, despite the inclusion of the awesome performances, this one is pretty absent never approaching the aural experience these performances created. Even though items like dialogue was intelligible shown, most will label a majority of this one as a disappointment. Myself, on the other hand, enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Special Features

Nothing is included here, not even a trailer.

Closing Thoughts

Streets of Fire is a very fun film that entertains throughout, with great musical numbers, fun dialogue, and a general over-the-top sense. This HD DVD release will certainly please most fans as the video and audio is quite impressive when one considers the age of the film. Recommended for fans of the film and a very strong rental for those who love 80’s music.