HTF HD-DVD Review: Streets of Fire (1 Viewer)

[Neil Middlemiss]

 

[norrisMc]

Thanks for the great review.

I absolutely LOVE "STREETS OF FIRE".... a real cult classic with great style and action... and DIANE LANE in hi-def !

 

[MattFini]

Honestly, it's releases like this that spurred my decision to go HD over Blu-Ray in the first place.

Universal may be pumping out some strange titles in an effort to ensure enough content, but if that is indeed the case then I am 100% pleased.

This is one of my favorite HD titles right now, a fantastic presentation for a true cult classic.

Thanks for taking the time to give us a review, Neil...this release is indeed a good 'un.

 

[bigluigi]

Excellent review!! A real treat. Much better than the old SDVD.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Ahhh - a guilty pleasure. Look forward to seeing this in hi-def!

 

[norrisMc]

I guess it is a "guilty pleasure" but I think this film has also grown in "credibility" as well as popularity over the years. Maybe it's because of the soundtrack, maybe it was just ahead of it's time, maybe it is the recent influx of style and comic-y films, or maybe it's the acclaimed cast (Diane Lane, Bill Paxton, Willem Dafoe etc etc) who went onto bigger things. Who knows?

Let us know what you think when you watch the hi-def DVD.

 

[Dave>h]

I watched this over the weekend. Having never seen the film before I was pleasantly surprised. The soundtrack was excellent and Ry Cooders haunting guitar work fit the mood of the film.

Not sure I agree with the reviewer on the picture quality as this was a lower budget film so I think film grain is to be expected on something as old as this and does not in any way detract from the movie. It just felt like watching an 80's film; marking it down for having film grain when it probably always had film grain present seems unnecessary. I found the picture to be very well balanced and film like.

Diane Lane, it has to be said, has gotten better looking with age. Lucky her!

Dave

 

[Daryl L]

Is this anamorphic or letterboxed like on the SD disc?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I'm also a sucker for this film. (Heck, I've also got the soundtrack album. ) This is very welcome, if somewhat surprising news. (Given the crappy release the film originally had and Universal's stubborn refusal to revisit the title on SD.)


"Anamorphic" isn't a concept that translates to hi-def discs. The native picture area is 16:9 so there is no need to "squeeze" the frame as with an SD DVD's native 4:3 format.

Having said that, I can't believe Universal is releasing thiis on HD-DVD when they never bothered to release an anamorphic widescreen SD-DVD. (Can those of us who are still sitting out the format war hope for an updated SD release now that they've created a new hi-def master? I've always assumed that the current SD-DVD uses a recycled laserdisc master, as was so common in the early days of the format.)

Pity about the extras. I'll bet most of the cast have fond memories of the picture and would be happy to talk about it in interviews or a commentary track today.

Hmmm... I may have to watch that crappy old original release tonight. (It actually looks astonishingly good scaled up to 720p on my JVC LCoS, better than it ever looked on any of my other TVs - better than it has any right to, really.)

All I can say to you HD-DVD guys is "enjoy". (Maybe I can pick this up on a cheap BOGO deal in a year or two when I take the hi-def disc plunge. )

Regards,

Joe

 

[Daryl L]

Thx Joseph.

I hadn't planned to go hi-def on DVD's yet so hadn't bothered to read up on it even in the forums so I just wanted to be sure. A Christmas gift of the HD-A3 has me in the format now. I just love watching Streets of Fire and was so sick of the crappy non-anamorphic SD DVD and would have been royally pissed had they been stupid enough to make in non-anamorphic on HD-DVD (I wouldn't put it past some studios). Guess it will be my first HD-DVD purchase.

 

[norrisMc]

It's a GREAT movie and you also get a smokin' hot young DIANE LANE in hi-def!

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

OK, you can stop rubbing it in now.

BTW, I have to say Diane looks incredible in that new "anti-aging" goop ads that she's doing.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Elizabeth S]

I LOVE this movie and purchased an HD-DVD player just for this.

However, my A-3 had a bad pixellation/freezing problem on about 5 of the first 7 discs I tried. I exchanged it for another, and it again pixellated/froze on the 2nd disc I tried. I'm frustrated and think I have no choice but to return this player as well.

Which leads me to. . .is there an anamorphic SD DVD release of this anywhere in the world??!?!?!?!?! It breaks my heart to have to give up the HD of it, but since I've had 2 player lemons in a row, I think I give up.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Never saw this movie.
Not even so much as a clip.
Picked it up cause of this review (thanks), it is so many of u's guilty pleasure, & I needed some cheap entertainment on a Saturday night.

You know your in for a popcorn flick when the marketing dept. boast: "wet streets"!
Did have some things going for it from the opening credits sequence: Walter Hill as co-writer/director, Joel Silver co-producer, & music by Ry Cooder w/Jimi Lovine.
Rick Moranis as a P.O'd/jerky promoter was worth the price of admission ($9.95US used) alone. What bouncer let's in an entire motorcycle gang all at once?* Great opening shot of a villain; didn't know William Defoe was EVER that young. Just would have been better too have random faces flashed on the screen… then Will's.
Always funny to see Bill Paxton & man can that Ed Bagley Jr. act!
The young Diane Lane reminded me of the lead singer from Berlin. Good too see the sleazy guy from "Flashdance" again.
Was this the 1st (& only) punkabilly movie?

LUV'd the cars!

This thing looked too good! Thought it might have been processed; guess not from the reviews (except this: "Along with snippets of a music video in the middle of the movie, a few other shots have kind of a processed, video-like appearance rather than the natural warmth of film, although this isn't a constant problem." DVD Talk - DVD Movie News, Reviews, and More.

*Nothing against motorcycle gangs, the club I go too in The City allows Hell's Angles; just a few & they can't wear their colors (although some still do!).

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Actually, it's more of an operatic rock *Iliad*.

The Warriors is the operatic rock Odyssey.