lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (10/07/85)
How about last year's "Streets of Fire". I saw this on a cable a couple of months ago and was appalled at how lousy it was. I couldn't' believe this movie generated as much attention as it did.
jw@mck-csc.UUCP (Jeffrey Weiss) (10/08/85)
> How about last year's "Streets of Fire". I saw this on a cable a couple of > months ago and was appalled at how lousy it was. I couldn't' believe this > movie generated as much attention as it did. How dare you!!!! If this makes it into the TBM list, I will hang up net.movies forever!!!!
bch@mcnc.UUCP (Byron C. Howes) (10/09/85)
In article <1568@bbncca.ARPA> lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) writes: >How about last year's "Streets of Fire". I saw this on a cable a couple of >months ago and was appalled at how lousy it was. I couldn't' believe this >movie generated as much attention as it did. Oh no you don't! While this is not what I would call a terrific film, it has a number of not totally bad things about it that deserve mention. First, for the record, it did generate a top 40 hit ("I Can Dream About You") which is prima facie evidence for it not being a "Totally Bad" film. Beyond that there is (1) a much better than average performance by Willem Dafoe as the kinky gang leader you love to hate, (2) A dance sequence by Marin Jahan (Jennifer Beals' body in "Flashdance") that'll bring 'em right off the farm, (3) a remarkable cameo by Ed Begley, Jr. ("St. Elswhere" -- among lots of other things) as an urban hermit/bum and (4) a very creditable performance by Amy Madigan which saves the film from Michael Pare, Rick Moranis and Diane Lane's throwaways. Ry Cooder's contributions to the score are also worth a listen, though they are often overpowered by the action. I confess to being entranced by "Streets of Fire"'s vision of the future as a seamless quilt of urban neighborhoods, sort of like city/states, each with its own private police force. It's kind of the ultimate deevolution of the gang society, and works at least as a literary device. "Streets of Fire" fails because it doesn't seem to take itself seriously enough. It's as if the director didn't believe enough in the material to try to make a worthwhile film out of it. Most of the dialog scenes look like somebody accidentally left the film running while the actors were rehearsing. Anything good here was done by the actors, not the production crew. Whoever edited this film never heard the word "continuity" and should not be allowed into a cutting room again. The editing is so bad it even obscures the cinematography. Still, the film has redeeming qualities -- enough to keep it off the "totally bad" list. -- Byron C. Howes ...!{decvax,akgua}!mcnc!ecsvax!bch
lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (10/10/85)
Ok, I'll go along with the music, dance sequence, and a few minor characters as having been "not totally bad". I guess I was reacting from an emotional level - "Streets of Fire" was released as an 'A' film with lots of publicity and I still think it bit the big one.
jmd@rduxb.UUCP (Joseph M. Dakes) (10/11/85)
> In article <1568@bbncca.ARPA> lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) writes: > >How about last year's "Streets of Fire". I saw this on a cable a couple of > >months ago and was appalled at how lousy it was. I couldn't' believe this > >movie generated as much attention as it did. > I confess to being entranced by "Streets of Fire"'s vision of the future as > a seamless quilt of urban neighborhoods, sort of like city/states, each with > its own private police force. It's kind of the ultimate deevolution of > the gang society, and works at least as a literary device. Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought "Streets of Fire" was set in the 50's not the future. And just to add my two cents, I agree it wasn't the greatest movie in the world but it was alot better than most of the crap on the local pay tv channel. Joseph M. Dakes AT&T Bell Laboratories Reading, PA rduxb!jmd
bl@hplabsb.UUCP (10/11/85)
> Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought "Streets of Fire" was set in the 50's > not the future. > > And just to add my two cents, I agree it wasn't the greatest movie in the > world but it was a lot better than most of the crap on the local pay tv > channel. Strange, that's where I saw it.
place@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (10/14/85)
While flipping through cable channels I came across the beginning of "Streets of Fire" and was totally sucked in by it. I could not take my eyes off the screen. It was so stylish, so creative. Too bad they couldn't have come up with a screenplay to match. I still enjoyed it, but when I look back now I think of it as a very stylish, exotic B movie.
roger@celtics.UUCP (Roger Klorese) (10/17/85)
In article <142@mck-csc.UUCP> jw@mck-csc.UUCP (Jeffrey Weiss) writes: >> How about last year's "Streets of Fire". I saw this on a cable a couple of >> months ago and was appalled at how lousy it was. I couldn't' believe this >> movie generated as much attention as it did. > >How dare you!!!! If this makes it into the TBM list, I will hang up >net.movies forever!!!! One of my favorites, actually. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ... "What were you expecting, rock'n'roll?" | |Roger B.A. Klorese | |Celerity Computing, 40 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701, (617) 872-1772 | |UUCP: ARPA: | |decvax-\ bang-\ celerity!celtics!roger@sdcsvax.ARPA | |ucbvax--\ akgua-\ | |ihnp4----\-sdcsvax-\-celerity!celtics!roger - or - | |- or - celtics!roger@bu-cs.ARPA | |seismo----\harvard---\bu-cs!celtics!roger | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
roger@celtics.UUCP (Roger Klorese) (10/17/85)
In article <773@rduxb.UUCP> jmd@rduxb.UUCP (Joseph M. Dakes) writes: >> In article <1568@bbncca.ARPA> lcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) writes: >> >How about last year's "Streets of Fire". I saw this on a cable a couple of >> >months ago and was appalled at how lousy it was. I couldn't' believe this >> >movie generated as much attention as it did. > >> I confess to being entranced by "Streets of Fire"'s vision of the future as >> a seamless quilt of urban neighborhoods, sort of like city/states, each with >> its own private police force. It's kind of the ultimate deevolution of >> the gang society, and works at least as a literary device. > >Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought "Streets of Fire" was set in the 50's >not the future. > >And just to add my two cents, I agree it wasn't the greatest movie in the >world but it was alot better than most of the crap on the local pay tv >channel. > Joseph M. Dakes > AT&T Bell Laboratories > Reading, PA > rduxb!jmd Actually, it's a fable... in a place out of time. If I had to choose, I'd say "future", tho. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ... "What were you expecting, rock'n'roll?" | |Roger B.A. Klorese | |Celerity Computing, 40 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701, (617) 872-1772 | |UUCP: ARPA: | |decvax-\ bang-\ celerity!celtics!roger@sdcsvax.ARPA | |ucbvax--\ akgua-\ | |ihnp4----\-sdcsvax-\-celerity!celtics!roger - or - | |- or - celtics!roger@bu-cs.ARPA | |seismo----\harvard---\bu-cs!celtics!roger | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
shiva@duts.UUCP (10/17/85)
> How about last year's "Streets of Fire". I saw this on a cable a couple of > months ago and was appalled at how lousy it was. I couldn't' believe this > movie generated as much attention as it did. Hey, man this was stylized art, you dig me cat? And anyway I think that the opening number was one of the best (contemporary) musical sequences ever committed to film. So there's one redeeming feature...... Shiva, Amdahl
absary@watmath.UUCP (Al Sary) (10/18/85)
In article <131@duts.UUCP> shiva@duts.UUCP writes: >> How about last year's "Streets of Fire". I saw this on a cable a couple of >> months ago and was appalled at how lousy it was. I couldn't' believe this >> movie generated as much attention as it did. > >Hey, man this was stylized art, you dig me cat? >And anyway I think that the opening number was one of the best >(contemporary) musical sequences ever committed to film. >So there's one redeeming feature...... > > Shiva, Amdahl You can't be serious. If that's the best feature of this movie, it is one of the best nominations for the totally bad movies list.
b2@magic.UUCP (Bryan Bingham) (10/19/85)
What about "Galaxy of Terror"? This turkey came out in '81 I think,
produced by Roger Corman, with several recognizable faces, including
the girl (Jonie?) from Happy Days. I walked out in the early-middle,
after the giant centipede/insectoid stripped, humped, and killed
one of the starlets. Another guy bought it when some crystals of
living glass that he had used as throwing knives but had abandoned
turned on him and threw themselves into his skin and burrowed into
his body. I had no idea what was supposed to be going on, and why
this group of people were being slaughtered. There is a faint
possibility this movie might have had some moments later that
could be rated above "terrible", but I doubt it very much.
Every moment I saw stank like raw sewage enchanced with
rotting skunk corpses.
b2
b2@bellcore
ihnp4!bellcore!b2
"b2 or not...no that not's right.............never mind"leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (10/19/85)
Very interesting. One evening I was curious about THE NATURAL and my wife and a friend were more interested in seeing STREETS OF FIRE. We all came out raving about how good the films we had seen were. As it turned out, when we each saw the film we had missed, we each thought the first film we saw was much better than the second. Evelyn really did not think very much of THE NATURAL, but was still quite impressed with STREETS OF FIRE. I liked some of the style of STREETS OF FIRE, but I thought it really was just a bad Western in another setting. Incidentally, there seems to be some confusion as to where and when the film is set. The film says clearly "Another time... Another place..." This is an excuse to mix elements of the 50's, the present, and the future. I disliked the film, but if somebody is serious about calling it a Totally Bad Film, they're nuts. They can't have seen too many films without seeing a lot worse than STREETS OF FIRE. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper
trudel@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Jonathan D.) (10/21/85)
> > What about "Galaxy of Terror"? This turkey came out in '81 I think, > produced by Roger Corman, with several recognizable faces, including > the girl (Jonie?) from Happy Days. I walked out in the early-middle, > after the giant centipede/insectoid stripped, humped, and killed > one of the starlets. Another guy bought it when some crystals of > living glass that he had used as throwing knives but had abandoned > turned on him and threw themselves into his skin and burrowed into > his body. I had no idea what was supposed to be going on, and why > this group of people were being slaughtered. Oh, no, I beg to differ! If you had stayed through, you would have learned that the place they were at was an alien training facuility(sp?). The site was a gigantic complex set up so that anything imaginable was possible. Moreover, the place analyzed the fears of anyone who entered, and created a reality out of them. Those who could not overcome their innermost fears died by their fears. You don't follow? Let me explain: The starlet you mention was killed because she was terrified of bugs, and being held captive for all the reasons that killed her. The guy with the crystals (Abdulla, we called him) was some sort of religious zealot similar to the Jedi Knights(think The Force/ lightsabers). His greatest fear was that he be betrayed by the thing he had the most faith in, namely the crystals. I can't remember any of the other people's fears, but they were there. If I could see this one again, I would. Anyway, how can you pass up such great lines as 'I live and die by the crystals.' -- Jonathan D. Trudel arpa: trudel@blue.rutgers.edu uucp:{seismo,allegra,ihnp4}!topaz!trudel Bill: He's hip, he's hot, and he's hairy. -Rolling Stone
bl@hplabsb.UUCP (10/21/85)
> > What about "Galaxy of Terror"? This turkey came out in '81 I think, > produced by Roger Corman, with several recognizable faces, including > the girl (Jonie?) from Happy Days. I walked out in the early-middle, > after the giant centipede/insectoid stripped, humped, and killed > one of the starlets. Another guy bought it when some crystals of > living glass that he had used as throwing knives but had abandoned > turned on him and threw themselves into his skin and burrowed into > his body. I had no idea what was supposed to be going on, and why > this group of people were being slaughtered. There is a faint > possibility this movie might have had some moments later that > could be rated above "terrible", but I doubt it very much. > Every moment I saw stank like raw sewage enchanced with > rotting skunk corpses. Ray Walston (My Favorite Martian) also played in it. You should have watched the whole thing. The "theme" is that the place they were exploring would create their individual nightmares. The people who died were killed by their own worst fears. The survivor was able to confront and control his fears. Grade B or C but not totally bad.
terryl@tekcrl.UUCP () (10/22/85)
> > > > > What about "Galaxy of Terror"? This turkey came out in '81 I think, > > produced by Roger Corman, with several recognizable faces, including > > the girl (Jonie?) from Happy Days. I walked out in the early-middle, > > after the giant centipede/insectoid stripped, humped, and killed > > one of the starlets. Another guy bought it when some crystals of > > living glass that he had used as throwing knives but had abandoned > > turned on him and threw themselves into his skin and burrowed into > > his body. I had no idea what was supposed to be going on, and why > > this group of people were being slaughtered. > > Oh, no, I beg to differ! If you had stayed through, you would have learned > that the place they were at was an alien training facuility(sp?). The > site was a gigantic complex set up so that anything imaginable was possible. > Moreover, the place analyzed the fears of anyone who entered, and > created a reality out of them. Those who could not overcome their innermost > fears died by their fears. Not having seen the movie, but from the plot synopsis above, it sure does sound like it's a cheap ripoff of "Forbidden Planet".
owen@rtp47.UUCP (Karl M. Owen) (10/29/85)
>> [Laura Frank Clifford recommends "Streets of Fire" for bad movie list] > > I confess to being entranced by "Streets of Fire"'s vision of the future as > a seamless quilt of urban neighborhoods, sort of like city/states, each with > its own private police force. It's kind of the ultimate deevolution of > the gang society, and works at least as a literary device. > > Byron C. Howes I too was fascinated by the atmosphere portrayed in "Streets of Fire," and have a few more good things than Byron to say about it. I didn't find the especially good, but in my opinion it was at least competantly (sp?) edited. I enjoyed the movie enough that I have (and will) see it again. Karl -- Karl M. Owen Data General, RTP, NC ...!seismo!mcnc!rti-sel!rtp47!owen