Mid 80's. Bagong lipat sa bagong bahay ang uncle ko. Family business was doing well, ninanamnam naming lahat. So when he got married and moved into a new house [that had a pool in it], syempre bago ang lahat ng appliances. At the time, high end na ang TV na may remote control [na hindi pa cable-ready dahil wala pang cable]. Anyway, it was with my uncle that I was introduced to what was back then considered what is now commonly known as a Home Theater System. Back then, it just meant your Betamax machine had hifi audio and the audio was hooked up to a component stereo system that made the sound "more realistic".So ano nga ba naman ang gagawin sa setup na ganun? E di umarkila sa Virra Mall ng kahon-kahon na betamax tapes [yes, kahon-kahon, at hindi pa uso ang VHS, Laserdisc at DVD. Betamax ang prevalent format sa Pilipinas nung 80's dahil this format was junked everywhere else at dito sa atin ito tinapon ng mga Hapon. Still, Betamax was superior to VHS]
SIDE NOTE: this proves na for as long as we can remember, Filipinos have been patrons of video piracy. Panahon pa ng betamax, uso na ang rentahan ng mga kinopya lang from original tapes. Sanay na tayo sa pirated, at kapag bumibili tayo ng original, we think we are being excessive in spending, kahit na makakabili ka na ngayon ng original DVD for as low as P150.
So balik sa kwento ko...
One of the betamax tapes given to my uncle to showcase what the sound system can do is a "laser copy" version of the movie STREETS OF FIRE. And rightfully so. The movie had everything that a great sound system can bring out. It had music [may mga concert scenes at madaming kanta], lots of loud explosions and gunfire, saka may sound effects kapag next scene na... may transition sya and it makes a sound like a train stopping. Pati pag-squeak ng balisong, rinig na rinig mo.
The moment I got to watch it, I fell in love with this movie. Lagi ko syang pinapanood when I am at my uncle's house and eventually he gave me the tape. Over the years nung may ibang format na, I also bought original copies. So I have it in Laserdisc, DVD and I even downloaded the AVI so I have a copy in my laptop. I also managed to buy the soundtrack when I was in Hongkong a long time ago.
PICTURED ABOVE: TOM CODY [Michael Pare] & Ellen Aim [Diane Lane]
The story of SOF is pretty simple. No deep plot. It's a straightforward mix of action, romance and music. Tom and Ellen were sweethearts living in a town. Ellen dreamt of being a singer and was actually making it come true. Tom felt like he couldn't keep up with her so he left and joined the army. Ellen left the town and became a famous lead in a band. Her manager Billy Fish [Rick Moranis] arranged for a benefit concert in her hometown. Sa opening number pa lang nung concert, Ellen was kidnapped by a biker gang led by Raven [Willem Dafoe]. Tom's sister Reva sends him a wire, asking him to come home. He rescues Ellen and leaves the streets in flames [hence the title] and Raven goes back to the town to challenge him to a duel.
PICTURED ABOVE: The famous kissing-in-the-rain scene.
After he rescues her from the biker gang, Ellen finds out that Tom rescued her under one condition: that her manager pays him $10,000 to do the job. Pinag-awayan nila ito and when she was safely back in town, she dumped him. But after Raven issued the challenge, Tom realized that it wasn't about the money so he gave the money back to Fish. As he walked out of their hotel in the pouring rain, Ellen chased after him. The two made up and kissed in the rain.
Sappy as I am, I found this scene to be so cinematically romantic. So much so that gusto ko ring magka-girlfriend at maghalikan din kami sa ulan. At nung nagka-girlfriend ako nung high school, nagawa nga namin ito. =)
PICTURED ABOVE: Raven [Willem Dafoe]
Nung napanood ko na ang Spiderman and he was in it as Green Goblin, naalala ko pa rin sya as Raven. Ganun pa rin kasi ang mga facial expression nya kapag naghuhuramentado na sya.
Madaming ibang artista sa SOF ang bagito pa lang nung panahon na yun pero mga sikat na ngayon. Kasali si Bill Paxton, and Amy Madigan.
And if you know this old catchy song called "I Can Dream About You" [hindi yung "Dream About You" ni Stevie B ha], dito rin sa movie na ito lumabas yun.
Balita ko nilabas na rin ito in HD DVD pero mukhang wala namang bonus feature so I'm not going to bother buying it.
Having my sickness, lagi kong naiisip na maikli na lang ang buhay ko. I seem to be often looking back at how or what I've done in my life. Among my all time favorite things is this movie. There are some things that you just never get sick of and as far as movies go, for me, this is one of them. Kahit na halos memorized ko na ang lahat ng dialog, pinapanood ko pa rin sya. Compared to today's movies, parang ang babaw lang nitong SOF. Pero favorite ko pa rin sya.
