Walter Hill directed Streets of Fire as an attempt at making what he believed would've been the absolute best movie ever when he was a teen. He wrote the script by simply writing a checklist of things he loved as a kid, and making sure that the script included everything on the list. We'd put it on any top movie downloads list of great eighties flicks.

The film follows a discharged soldier, Tom Cody, as he returns to town to save his old flame, pop star Ellen Aim, from Raven, the local biker gang leader. The movie blends fifties and eighties aesthetics into an all new fantasy environment, with dreamlike cinematography showing a lot of rainy streets, neon lights and classic cars.

The movie is really defined by the music, again, blending fifties and eighties styles. You'll hear these great old fashioned fifties rock tunes with a layer of synth and aggressive, eighties style vocals. It really invents its own style of pop and Rock and Roll, even having led to the hit single, I Can Dream About You.

The story itself is pretty stock action film stuff, but this time it's done with such incredible style that it feels fresh and all new. The girlfriend is kidnapped, the hero comes home to save her. We've seen this story hundreds of times before, but this time, it's elevated to a sort of modern day, Rock and Roll fairy tale.

Hill has always been one of the great directors for as long as he's been creating films. However, you rarely hear his name mentioned alongside Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola. While he has every bit of the talent to earn that sort of respect, he tends to focus on action and western flicks, which don't always earn a director the same degree of respect.

The pop and rock soundtrack is contrasted by Ry Cooder's guitar score, which adds an extra layer of earthiness to the character of Tom Cody. The atmosphere and soundtrack are largely glitzy and fast paced, so the more laid back, gritty sound of Cooder's slide guitar adds a certain contrast that really helps both sides of the soundtrack compliment each other.

Streets of Fire makes an excellent double feature with The Warriors. Both take place in fantasy environments based on the "rough streets" setting, with street gangs, Rock and Roll, rainy streets and rumbles. The difference between the two films is that, while Streets of Fire takes that concept in a glitzy, colorful direction, The Warriors goes in more of a gritty, tough direction. You could also check out Rumble Fish if you want to check out one more movie with a great, weird style and a dreamlike setting.

The movie was going to be a trilogy, with the two sequels to be called The Return of Tom Cody and The Far City, but box office returns came out somewhat disappointing and those plans were scrapped. It's too bad, because it does feel like there was another story to tell in this environment. Luckily, the film has become a cult classic over the years and has earned the fanbase it deserved, it's only too bad that didn't happen back when that would've gotten us a sequel!