The movie Streets of Fire just blew me away when I saw it 25 years ago or so. Turned out I was one of the few that actually went to the theater to see it. The film bombed. But it remains my favorite movie of all time, and I don’t consider anything else even close.

There’s a lot to like about this “rock ‘n’ roll fable,” as I believe it was billed. Awesome soundtrack. Good versus evil. Motorcycles. Cool cars. Righteous violence. A manly and honorable lead male character. And a climactic fight between the good guy and the bad guy. Everything movie critics hate but real people like.

Oh, did I mention it has Diane Lane?

That’s Diane Lane as rock ‘n’ roll singer Ellen Aim. And boy, did she pull off that role! (Well, except for the lip syncing, but I’ll cut her a break for that, and this isn’t a Rule 5 audio post anyway.) By the end of the movie, the poster art seemed like only a slight exaggeration:

At least that’s the way it seemed to this 23-year-old Marine, who exited the theater practically drunk on the experience of the movie. Then again, maybe it was those beers my buddy and I drank beforehand. Whatever. This is a great flick with a hot chick. Highly recommended.

UPDATE (7/5/09): Why didn’t I think of this before all those folks hit Smitty’s link? Commenter Kitty points out that the closing number from the movie is on YouTube. That led me to the opening number, Nowhere Fast. Here it is:

If you’re wondering, yes, that face that materializes near the end is Willem Dafoe, as leader of the motorcycle gang.