Why is this movie so appealing?
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docnakona — 16 years ago(March 27, 2010 09:01 PM)
Notice how many folks on this thread are putting how old they were when the movie came out? Well, I was 21 then and 1984 was one of the very best years of my life. So I think its more about capturing a moment of when we were coming of age and especially the music brings those memories and images roaring back.
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statum106 — 15 years ago(July 14, 2010 04:38 PM)
I just turned 15 when SOF was released. I missed it during it's initial run but they ran it to death on cable (just like "The Beastmaster"). It was also as staple on syndicated TV when I was in college in Atlanta.
While the film's straightforward, it's a mish-mash of sights and sounds. The music's great (Ry Cooder, Dan Hartman, The Blasters & The Fixx) and so's everyone in the flick. The action is top notch (sledgehammers, they're fighting with sledgehammers?) and the dialogue is priceless ("You're making this real hard on yourself. You act nice, you and me fall in love for a week or two and then I let you go.")
Box office non-withstanding, I consider SOF to be a must for anyone who admires Walter Hill as a director. I'm actually impressed he did so much under a PG rating. -
ucla-usc — 15 years ago(July 15, 2010 04:52 PM)
There are movies that just grab you, sometimes for reasons hard to define. For me, this is one of them. It is very much a Western, think Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider. The music, which I was fortunately able to enjoy before I lost my hearing, was powerful, moving stuff. I think Michael Pare did his best work in Eddie and the Cruisers and SOF, and am sorry he did not appear to have the range to do more. And Diane Lane was, to me, at her most gorgeous in this film. Moranis and Dafoe and Madigan were all great too. Again, this was a FABLE. Clearly labeled as such. And to me, overwhelmingly successful as that. I never tire of watching it, even though now it is with subtitles. And that final scene is one of the all time barn-burners. Just magnificent.
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sisterdebmac — 15 years ago(July 15, 2010 05:37 PM)
Another excellently written comment. I'm so sorry about your hearing. I lost the hearing in my left ear when I was 3 and had chronic infections for many years that would often clog my "good ear" and steal the sound from my world for weeks at a stretch. So far, I've always been fortunate enough to regain my hearing on the right when the infections cleared up. I adore sound and music, so I treasure them and know how precious that gift is. And how tenuous.
If you don't mind me asking, how did you lose your hearing?
Let me tell you a little story. You're an idiot!
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ozymandias312 — 15 years ago(September 27, 2010 10:40 PM)
:o( Alas! I too am mostly deaf in my right ear, largely due to my Army experience (all kinds of gunfire and explosions, even though it was only "practice"), but also from playing too much with guns and things that went "Boom!" before and after that on my own time, fool that I was. :o(
I wish all my fellow sufferers the best of luck with their hearing. May God someday open all ears that are shut.
Anyone who is at all into shooting, seriously, double up on the hearing protection. I mean use both ear plugs AND ear-muffs over them too. Deafness is very lonely.
Ozy
And I stood where I did be; for there was no more use to run; And again I lookt with my hope gone. -
krichadams — 13 years ago(May 05, 2012 02:18 PM)
The simplest answer is that it was one of those movies that captured the moment of the times when it came out. I was in my 20s back in the mid 1980s. The clubs had mostly either the spandex, neon colors, spiked hair, Prince's "Purple Rain" look. Or a mixed/updated/leather/punk 1950s look. Mainly depended which club you hung around. I first saw the movie on this new-fangled pay channel called "H-B-O," and watch it every time it comes on to bring back the memories1
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moviefanatics81 — 13 years ago(May 08, 2012 01:10 AM)
Because it's a unique movie that makes you wonder what time period it's set in. The beginning says that it happens in another time and another place.
Michael Pare, Diane Lane, Willem Dafoe, Amy Madigan, and Rick Moranis were convincing in their roles.
Although Diane Lane was lip syncing, she put so much emotion in the music performances.
I like how the dancer named Marin (who did most of the dancing in "Flashdance") got to do a brief dance during the club scene.
The first and last songs were my favorite ones on this soundtrack. I also love "I Can Dream About You." The first song "Going Nowhere Fast" was the song that my favorite aerobics instructor would sometimes play. -
vimhawk — 13 years ago(June 23, 2012 08:14 AM)
I saw this again for the first time in ages a couple of days ago. When I analyse the components of this film, most of them are unconvincing. The strange 'out of time' setting is just that, strange, the performances are adequate, a lot of the dialogue is very poor but then I realise that the clich "greater than the sum of its parts" has probably never been better used. It's just a really good, fun, entertaining film. What more could you want?
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mojo2004 — 13 years ago(July 11, 2012 04:11 PM)
The soundtrack. Like others I bought the film on VHS, I bought the soundtrack on cassette, then CD, now I want the film on DVD. I remember the big deal they made about this movie when it came out. I thought it would do better at the box office but I'll always love it because of the great music. the wonderful sets and costumes. Along with a diverse casts. I had a video copy of the interviews some of the cast did while making the film. The McCoy character was supposed to be male but Amy Madigan asks if she could audition for it and Walter Hill let her. I think that change made the film better.
Just for the record, I'm not a Dude, I'm a Dudette!