Some Great Movies From 1984

 Not only was I a big music fan back in 1984, as I am today, I was also a great cinema buff, unlike today. Posting about those two soundtracks from said year threw my mind back to some of the other great and not so great films I got to see in 1984. They may not have had soundtracks I wanted to listen to but most of them were good films or at least a good source of amusement. Therefore, in regards to the golden year of heavy metal, I thought I'd list the films I saw that year.

[caption id="attachment_4194" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ghost Busters[/caption]

This was probably the most popular film in 1984. It's theme song, sung by Ray Parker Jr, got a lot of play on MTV. Never cared much for the song but I did like this film as I was a fairly big Bill Murray fan at the time.

[caption id="attachment_4195" align="aligncenter" width="183"] Karate Kid was probably the second most popular film in 1984[/caption]

In spite of the above, I never accepted the proposition that all the blonde haired, blue eyed teenage boys in Southern California were all karate experts.

[caption id="attachment_4196" align="aligncenter" width="292"] Ghost Busters might have been the most popular film, but The Terminator was my favourite.[/caption]

"I'll be back" has been a very popular catchphrase from the film. However, my favourite part was when the hotel landlord asks, "Do you got dead cats in there?" Robot Arnie's brain flashes possible responses and he chooses, "Fuck you asshole."

[caption id="attachment_4197" align="aligncenter" width="189"] Hyped up to be the final chapter of the Friday the 13th series. No surprise it wasn't.[/caption]

These were considered the big films of the year but there were many more out there.

[caption id="attachment_4200" align="aligncenter" width="183"] The Keep: Nazi soldiers are killed in a haunted castle[/caption]

This was the first film I went to in 1984.

[caption id="attachment_4199" align="aligncenter" width="271"] DC Cab: Mr T stars in a film about an on the rocks cab firm.[/caption]

This was the second

[caption id="attachment_4201" align="aligncenter" width="184"] Angel: High school honour student by day, Hollywood hooker by night.[/caption]

There were some really funny quips in this film. Example: When Angel's transvestite friend opens the door to the killer, he asks, "Who does your hair, dickface?"

[caption id="attachment_4202" align="aligncenter" width="182"] Tank: A soldier uses a tank to rescue his wrongly convicted son from a redneck prison.[/caption]

I had been out of the marines only nine months when I saw this film so I was able to identify all the military inaccuracies.

[caption id="attachment_4203" align="aligncenter" width="259"] Patrick Swayze leads a bunch of high schoolers against the invading Communist armies.[/caption]

This film was definitely made to encourage America to accept Reagan's Contra war in Nicaragua.

[caption id="attachment_4204" align="aligncenter" width="182"] Thief of Hearts: A burglar breaks into a home and discovers the wife's diaries. He uses them to seduce her.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4205" align="aligncenter" width="183"] Starman: An alien world accepts Voyager 2's invitation to visit Earth.[/caption]

This was the last film I went to see in 1984.

Naturally, there were many more movies in 1984 but these were the ones I went to the cinema to see. That seems to be what I was doing when I wasn't headbanging away. What films did you all see and like?

Next post: Bon Jovi

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Soundtracks of 1984: Streets of Fire

 

Unlike "Footloose" the soundtrack to the film "Streets of Fire" went with virtually unknown or less known artists, at least for the time. It would be six months to a year before I would hear about The Fixx. The only others I had heard of were Ry Cooder and The Blasters and I'll get to them in a minute. Stevie Nicks does write and sing backing vocals on the Marilyn Martin track, "Sorcerer" but for the most part, the artists were virtually unknown to me at the time. However, I would take this soundtrack over that of "Footloose." Quiet Riot, Foreigner and Sammy Hagar weren't quite enough to tip it past "Streets of Fire" in my eyes.

Before I get onto the soundtrack, let me provide a little background about the film, which was slammed mercilessly by most critics. The 23 year old me in 1984 thought this film was okay. I mean it was the 1980s where one shot from a gun could set off multiple massive explosions and men settled their differences with sledgehammers. What wasn't there to like? However, as I grew older, I realized how surreal the movie was almost bordering on the ridiculous.

"Streets of Fire" is about a famous rock singer named Ellen Aim who gets kidnapped by a motorcycle gang, led by a guy named Raven played Willem Dafoe, while performing a gig in her home town. Without going into great detail, Ellen is rescued by former boyfriend Tom with the help of an ex-army girl named McCoy played by Amy Madigan. After many explosions and action sequences where they receive aid from an all black doo-wop band called the Sorrells, Tom and Raven have their predictable show down at the end. First with the fore-mentioned sledgehammers and then with fists. Therefore, Dafoe gets his ass kicked twice. Other little details include Rick Moranis, playing the usual nerd but this time it's in a serious role as Ellen Aim's manager and current boyfriend. His best line in the film is, "It's the shits." He says it several times and his performance, while good, never made me think that doing "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" was a bad career move. The best performance was by Amy Madigan who did receive a nomination for best supporting actress, so I'm not just saying it because Mrs. 80smetalman is a huge Amy Madigan fan.

[caption id="attachment_4186" align="aligncenter" width="209"] Amy Madigan as McCoy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4187" align="aligncenter" width="265"] Rick Moranis as Ellen Aim's manager. "It's the shits."[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4188" align="aligncenter" width="199"] Willem Dafoe as Raven. Note the pvc dungarees.[/caption]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXoxYbIEZEg

Okay, the film wasn't Oscar material but that doesn't stop it from having a rather cool soundtrack. When it first came out, MTV plugged the film by constantly playing the video from the first single, Fire Inc's "Tonight Is What it Means to Be Young." I do really like the song which was probably why it didn't go anywhere in the charts. The most successful song as far as chart success was "I Can Dream About You" by Dan Hartman. It is a good song but the irony here is that in the film, the song is performed by The Sorrells. Back in 1984 many people were amazed that a song performed by a black quartet in the film was actually sung by a white man. I think it's great we're more wiser about these things nowadays.

[caption id="attachment_4189" align="aligncenter" width="207"] Dan Hartman[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4190" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Sorrells in Streets of Fire[/caption]

While all the songs I've mentioned are good ones, for me, it's the rockabilly songs that make this soundtrack. The two tracks by The Blasters are the best songs here and "Hold That Snake" by Ry Cooder gets the bronze. All three of these tracks are just really damn cool and the soundtrack wouldn't be nearly as good without them. For the record, the song by The Fixx, while good as well, didn't have me wanting to check out future material without hearing it first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo63jMvDEK0

So, is "Streets of Fire" a bad film with a really cool soundtrack? Well, it's not a bad film, but it does have a killer soundtrack.

Next post: Great and Not So Great Movies of 1984

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Soundtracks of 1984: Footloose

 

There was a very strange trend in regards to movie soundtracks in the mid 1980s. It seems that in order to appeal to all forms of music lovers, there would be songs representing nearly every genre. There would be some trendy pop songs, some rock, some soul oriented songs and even a heavy metal jam or two. This is exactly the case with the soundtrack for the film, "Footloose" which came out in the very beginning for this year.

Let's start with the trendy. Kenny Loggins was already known for hit songs from soundtracks. He achieved it with the 1980 film, "Caddyshack." So, it was no surprise that he sings the title track to the film. It has always been one of those songs I've neither loved or hated. The "Footloose" soundtrack also gave one hit wonder Deneice Williams her one hit with "Let's Hear it For the Boy." That song seemed to be on every AM radio station during the summer of 1984. I've heard worse but I've certainly heard far better. On the other hand, the soundtrack was unable to give 1982 one hit wonder Karla Banoff her second hit. It's a song that's just there. Then comes the usual practice of using former hits like Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero." Finally, there's the let's take two singers from established bands and have them do a duet for the soundtrack. Cue, Mike Reno of Loverboy and Ann Wilson from Heart with "Almost Paradise." It was supposed to be a power ballad that draws rock lovers and top forty fans together but no, it doesn't. Both singers do a good job on the song and it's better than most of the other tracks but not good enough to get into my top power ballad list.

Let's side track for a moment. I have an experience with "Almost Paradise." Mrs 80smetalman and I chose it for our wedding at our local registry office. Three weeks before our wedding, we get a letter from the registrar stating that we can't use the song because it has religious connotations, which is not allowed at a civil wedding in the UK. I wonder if they would have said the same if I asked for a Deicide song.

Back to the point, "Dancing in the Sheets" by Shalamar was a definite attempt by the movie makers to appeal to music lovers of African origin. It's like, let's put in a song by a black band and black people will buy the soundtrack. That's my take on it. Now, for true rock lovers like me and you, there's the classic John Cougar song, "Hurt So Good" and another attempt to bridge the rock/top 40 gap, let's bring back the Foreigner classic ballad, "Waiting for a Girl Like You." Now to the metal, we got the great "Metal Health" by the then up and coming Quiet Riot but for me the best song on this soundtrack has to be Sammy Hagar's "The Girl Gets Around." Maybe someone heard the "Heavy Metal" soundtrack and said, "Hey, let's use a Sammy Hagar song." At least they chose a good one.

A note about the film: "Footloose" is about a teenage boy, played by Kevin Bacon, who moves into a small town, which is run by people who are anti-music. The local reverend is the spearhead of the anti-rock campaign. Of course, Kevin and the music win the day and music is allowed in the town but maybe Hollywood was onto something here. The religious right's war on music was just in the early stages in 1984 and maybe this film could be a prophecy of things that could come about. It's something to think about. Oh yes, the track by unknown band Moving Pictures called "Never" isn't bad but it never (pun intended) made me want to explore their discography.

Track Listing:

1. Footloose- Kenny Loggins
2. Let's Hear it For the Boy- Deneice Williams
3. Almost Paradise- Mike Reno and Ann Williams
4. Holding Out For a Hero- Bonnie Tyler
5. Dancing in the Sheets- Shalamar
6. I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)- Kenny Loggins
7. Somebody's Eyes- Karla Bonoff
8. The Girl Gets Around- Sammy Hagar
9. Never- Moving Pictures
10. Metal Health (Bang Your Head)- Quiet Riot
11. Hurt So Good- John Cougar
12. Waiting for a Girl Like You- Foreigner
13. Dancing in the Sheets (12 inch mix)- Shalamar

[caption id="attachment_3552" align="aligncenter" width="272"] Quiet Riot[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3299" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Bonnie Tyler[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2514" align="aligncenter" width="176"] John Cougar Mellencamp[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2277" align="aligncenter" width="238"] Foreigner[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1954" align="aligncenter" width="228"] Sammy Hagar[/caption]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiEp7drkGBo

"Footloose" wouldn't be the only film whose soundtrack got the 'corporate' treatment. While there's something for everyone, at least it's thought so, there's not enough songs here for me to ever go out and buy the album. Besides, I already have the tracks I do like from here on other albums.

Next post: Streets of Fire

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com