A television newswoman (Ellen Barkin) picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare) may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.
The 1980s, among many other great things in the movie world, were apparently the decade of music films. We really do not see them anymore, but the 80s brought us this film (1983) "La Bamba" (1987) and this film's sequel (1989), just to name a few. Apparently it was also the decade where Joe Pantoliano appeared in music films, because he is both here and in "La Bamba".
Roger Ebert wrote at the time that the film was "so frustrating, so dumb, so unsatisfactory", but he was so wrong. This may not be high art, and it may be odd to hear Springsteen-esque music allegedly being played in 1963, but it is a darn fun film.
Although the film had a strong cult following when it was played repeatedly on HBO, those under 30 today may not remember the movie. Yet, the hit single "On the Dark Side" still receives regular radio play, so it is anything but forgotten. This might be the time to visit (or revisit) the film, especially now that we have had thirty years to reflect on the careers of Michael Pare, Tom Berenger and Joe Pantoliano.
Hats off to Shout Factory for releasing this as a double feature on Blu-ray. Unfortunately, it comes as bare bones release, with only subtitles to speak of. Michael Pare was not asked to do a commentary (though he probably would), and it would have been a really cool thing to include a remastered soundtrack CD. Maybe we have not seen the final release of this film yet.
The 1980s, among many other great things in the movie world, were apparently the decade of music films. We really do not see them anymore, but the 80s brought us this film (1983) "La Bamba" (1987) and this film's sequel (1989), just to name a few. Apparently it was also the decade where Joe Pantoliano appeared in music films, because he is both here and in "La Bamba".
Roger Ebert wrote at the time that the film was "so frustrating, so dumb, so unsatisfactory", but he was so wrong. This may not be high art, and it may be odd to hear Springsteen-esque music allegedly being played in 1963, but it is a darn fun film.
Although the film had a strong cult following when it was played repeatedly on HBO, those under 30 today may not remember the movie. Yet, the hit single "On the Dark Side" still receives regular radio play, so it is anything but forgotten. This might be the time to visit (or revisit) the film, especially now that we have had thirty years to reflect on the careers of Michael Pare, Tom Berenger and Joe Pantoliano.
Hats off to Shout Factory for releasing this as a double feature on Blu-ray. Unfortunately, it comes as bare bones release, with only subtitles to speak of. Michael Pare was not asked to do a commentary (though he probably would), and it would have been a really cool thing to include a remastered soundtrack CD. Maybe we have not seen the final release of this film yet.