10 Amazing Teen Movies You Might Have Missed

Streets of Fire starts by telling us this is a “Rock & Roll fable…” and it's reflective of Walter Hill’s earlier The Warriors in its template: street gangs at war, clear delineations between good and bad, an ‘All-American’ type of hero we can get behind. Although not obviously set in any specific time, the type of dialogue and the general feel of the movie exude a clear 1950s feel.

The story begins with the invasion by a biker gang, of a club in which Diane Lane’s singer Ellen Aim is performing. The gang, led by Willem Dafoe’s Raven, kidnap Ellen and it is up to our hero, Tom, to get her back. He is helped along the way by Amy Madigan’s, McCoy, a tough girl who can handle herself, interestingly, we know from the start she is no love interest to Tom and this gives her more cache throughout the film as a strong female character to respect and she stands out as a great sidekick to Tom.

The music in Streets of Fire is great. In particular, the opening performance from Ellen Aim is catchy and believable and despite the '50s feel of the movie it’s a wholly '80s rock song. Outside of Lane, the cast weren’t stars at the time but they all perform well.

Dafoe is menacingly good in a very early performance which seemed to help kickstart his career. There is also an appearance from Rick Moranis as Ellen’s Manager.