Kelly WandCrossroads
September 27th 2006 02:45
“Crossroads” is one weird arsed movie; a total one of a kind. Just from that little description, you probably already know that I’m predisposed to liking it. When I tell you Walter Hill directed it, you’ll think it’s a slam dunk.
Well, yeah. I do like it. That doesn’t mean it is completely free of cringe free moments. The fact that it stars Karate Kid Ralph Macchio is not a point in its favour. I mean to say, it is hard to like a guy called Ralph. Ralph is the kind of name that should have you running to the deed poll office. And the Macchio kid? He’s got the screen presence of a mouth ulcer. You always know he’s there but you wish he’d go away.
Director Hill has a thing about playing with mythology in a vaguely rock and roll context. “The Warriors” has a plot ripped straight off of the Greeks (Xenophon’s Anabasis). “Streets of Fire” may have look like a nineteen fifties rock and roll movie but you couldn’t watch it without catching some kind of vibe of Helen of Troy or Ulysses. This second of Hill’s rock and roll fables bombed mysteriously. It practically invented that cut on the beat editing style beloved my music clip directors but it just vanished.
There is usually a yawning gap in most Walter Hill retrospectives. What happened between “48 Hours” and “Extreme Prejudice”? Here is your answer. This film takes a central conceit and runs with it. Blues Guitar legend Robert Johnson claimed he went down to the Crossroads at Midnight to learn how to play from the devil. The price for these lessons is his immortal soul.
The film takes this as gospel truth. It goes on to tell us that Johnson sent his pal Willie Brown down there on a similar quest. Brown is now locked up in a maximum security retirement home.
Music student Eugene has tracked him down because he wants to learn one of Johnson’s unrecorded songs. As Eugene is played by the tremendous Ralph Macchio (that was sarcasm), you know he is going to be an up himself little shit. Brown convinces Eugene to spring him and they both head down to Mississippi where Eugene gets a lesson about what the Blues is really all about and becomes a better person for it. (All together now; Aaaaahhhhhhh!)
Yeah, I know. Sounds pretty bad. There were moments when I felt the urge to leave the room. Still, Joe Seneca is great as Willie Brown. Jami Gertz is great as Francis, the runaway they meet along the way. Walter Hill has a history of including female characters far tougher than his heroes. It kind of puts his macho bullshit into perspective and I believe he knows it. (He was one of the producers on Alien after all.)
There is a final showdown with Scratch (the Devil) that echoes both “The Devil and Daniel Webster” and that old country song about when the Devil comes down to Georgia. Here, a post modern assembling of pop culture references is used to create myth rather than deconstruct it. If that sounds too heavy then forget the egg head shit and just accept that this sequence is fun.
The one thing that will draw your interest back to the screen is Ry Cooder’s music. Macchio does a pretty good job of miming but Cooder’s doing all the real work.
Okay, so it’s not a great film but it’s better than a kick up the arse. I was watching it just yesterday and it actually succeeded in dragging my son and his mate off of the play station. Getting those guys top lay down their controllers takes some effort, believe me.
Well, yeah. I do like it. That doesn’t mean it is completely free of cringe free moments. The fact that it stars Karate Kid Ralph Macchio is not a point in its favour. I mean to say, it is hard to like a guy called Ralph. Ralph is the kind of name that should have you running to the deed poll office. And the Macchio kid? He’s got the screen presence of a mouth ulcer. You always know he’s there but you wish he’d go away.
Director Hill has a thing about playing with mythology in a vaguely rock and roll context. “The Warriors” has a plot ripped straight off of the Greeks (Xenophon’s Anabasis). “Streets of Fire” may have look like a nineteen fifties rock and roll movie but you couldn’t watch it without catching some kind of vibe of Helen of Troy or Ulysses. This second of Hill’s rock and roll fables bombed mysteriously. It practically invented that cut on the beat editing style beloved my music clip directors but it just vanished.
There is usually a yawning gap in most Walter Hill retrospectives. What happened between “48 Hours” and “Extreme Prejudice”? Here is your answer. This film takes a central conceit and runs with it. Blues Guitar legend Robert Johnson claimed he went down to the Crossroads at Midnight to learn how to play from the devil. The price for these lessons is his immortal soul.
The film takes this as gospel truth. It goes on to tell us that Johnson sent his pal Willie Brown down there on a similar quest. Brown is now locked up in a maximum security retirement home.
Music student Eugene has tracked him down because he wants to learn one of Johnson’s unrecorded songs. As Eugene is played by the tremendous Ralph Macchio (that was sarcasm), you know he is going to be an up himself little shit. Brown convinces Eugene to spring him and they both head down to Mississippi where Eugene gets a lesson about what the Blues is really all about and becomes a better person for it. (All together now; Aaaaahhhhhhh!)
Yeah, I know. Sounds pretty bad. There were moments when I felt the urge to leave the room. Still, Joe Seneca is great as Willie Brown. Jami Gertz is great as Francis, the runaway they meet along the way. Walter Hill has a history of including female characters far tougher than his heroes. It kind of puts his macho bullshit into perspective and I believe he knows it. (He was one of the producers on Alien after all.)
There is a final showdown with Scratch (the Devil) that echoes both “The Devil and Daniel Webster” and that old country song about when the Devil comes down to Georgia. Here, a post modern assembling of pop culture references is used to create myth rather than deconstruct it. If that sounds too heavy then forget the egg head shit and just accept that this sequence is fun.
The one thing that will draw your interest back to the screen is Ry Cooder’s music. Macchio does a pretty good job of miming but Cooder’s doing all the real work.
Okay, so it’s not a great film but it’s better than a kick up the arse. I was watching it just yesterday and it actually succeeded in dragging my son and his mate off of the play station. Getting those guys top lay down their controllers takes some effort, believe me.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Sureit has faults but its outweighed by the glorious music and blues mythology.
The finale with Steve Vai as the devil is a real moment in musical history, and arguably the greatest guitar solo of all time..
Bit of trivia, because Ry Cooder couldnt keep up against Vai in the guitar Duel the producers got
some legendary players in to try and keep up. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, etc came and failed in the end it is actually Steve Vai playing against Steve Vai
Comment by Bob Short
I was merely glad to hear it wasn't the Karate Kid himself kicking out the riffs. That would have made me hang up my plectrum.