Streets of Fire Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Streets of Fire Blu-ray Movie Review

Shout! Factory's re-release of Streets of Fire is a limited edition SteelBook with new artwork, including an inner print. The only major addition in this two-disc set is the inclusion of a newly rematered DTS-HD Master Audio 4.1 Stereo Surround. For my thoughts on Shout!'s Collector's Edition with slipcover from three years ago, please click here.

Streets of Fire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This is the same 2K transfer as the first release. I've uploaded additional screenshots that weren't part of my original review. The MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 boasts an average video bitrate of 32000 kbps.

Streets of Fire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout! has retained the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track (4707 kbps, 24-bit) and the theatrical's original DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (2114 kbps, 24-bit) from the CE. The audio "upgrade" is provided in the form of a DTS-HD Master Audio 4.1 Stereo Surround (3755 kbps, 24-bit), which was created from the 70mm six-track magnetic audio master. I had the volume on my Onkyo audio receiver cranked up fairly high for the full duration of the feature and heard no blaring or distortions. There's excellent multi-directional sound from side to side during collective cheers in the concert auditorium as well as other crowd noise. Similarly, there's terrific "horizontal" sound generated from the motorcycle exhaust systems as well as car screeches. Ballads sung within the film demonstrate excellent fidelity but acoustics are circumscribed primarily along the front channels. I wrote in my original review that on the 5.1 remix "the concert numbers sound a little flat" but they've been amplified on this 4.1 track. The latter is my default sound track for watching the film.

Ry Cooder's musical underscore sounds fine on the 4.1 mix. Cooder had replaced James Horner, whose score was rejected. There's a nearly twelve-minute suite of Horner's music for Streets of Fire on the fan-made compilation, The James Horner Action Collection (2000). Horner fuses his favorite instrument, the shakuhachi, with harp, bass, steel drums, and synths. It's pretty original writing by the composer, considering the self-plagiarisms Horner was accused of over the years as well as his alleged pilfering from Jerry Goldsmith's classical masterpiece, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). I can't tell where each little segment in the suite was supposed to go in the finished film but I don't think the electronic instrumentation would have hindered the picture in any way. Hopefully, it will receive a commercial album one day.

Streets of Fire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

None of Streets of Fire's DVD editions contained any bonus materials aside from the theatrical trailer (and production notes/filmographies on the early R1 disc.) Shout has ported over several different extras from the other BDs and added a brand new retrospective documentary (all on Disc Two):

• NEW HOTGUNS & SIX STRINGS: The Making of a Rock N Roll Fable – A Feature-Length Documentary Featuring Interviews with Director/Co-writer Walter Hill, Producer Lawrence Gordon, Actors Michael Paré, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Richard Lawson, Elizabeth Daily, Lee Ving, Screenwriter Larry Gross, Editor Freeman Davies, Associate Producer Mae Woods, Art Director James Allen, Costume Designer Marilyn Vance, Assistant Director David Sosna, Choreographer Jeffrey Hornaday, Sound Editor Richard Anderson, Music Producer Kenny Vance and Many More... (1:40:23, 1080p) - a comprehensive doc with the listed participants that Shout produced exclusively for this release. Anecdotes and production stories are multitudinous from the filmmakers and cast members. In English, not subtitled.

• RUMBLE ON THE LOT: Walter Hill's Streets of Fire Revisited – A Feature-Length Documentary Featuring Interviews with Director/Co-writer Walter Hill, Actor Michael Paré, Amy Madigan and Art Director James Allen (1:22:29, 1080p) - this doc originally appeared on the Koch and Second Sight discs. In English, not subtitled.

• Vintage Featurettes: Rock and Roll Fable, Exaggerated Realism, Choreographing the Crowd, Creating the Costumes, From the Ground Up (10:43, upconverted to 1080) - a compilation of mini-featurettes extracted from Universal's EPK. In English, not subtitled.

• Music Videos (8:39, upconverted to 1080) - some music videos produced when the movie came out that are played in succession.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:25, upconverted to 1080) - an urestored anamorophic widescreen trailer that appears as if it's been run through the projector one too many times. In English, not subtitled.

• On Air Promos (13:13, upconverted to 1080) - more EPK stuff with interview snippets and the like. In English, not subtitled.

• Still Gallery (10:22, 1080p) - a voluminous collection of color and black-and-white stills from Universal's press kit, lobby cards from the European marketing campaigns, and reproductions of pictures and posters from the Japanese program/booklet. The slide show starts out with vertical photographs before seguing into wider snapshots.

Streets of Fire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The LE SteelBook is currently only about $1 more than the CE from 2017. The 4.1 stereo mix is a clear improvement over the lossless 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. While I'd eventually like to see a fresh 4K scan, this is unquestionably the best overall release for Streets of Fire on high-def. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.