Crossroads (1986)

Yes! The final scene between Macchio and Steve Vai (which is more or less Vai vs. Vai) is so epic and just fucking fun.

Yeah, I love this movie. Great soundtrack by Ry Cooder &, as Steve Monrocket mentioned, the Vai vs Vai bit at the end.
A surprisingly solid, naturalistic performance by Macchio too.

I still have a big soft spot for this film. Macchio did a damn good job of faking his guitar performances. One thing still puzzles me, though, why does Hill's vision of Hell look like a night at The Apollo?

I love the hell out of this movie. My dad and I both play guitar, so this is pretty much our Casablanca. Oh, sure, I see the warts and all, but I love those too. My only complaint is too much "On The Road" and not enough "Cuttin Heads with Jack Butler". Ry Cooder gets a great chance to shine (offscreen), and Vai is cheesy as hell, but MAN is that a smoking duel. The only sad thing is, those faces he makes aren't acting...he does that when he's playing live.

As far as Macchio's playing, I remember reading somewhere that he took 8 months of intense guitar lessons just to fake everything that competently. He does a great job, you really can't tell.

Oh, and the club isn't hell, it's where you go to play for your soul. I would assume hell is where you go when you lose...

It's been TOO long since I've seen this, so I can't speak through anything but nostalgia tinted lenses, but this was a favorite of mine back when it was on cable every day. Specifically remember I had it on a tape with The Hitcher and Nat'l Lampoon's Vacation.

Anyway, I will watch anything with Jami Gertz in it at least once. If I had to be introduced to the legend of the Crossroads filtered through Walter Hill directing The Karate Kid, so be it.

This movie is fucking great. I love that even in a Walter Hill movie about guitar players, the final moments still come down to a fight. Its just with with strings instead of fists.

Holy cArp, I was JUST reminiscing about this movie not too long ago. I actually like Ralph Macchio in the few movies I've seen him in outside of the Karate Kid films.

I definitely dig this film, though I haven't had the chance to see it in a long while...

This is a fucking awesome movie. Watched it recently as well and have to say they don't make movies like this anymore.

Walter Hill man what a filmmaker and that ending its beautiful to watch.

I saw Steve Vai in 95. He did the guitar fight from Crossroads.

Great movie.  Eugene's Trick Bag is one of the best guitar pieces of all time IMO

so this could be considered a spoiler if you've not seen the movie.  But it's awesome.

 

I'm currently working my way through the Walter Hill filmography and next to Streets of Fire this might be my favourite film by Hill.

 

There's a moment in the second act, when Joe Morton appears in a dream and slowly walks through a set of doors, his body initally dwarfed but then consuming the entire screen, which is nightmarish in a Lynchian way. The set-up of the scene is actually kind of expressionistic, but it's raw and vital and really gives a sense of weight to the final act.

 

You can tell from any Walter Hill movie that he loves music, I think Hard Times and The Warriors are the only film which didn't at least focus on a band at some point, and he brings a real sense of passion and enthusiasm to the Robert Johnson mythology. The road movie stuff doesn't work quite as well as the Johnson framework, largely because Macchio is a really disengaging lead, but the film is gold whenever Joe Seneca is onscreen and the final music duel is just all kinds of amazing, just so much fun seeing Steve Vai be all kinds of Steve Vai.

 

It's also interesting how the film sort of juggles three different styles. With the film being fairly non-descript in it's road movie sections and just coming absolutely to life in it's music setpieces. The final fifteen minutes are just kind of amazing looking, just a really great use of colour, space, and people to create atmosphere.