Eddie and the Cruisers (DVD, 2001)

After being ignored during its intial theatrical release (and drawing little attention after coming to home video) it took cable to help bring this rock n' roll gem to the masses.

After a eighties revival sparks interest in a classic one album wonder rock and roll band a reporter, taking a hint from Citizen Kane, interviews former bandmates of Eddie Wilson in an attempt to understand what led him to take his own life by driving his car off the side of a bridge and what could have happened to the missing recording tapes from the bands last session. Her interview with Frank Ridgeway sparks memories that lead to him to seek out his old friends and he learns that most have been recently ransacked and one has been in contact with a person claiming to the be the deceased singer. Could Eddie have escaped from his watery grave or is someone else behind the phone calls?

The film Features a strong cast of up and coming actors including Tom Berenger, Ellen Barkin, Joey Pantoliano and the under appreciated Michael Pare and it manages to tell its slight story very effectively but the real selling point is the Springsteen lite songs by John Cafferty. Shortly after the film made its cable debut the soundtrack album began to fly off the shelfs leading to the surprise chart success of the previously ignored 'On the dark side'. Every song is excellent and does a great job of capturing the spirit of the time. Unfortunately Cafferty has been unable to transfer the soundtracks large fan base over to his non-Eddie work despite releasing some very good albums.

After the films belated success the studio attempted to re-release the it theatrically but audiences already had their own copies and it was once again passed over. A belated sequel did little to add to the films mystic although it did once again feature some great music.

This is a terrific film and I would be very surprised if anyone picks up the DVD without immediatly ordering the CD soundtrack. The two go together perfectly.

From the first time I saw Eddie and the Cruisers, I fell in love with it.
I first bought the VHS tapes until now. Sort of a 50's, 60's kind of movie
about a band and what they go through to become famous. Eddie, the lead singer, played by Michael Pare is great. The music throught out the movie is fantastic, and you catch yourself singing the songs way after the movie is over. This is one I watch over & over again.

This was a fun movie about an early rock style "bar band" that made it big. Eddie Wilson was the star and leader of EDDIE and the Cruisers. It was the late 1950's and rock-'n-roll was getting popular. Eddie wore the typical black leather jacket; drove the Chevy convertible; had combed back oily hair, and a cheap looking girlfriend. They exactly fit the description of the "rebel" bad-boy band. Success was theirs, until too much success drove them apart. Eddie (Michael Pare') and a young kid, just a waiter with a talent for words and lyrics, Tom Berenger, are the principles of this movie. Eddie is not satisfied with the music they are playing; yeh, it's OK, but he wants to create something better, something never done before, something great. He knows that Berenger can get him there; he calls him "The word Man". Through the constant tifts and spats that all groups go through, and with the drug overdose death of their sax player, Wendel, who is Eddie's best friend, Eddie moves further and further into retreat. Their audience wants them everywhere now and their producers advance them $10K against their next album. After an extended period of time, it is ready, but the producers hate it and demand their money back. It is great music, but twenty years ahead of what anybody is producing at that time, and totally misunderstood by all. This rejection is too much for Eddie. . .He snaps and says that if his music is worthless, there is no reason to ever make music again. He drives off into history. The next morning his car is found underwater, having driven off a bridge. Eddie's body is never found. Skipping forward twenty years, Tom Berenger is a high school teacher. The old music of Eddie and the Cruisers is suddenly all over the radio again. A TV reporter, Ellen Barkin, is pushing a story that maybe Eddie Wilson wasn't killed, but maybe he just took a powder. . . Berenger, decides to see if any of the old band members are still around, and if they feel that way too. He finds them all, still clinging to the profession, still all wondering just what may have been. . .if Eddie hadn't died. Their old PR man, Joe Pantaleoni, contacts Berenger. He is trying to locate those old tapes, the rejected music, "A Season in Hell". He thinks that this is just the thing to put them back on top. . .The old tapes are recovered where Eddie had hidden them twenty years ago, and are turned over to the reporter for her special on the group. The music is played and everyone now loves it. This was a great movie with a lot of live great-sounding music. It's like listening to the old American Bandstand again. You'll enjoy this one.

I have always liked this movie since I first saw it. It has a good casts of actors performing within the movie and the music of John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band lends well to the era portrayed. It remains one of my favorite all time movies and I greatly enjoy the acting of Tom Berenger, Michael Pare, and Joe Pantoliano. Well worth watching!

I remember watching this movie as a child and seeing the genious of it. The music is so great, you can't get it out of your head. It has been about twenty six years since I saw it for the first time and I just had to purchase it again, I love it that much. Even bought the sequeal Eddie Lives! It is truly a classic.