Perhaps best known for the hit song “On The Dark Side” the film Eddie And The Cruisers from 1983 is a decent look at rock and roll – sort of a companion to Ralph Bakshi’s 1981 film American Pop. it’s a decent look at music and how the industry changed over time as well as offering up what is supposed to be a mystery, though it’s pretty obvious from the beginning that Eddie didnt die. It was only mildly successful but the single wouldn’t stay off the radio and the film gained a bit of cult status.
And you didn’t need to know about the sequel to get that plot twist. Ultimately the film was successful enough to warrant a sequel. 1989 saw Eddie And The Cruisers II: Eddie Lives and it made a small splash then was pullled. Maybe more emphasis on the soundtrack? A late summer release getting lost in the shuffle? Whatever the case, many people forget there was a sequel.
Shout Factory now has both films available as a double feature on Blu-ray.
The first film starts out with a reporter looking for a story on what really happened behind the disappearance of Eddie Wilson (Michael Paré). Did he really die? What happened that night? The reporter seeks out former band members and is given a bit of a history lesson on the band but no real answers. Actually the band members have their own issues to deal with and questions. Where are the tapes for the long lost masterpiece Eddie was working on when he died?
The cast is decent and includes Tom Berenger, Joe Pantoliano, and Ellen Barkin. most of the cast doesn’t return for the sequel, which doesn’t explore the interesting themes set up in the “twist” ending of the first film. Instead of looking at how Eddie adjusts to coming back to the public eye and his relationship with his old friends, we get a sort of side story that isnt’ really reliant on Eddie at all. Actually, if you change the character’s name and took out the flashbacks, it might have been more interesting. The sequel really does stand out as a cash-grab to capitolize on the mild success of the original.
Fans of the first film will want this package because if you’re going to watch the first film having the sequel around to watch even in just once would be nice. The speical features are all focused on the sequel and are just talking heads focusing mostly on the soundtrack over three featurettes for about 20 minutes. There is a 10 minute “behind the scenes” look focusing mostly on the climactic concert which is interesting.
Neither film is great, witht he sequel being especially unecessary, but as a package for the first film, it’s not bad. Think of the sequel as a bonus feature for the original. I would have liked an audio commmentary or something, but hey, this is the kind of film that many would expect to be completely passed over for Blu-ray release.