Unlike the other Cruisers, who include Matthew Laurance and Joe Pantoliano, he isn't forced to shift frequently from 1963 to the present and back again; as a result, they all seem old for the early scenes and not old enough for today. He talked to George Thorogood and the J. Geils Band before finding Kenny Vance, who then found Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. Watch Eddie and the Cruisers Full Movie - Video Dailymotion [11] Initially, Cafferty was only hired to write a few songs for the film, but he did such a good job of capturing the feeling of the 1960s and 1980s that Davidson asked him to score the entire film. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. Eddie & The Cruisers Locations - The 80s Movies Rewind Berenger, choking back tears off-set after his real-life marriage fell apart, served as the tightly wound Frank Ridgeway, the wordman. He would soon star in Platoon and Major League. Pantoliano played crooked manager Doc Robbins. Then Im looking at Eddie and hes not laughing. Not adept at writing lyrics, Eddie hires Frank Ridgeway aka "Wordman" to be the band's keyboard player and lyricist, over the protests of band manager Doc Robbins and bassist Sal Amato. Relax. Then, in 1984, the HBO run sparked excitement over the movie. If you know of a good link for Eddie & The Cruisers locations, please let us know. [13] Embassy Pictures re-released the film for one week based on successful summer cable screenings and a popular radio single, but it once again failed to perform at the box office. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. [19], Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars. The film bombed at the box office, grossing less than $4 million during a short run in 1983. He was really worried because, you know, if Eddie Wilson didnt work, he didnt have a movie. At one point, the Cruisers got word that Pars spot was in jeopardy. I think people were all fucked up on drugs. I used the situation to bring him to tears. [6] Matthew Laurance actually learned how to play the bass through rehearsals. Joann is a stage choreographer in Wildwood, New Jersey, and Hopkins works in a casino in Atlantic City. For example, during a concert at Benton College, where Frank was once a student, Eddie ridicules Frank repeatedly by referring to him as "Toby Tyler" after seeing him and Joann kissing before the concert. If you take it too seriously. Michael Par was discovered in a New York City restaurant working as a chef. The sequel Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! And editor Priscilla Nedd-Friendly would go on to a slate of popular films, including Pretty Woman, American Pie and The Proposal. But Par never became a star. Thanks to pianohandsam for her tutorial, which helped me learn this. A scrappy, feather-haired TV reporter played by Barkin works the story. The film was released in theaters on September 23, 1983, and grossed $1.4 million on its opening weekend. Mr. Pare makes a fine debut; he captures the manner of a hot-blooded young rocker with great conviction, and his lip-synching is almost perfect. [12] Nine months after the film was released in theaters, the main song in the film, "On the Dark Side", was the number one song in the country on Billboard's Mainstream, Rock, and Heatseeker charts;[13] and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was built by a drifter out of trash, sand, and clay. Eddie and the Cruisers II Eddie Lives is Iconic. Ridgeway is a high school English teacher in Vineland, New Jersey. Davidson met the band and realized that they closely resembled the band as described in the script, right down to a Cape Verdean saxophone player, whom he cast in the film. We try to add new providers constantly but we couldn't find an offer for "Eddie and the Cruisers" online. Three weeks later, the studio pulled Eddie. It wasnt until 1984 that Eddie found success in heavy rotation on HBO and home video. It's the 1980s, and Eddie and the Cruisers are back on the charts, two decades after the singer's tragic car crash. The VCR turned movies into songs, into hit songs, says author Sherman Alexie, a huge fan of the book and film. The high school used was actually a school for the mentally challenged. The film bombed at the box office, grossing less than $4 million during a short run in 1983. Running time: 94 minutes. ", Berenger says that despite its box office failure, the film's script was "superb," and he loves it when "Eddie" pops up on cable. But as Eddie drove off, I knew, I knew it then, it wasn't gonna be any future. "[22], In 1984, Eddie and the Cruisers was discovered by additional audiences during its first pay cable run on HBO. Thanks for reading! Frank Ridgeway, Tom Berenger Eddie Wilson, Michael Pare Doc Robbins, Joe Pantoliano Sal Amato, Matthew Laurance Joann Carlino, Helen Schneider Kenny Hopkins, David Wilson Wendell Newton, Michael (Tunes) Antunes Maggie Foley, Ellen Barkin Lew Eisen, Kenny Vance Keith Livingston, John Stockwell Lois, Joe Cates Barry Siegal, Barry Sand Gerry Rivers, Vebe Borge, See the article in its original context from. Very haunting and super nostalgic. It also created a cult following for the film. That scene never happened. Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb FILM: EARLY ROCK DAYS, 'EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS' - New York Times "New Jersey and music and rock and roll and bands and that life. We'll just say it was your first movie and they just didn't release it." Kenny and Sal are making fun of it, making fun of his English bull----, rock-and-roll. However, she did praise Par's performance: "Mr. Par makes a fine debut; he captures the manner of a hot-blooded young rocker with great conviction, and his lip-synching is almost perfect. The original structure is supposed to have been rebuilt since it was torn apart by vandals. followed in 1989. [18] The film was pulled from theaters after three weeks and all of the promotional ads pulled after one week.[11]. Anyone can read what you share. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. We certainly hadn't told them to do that. A Season in Hell is rejected by Satin Records on the grounds that it is "dark and strange". The problem is that it finally lacks the storytelling resources to tell enough of an intriguing story about a musical mystery man. Davidson made a deal with Time-Life, a company that was going into the movie-making business. Technical Specs, See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro, hair stylist assistant (as Katie Bihr) / makeup assistant (as Katie Bihr), hair stylist assistant / makeup assistant, unit production manager (as Robert Girolami), second assistant director (as Steve Wertimer), property assistant (as Dimitri Apletcheff), construction carpenter (as Mike Curry Sr.), construction coordinator: Palace Depression (as Joe Petruccio Sr.), chargeman scenic artist (as Ernie Southern), assistant: sound editor (as Alan Bromberg), sound re-recordist (as Christopher Jenkins), supervising sound editor (as David A. Pettijohn), production assistant (as Jim Skotchdopole), production assistant (as Bette Ann Wasielewski). Like what? She reveals it was in fact she who took the master tapes for the album from Satin Records, hiding them in the Palace of Depression, where she felt they belonged. But Eddie and I, we had a deal, we never talked about the future. ", The film release was bungled. 2023 JustWatch - All external content remains the property of the rightful owner. "It was haunting and it was about two things," he says. You say not bad. The scene in Eddie and the Cruisers where they are practicing On the Dark Side was a 100 percent filmed on the roof of Tony Mart's. You can see Dolphin Dock across the street and Tony Marts House (A Red 60s House) Tony's son still lives there. People still watch it and still tell me about it."[13]. He had decent roles in Streets of Fire and The Philadelphia Experiment in 1984, but by 1989, he admits, his desperation to get back into film led to his agreeing to star in the ill-conceived Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! In that film, which Davidson, Barkin and Berenger stayed away from, Eddie is living in Canada as a construction worker named Joe West. ", Where: "Eddie and the Cruisers" can be seen on streaming services or on DVD. It's a really weird high. Eddie & the Cruisers [Original Soundtrack] Review by William Ruhlmann There was a year's delay before this film, which concerns the mysterious death of a fictional '60s rock star, took off via video and cable TV, but when it did, the soundtrack album, featuring such songs as "On the Dark Side" and "Tender Years" by John Cafferty & the Beaver . Davidson admits he pushed his star. The film didnt really take off until it hit cable and then people loved it. Yet when we see them at the college later in the film, no camera or film crews are in sight anywhere in the auditorium. In the morning, they told me that Eddie was gone, and they hadn't found his body. Synopsis. The passage of time has kind of allowed people to forget about it again. Great Scene From Eddie and the Cruisers 'On The Dark Side' | Our They held a movie-band meeting and sent David Wilson, playing drummer Kenny Hopkins, to talk to Davidson. 111 Eddie and The Cruisers Trivia Questions & Answers Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. The sequel Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! . It's about Eddie (Michael Pare), a New Jersey rocker who hit the big time in 1963 and then drove off a bridge. Like, when I'd go, I'd thinkI like to make a movie where I know who the boss is. in 1989. honorable & thoroughly entertaining film, with a final scene that still has the . Mr. Davidson obviously cares a lot about the era, and there's plenty of other evidence that he knows how it looked and sounded; the same can be said for John Lyon, a k a Southside Johnny, who served as the film's technical adviser. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Eddie and the Cruisers - Down on my knees and Hang up rock - YouTube All of the original Cruisers are set to participate in the documentary except Eddie and Wendell Newton, who had died of an overdose (reported as a heart attack) in August 1963 at age 37. And it seemed like it was just, "Who's driving the ship here? It was just one of those situations in which he didnt have to say anything, he just had to be there. Company Credits In 1984, "Eddie and the Cruisers" was released on VHS videocassette, CED and Laser videodisc by Embassy Home Entertainment. And Eddie and the Cruisers, which was about music anyway, really became some version of a really great song., It came onto HBO, and I remember hearing immediately about sales of the album, says Matthew Laurance, who played band member Sal Amato. As of October 2018, the film holds a rating of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews. But, you know, what was always inspiring to me was the whole through line of Rimbaud and the poet and the fake suicide, that was the only way to sort of have artistic freedom. We are working with the actual locations managers or other crew where possible. "[6], Davidson had the actors who played in Eddie's band rehearse as if they were getting ready for a real concert. Author P.F. Director Martin Davidson Writers Martin Davidson Arlene Davidson P.F. And you and I just met. , Nedd-Friendly, the editor, recently watched Eddie again and was reminded of Pars performance. He smiles serenely, proud to know that his work is finally being heard, and then disappears into the night. Leaning over Frank, Eddie said, "What I want is songs that echo. In a surprise reveal at the ending, a bearded, much older looking Eddie is shown alive, watching the multiple televisions in the window of an appliance store, where the ending credits of Foley's documentary tribute to him and the band roll. Wilson and Laurance say theyve got no reservations. See production, box office & company info, Tony Mart's, Somers Point, New Jersey, USA. Of course, its about where has Eddie been since Eddie and the Cruisers II. Berenger isnt sure hed consider a return. arrived in April. Spot-on perfect, she said. 3. A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album. I always thought that stuff was brilliant., How a box-office bomb sells 3 million albums, Kluge set his book in the doo-wop era, but Davidson imagined melding Dion, Jim Morrison and Bruce Springsteen. Joann is able to complete the one piece of the puzzle that Frank could not: revealing what happened to the band's second album. Was Two-Face Treated Properly In The Dark Knight? The person that wanted the role, Rick Springfield, wasnt believed to have the right look or the capability of playing Eddie Wilson. No, man. In addition, the music producer/supervisor for the film, Kenny Vance, appears on screen as Lew Eisen, the 1964 record company executive who refuses to accept the band's second album. The band is left to break up and go their own way. Frank, now an English teacher, remembers his time with the Cruisers in a series of flashbacks. It would have to be an incredible script. Michael Par, Tom Berenger, Joe Pantoliano, Matthew Laurance, Helen Schneider, David Wilson, Michael 'Tunes' Antunes, Ellen Barkin, Kenny Vance, John Stockwell, Joe Cates, Barry Sand, Vebe Borge, Howard Johnson (II), Joey Balin, Bruce Brown (III), Robin Karfo, Rufus Harley, Louis D'Esposito, Michael Toland, Bob Garrett, Joanne Collins Update Cast. The Palace of Depression was a real place in Vineland, New Jersey. Moved by his story, Frank and Joann give him the master tapes. Davidson, the director, didnt coddle him. To get him to where he had to be, Ive never had to work quite as tough. In one scene, Eddie takes the stage after a friend has died. Im remembering this group I had seen about a year before in Greenwich Village, Vance says. They weren't play-acting anymore. 5. I couldnt believe it was not him singing.. "It changed my life as a kid. A scrappy, feather-haired TV reporter played by Barkin works the story. The behind-the-scenes drama - the wild ambition, the wheeling and dealing, the image making - convey such different sentiments from the music's explosive, euphoric feeling that there's bound to be a built-in incongruity, for one thing. These are John Cafferty music, not Eddie Wilson music. Cafferty eventually relented. Almost 18 years later, Satin re-releases the band's first album, which charts even higher than it did originally. But "Eddie" got a second life during the summer of 1984 on HBO. Ive now had these amazing experiences of people talking about that movie even now. If you f--- up tomorrow, youre fired, Par remembers being told early on. It, and the original, are 2 of my all time favorite moviesand I seldomly even watch moviesmaybe I like these cuz I was a very, very young man when they first came out in the 80sBut here I am now, 60 years old, 61 in July, still loving this movie and its predecessor. He said of his role in the film that it was "a thrill I've never experienced. That sparked the soundtrack, recorded. Frank and Joann go back to the Palace of Depression to retrieve the master tapes. [17] Embassy Pictures threw a promotional party for the film at a dance club in West Hollywood in September, 1983, where Cafferty and his band played. It, and the original, are 2 of my all time favorite moviesand I seldomly even watch moviesmaybe I like these cuz I was a very, very young man when they first came out in the 80s..But here I am now, 60 years old, 61 in July, still loving this movie and its predecessor. A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released albu Read allA television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album. Rounding out the Cruisers are saxophonist Wendell Newton, background singer and Eddie's girlfriend Joann Carlino, and drummer Kenny Hopkins. But "Eddie" got a second life during the summer of 1984 on HBO. Par talks about On the Dark Side and his performance with Helen Schneider, who played his girlfriend, Joann Carlino. But is Eddie dead? And what about the secret tapes? My favorite scene is where Ellen Barkin is talking to Tom Berenger, trying to do the reporter thing, and he says, I knew him a long time. Release Dates The band's first album, Tender Years, becomes a major hit, but recording their next album, "A Season in Hell," turns out to be a nightmare. | In a relatively short time, a deal was struck with Aurora and Davidson was given a $6 million budget. The film bombed at the box office, grossing less than $4 million during a short run in 1983. Davidson remembered, "And six months later, somebody said, 'Your picture is appearing on HBO this weekend,' and I didn't even know."[10]. Being famous seems easy, its getting there thats the problem. That sparked the soundtrack, recorded by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, to become an unadulterated smash, rising into the Top 10. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Other aspects of the film are inexplicably wrong. [16], Eddie and the Cruisers was originally intended to open during the summer, but a scheduling error resulted in a September release, when its target audience - teenagers - were back in school. Kluge's novel with his own money and at great financial risk. But all Joe cared about was selling the album. INTERVIEW: Michael Par talks with TV STORE ONLINE about the cult classic STREETS OF FIRE", "Eddie and the Cruisers 35th Anniversary", "Ellen Barkin on great directors and her favorite roles, from Diner to Buckaroo Banzai", "Casey Kasem's American Top 40 10/27/84", "Casey Kasem's American Top 40 11/3/84", "Casey Kasem's American Top 40 1/12/85", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eddie_and_the_Cruisers&oldid=1148799347, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 8 April 2023, at 12:01. [14][15] Another single from the film, "Tender Years," peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. He was understandably upset and a couple of days later he went out to dinner and met a secretary who had worked on his first film. It wasnt in the screenplay, it wasnt in my imagination. The filmmaker told Vance to find him someone that could produce music that contained elements of these three bands. He has to break down. A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released albu A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album. We're just some guys from Jersey." I wanted no part of that movie from the very beginning, says Davidson. Davidson argued with Cafferty over two songs, Tender Years and Wild Summer Nights, which the band had already released as a 45. Do You Believe The Theory That Arthur Fleck Wasnt The Real Joker? A mystery man driving a blue 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible identical to Eddie's arrives at the house and calls to Joann. There is only one problem, Davidson says. Videocassette recorders, in just 1 percent of American homes in 1980, were in 20percent by 1985. Tom is out of his f---ing mind., The 1989 sequel annoyed everyone involved in the original. Of Course He Is, Kick Off Your Christmas Countdown with These 5 Seasonal Horror Movies. the music. Ellen Barkin, who has the small role of the television reporter, Maggie Foley, later said that she "hated" making the film: That was what we liked to call a "pay the rent" job. | ''Eddie and the Cruisers,'' which opens today at the Loews State and other theaters, attempts to enliven the rock-history formula by adding new elements of pretension and mystery. (as Priscilla Nedd) Casting By The others are now living ordinary lives: Sal Amato fronts a Cruisers tribute band. Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Martin Davidson Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Music by John Cafferty Cinematography by Fred Murphy . But before she can reach the car, Frank unmasks the impostor, revealing him to be Doc, who was after the master tapes all these years. We thought the present was so fine, why ruin it by planning ahead? It also created a cult following for the film. I wind up finding these guys and go up to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where theyre were about a day away from getting day jobs. A lot of the actual high school students were used as extras in the movie and the high school was used for several shots as well. In the fall of 1984, the single "On the Dark Side" from the soundtrack album suddenly climbed the charts, as the film was rediscovered on cable television and home video, prompting the studio to briefly re-release the album.