Crossroads (1986)

Pretty Good

Lack of good storyline.

Absolutely the worst movie.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This still remains the guitar fan go to movie, this soundtrack is unsurpassed. It has it all, classical & blues acoustic, then R&B / rock electric. This is from a time people argued whose the best guitarist or drummer. Sadly now music challenges are who can rhyme most insults. Yes I think rap should be spelt with a c, and DJ sampling is nothing other than theft. There'll never be great musicians again apart from niche listening.

As the legend goes, Robert Johnson stood on the crossroads and sold his soul to the devil. With that contract he wrote twenty-nine songs that defined the blues genre, and… to fit within this storyline… one more tune was written that was never recorded. And this is what a young classical guitarist with a blues itch named Eugene Martone, played by Ralph Macchio, wants to record to make himself famous.He finds revamped version of "Mr. Miyagi"… an eighty-year-old African American blues man stuck in a rest home. He first denies he's Blind Willie Brown (named for wearing glasses), best friend of Robert Johnson; but then cons Martone into breaking him out of the hospital. They go on a road trip that, it turns out, won't be an easy bus ride – and like all dues-paying journeymen, they hitchhike.Along the way the duo meet a beautiful young runaway who borders on being a prostitute. Jami Gertz's spirited Frances provides not only the necessary love-interest but lights the fuse of a few action sequences. Although the best moments have Martone and Willie alone discussing, and playing, the music director Walter Hill celebrates through a soundtrack by slide guitar virtuoso Ry Cooder – providing each soulful lick Macchio imitates on the fretboard with amazing dexterity.One can argue this particular casting choice is a bit too conventional, especially given Macchio's mainstream status as a popular young star, but he does a good job. His final guitar duel with heavy metal shredder Steve Vai, so that Willie can get his soul back from an age-old crossroads deal, is reminiscent of both THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA and THE KARATE KID finale: playing his guitar, Macchio does all but a crane kick to literally beat the Devil. Yet with all the town-to-town adventures this is really about the music, not only a character in itself but the reason for the entire trip.For More Reviews: www.cultfilmfreaks.com

I saw it long time ago, and since then I haven't been able to get it in the places where they sell movies............. ...or in the cinemas where a different alternative (Classic films). The content of the film is quite rare and that's why keeps you entertained all the time. Excellent music, story, actors. It Shows a lot of art and over-natural topics, some parts perhaps are "fantasy" but they way is shown in the film is such as natural that the person gets into the film and live it.Unfortunately it's not easy to get it in the country where I live but perhaps I will get this favor from a friend who lives in the countries where it is possible to have it.I say to everybody "enjoy this film because it's not just good, it's excellent"

This movie will always have a special spot in my collection. I remember seeing it on TV when I was about 10, and I hadn't started playing guitar. Seeing Jack Butler (Steve Vai) rip it up left a permanent mark on my memory. A couple years later when I got my first guitar and amp, I rented the movie and was able to appreciate it all the more - I took a cassette recorder, held it up to the TV's speakers and recorded the infamous "Duel Section". I spent hours learning "Eugene's Trick Bag" note for note, and well...being a beginning guitarist, didn't really do much with it at that time. =) It's safe to say that this movie having led me to Steve Vai, is a big reason why I am playing the guitar to this day, 10 years later.Having just watched it for the first time in a few years, it's actually a very good movie. Joe Seneca is brilliant as the harmonica toting blues-man, and Ralph Maccio does an excellent job as well! The storyline holds your interest and builds up nicely to the climactic final duel with the Devil's axeslinger - the one and only Steve Vai. This film also played a big part in catapulting Vai to fame - soon after he would join the likes of David Lee Roth, David Coverdale (Whitesnake) and even replace Yngwie Malmsteen in the rock group Alcatrazz. If you're a Vai fan, you know that the rest is history and he is easily one of the most influential guitarists of our time.Great entertainment, and again - a must if you're a guitarist.