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. Ive now had these amazing experiences of people talking about that movie even now. This article was published more than8 years ago, Eight Degrees of "Eddie and the Cruisers": What you need to know about the seemingly ignored 1983 film about fictitious rock god Eddie Wilson, What:The film stars Michael Par, Tom Berenger, Ellen Barkin and Joe Pantoliano. 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. | Oh, you're right. The fraternity house is actually the home of the Haverford college president. There is no such thing, he says. [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. The role of Eddie almost went to someone else. The high school used was actually a school for the mentally challenged. We try to add new providers constantly but we couldn't find an offer for "Eddie and the Cruisers" online. In order to get a credible looking and sounding band for the film, Davidson hired Kenny Vance, one of the original members of Jay and the Americans. So the anachronisms are a greater mystery than that of Eddie's disappearance. "It was haunting and it was about two things," he says. It wasnt in the screenplay, it wasnt in my imagination. The building used is a school for the mentally challenged and existed as such for a while. Vance also told Davidson stories about the band, some of which he incorporated into the script. [5] Davidson was getting close to rehearsals when Vance called him and said that he had found the bandJohn Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band from Providence, Rhode Island. Moved by his story, Frank and Joann give him the master tapes. 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. However, they had no prior experience in distribution and were unable to properly release it in theaters. He remembered, "That was in my head: the search."[5]. the music. I battered him to the point Ive never battered an actor in my life. A scrappy, feather-haired TV reporter played by Barkin works the story. For a few moments, you feel like a king, a god. Im remembering this group I had seen about a year before in Greenwich Village, Vance says. Pare remembers, "The first time we played together - as a band - was a college concert. Other aspects of the movie are inexplicably wrong. But when it was over, we hugged, and I knew I had a scene which would work in the movie., Barkin, a late bloomer nearing 30, played the hard-smoking reporter. It cant be Rick Springfield and the Cruisers. Enter Kenny Vance, formerly of Jay and the Americans and the music supervisor for American Hot Wax and Animal House. Vance read a copy of the script. It's about Eddie (Michael Pare), a New Jersey rocker who hit the big time in 1963 and then drove off a bridge. Vance asked Davidson to describe his fictitious band and their music. | It wasn't a script I liked, but I remember my agent at the time saying, "Look, you only have to work two weeks, and they're going to pay you a lot of money. We are working with the actual locations managers or other crew where possible. That sparked the soundtrack, recorded by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, to become an unadulterated smash, rising into the Top 10. There is only one problem, Davidson says. Davidson was offered the job of directing a sequel to the film, but he was not keen on the idea and wanted no participation. 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. "[9], According to Davidson, when he completed the film, three different studios wanted to distribute it, and he went with Embassy Pictures because they offered him the most money. Not even the better efforts in this genre, from ''Stardust'' and ''The Idolmaker'' to ''The Buddy Holly Story,'' have captured anything akin to the excitement of the music itself. They also wonder where the ''Season in Hell'' tapes have gone, since the album was never released and the tapes would undoubtedly be valuable. FILM: EARLY ROCK DAYS, 'EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS', https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/23/movies/film-early-rock-days-eddie-and-the-cruisers.html. 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). The backlash followed. A homeless drifter built it out of junk, sand and clay, then charged admission for visitors. "The original novel," he says, "had this great whodunit element that really propels the plot. Leaning over Frank, Eddie said, "What I want is songs that echo. ", The rise and violent demise of pro-Russian war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, Ukraine live briefing: Russia blames Ukraine for drone attack on Crimea fuel depot, Britons asked to swear oath to Charles III from couch, a royal first. Frank and Joann go back to the Palace of Depression to retrieve the master tapes. But we kept the cameras rolling. The film was released in theaters on September 23, 1983, and grossed $1.4 million on its opening weekend. In September 2018, Tommy Marz released a series of interviews he conducted with members of the film's cast, as well as members of the production team. It was built by a drifter out of trash, sand, and clay. This is done through the character of Frank Ridgeway (Tom Berenger), nicknamed Wordman, who joined the Cruisers as a foil to the visceral, hard-rocking Eddie. Eddie and the Cruisers II Eddie Lives. I love Eddie and the Cruisers and plus I love the music in this film. "Eddie and the Cruisers" isn't a lost masterpiece, but it's a solid, thoughtful, enjoyable film about one of the great driving narratives of Western culture: The Artist Ahead Of His (or Her) Time, doomed to be ignored during life, then rediscovered after death. During the documentary interviews, the band expresses a desire to relive the past, but many of their memories are humiliating. He said of his role in the film that it was "a thrill I've never experienced. [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. [4] He wrote the screenplay with Arlene Davidson and decided to use a Citizen Kane-style story structure. This post is not to review or rate "Eddie", but to explain the background of the plot for other posters who seem confused on this. 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. Eddie and the Cruisers didnt actually play the songs, they were played by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. We thought the present was so fine, why ruin it by planning ahead? 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. Almost 18 years later, Satin re-releases the band's first album, which charts even higher than it did originally. To the point it was almost too unkind. A new building now stands there. Initially, Davidson said that the Cruisers sounded like Dion and the Belmonts, but when they meet Frank, they have elements of Jim Morrison and The Doors. 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. I was at this very college Im teaching at now when the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, he says. [18] The film was pulled from theaters after three weeks and all of the promotional ads pulled after one week.[11]. "It changed my life as a kid. [6] Matthew Laurance actually learned how to play the bass through rehearsals. 10 Things You Didnt Know about Eddie and the Cruisers, Remembering Eddie Mekka: Actor Died at 69, 10 Things You Didn't Know about Eddie Jackson, 10 Things You Didnt Know about Hacksaw Ridge, 80s Cult Classic Slumber Party Massacre is Getting a Remake on Syfy. Release Dates My agent said Eddie II was my way back to studio movies, Par says. [19], Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars. The band gets its start at a club in Somers Point, New Jersey named Tony Mart's. [5] However, Davidson did not want to lose sight of the fact that the Cruisers were essentially a Jersey bar band, and he thought of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was made to look pretty realistic though, since the band looked like they knew what they were doing. Eddie and the Cruisers is the story of a band and a man that were striving for greatness but hit a serious pitfall on their way up. "Tom Cody, Pleased To Meet Ya! See production, box office & company info, Tony Mart's, Somers Point, New Jersey, USA. on the Internet. After storming from the studio, Eddie brought her to the Palace of Depression, a makeshift castle made of garbage and junk that he visited often as a child. A few girls made a dash for the stage, tearing at Michael's shirt. It also created a cult following for the film. Do that. Par talks about On the Dark Side and his performance with Helen Schneider, who played his girlfriend, Joann Carlino. Was Two-Face Treated Properly In The Dark Knight? Eddie and the Cruisers is a 1983 American musical drama film directed by Martin Davidson with the screenplay written by the director and Arlene Davidson, based on the novel by P. F. Kluge. You know, 50 Shades of Grey didnt come out for 30 years, he says. I think people were all fucked up on drugs. When Eddie declares furiously that he wants the audience to know what he's singing about, and the song he's singing is ''Betty Lou's Got a New Pair of Shoes,'' it's hard not to feel that he's becoming a prima donna. 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. It should be an unknown. People want to believe it really existed. A mystery man driving a blue 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible identical to Eddie's arrives at the house and calls to Joann. 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. [14][15] Another single from the film, "Tender Years," peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Man o man, I wanna thank whomever uploaded this movie. Uploaded by The White Lotus Season 3 Cast: Who Could Return. This scene happened after Joann saw and heard Frank playing the piano at Tony Marts. ''Eddie and the Cruisers'' is rated PG (''Parental Guidance Suggested''). A lover of great stories and epic tales, Tom is a fan of old and new-school ideas. Joann is a stage choreographer in Wildwood, New Jersey, and Hopkins works in a casino in Atlantic City. Ive got up to Page 78, he says. Rehearsals were tough. The other Cruisers members share similar stories. 5. When their second album bombed Eddie suddenly disappeared when his car went sailing through a guard rail to crash over a causeway. It would go on to make $4.7 million in North America. Synopsis. A scrappy, feather-haired TV reporter played by Barkin works the story. Similarly, Eddie's final declaration, ''If we can't be great, then there's no point in ever playing music again,'' stretches the material's potential for melodrama to its limit, and beyond. The film bombed at the box office, grossing less than $4 million during a short run in 1983. It also created a cult following for the film. Kluge, the books author, loves the idea of the scene. (as Priscilla Nedd) Casting By Eddie makes it clear that if the band cannot be great, there is no reason to ever play music again. Kenny and Sal are making fun of it, making fun of his English bull----, rock-and-roll. Very haunting and super nostalgic. All of a sudden, groans Vance, Eddie lives, and hes Robert Goulet., As Berenger remembers it, a scene filmed in a roadhouse features the Cruisers watching TV as the Fab Four lands in the United States. I am crazy enough that I probably would, he says. Cruisers Do it like I'm doing Let's rock and roll. If he wanted to do another one, I would be there in a second, says Laurance, now a sports talk host on ESPN radio in Lexington, Ky. Furman wouldnt rule the idea out of directing. Most of the cast stayed away, with only Laurances Sal returning. It made me remember when I got the script and thought, This is superb. , Kluge, who took issue at the time with some of the plot decisions, has come to appreciate Eddie, even calling it a rock-and-roll Citizen Kane. So many lines from his book were taken verbatim. I like a big boss. I dont know what to think of it. Some of the details ring uncannily true, like the slick ''oldies'' nightclub act that one of the Cruisers is still doing nearly 20 years after Eddie's supposed death. [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. That sparked the soundtrack, recorded. "New Jersey and music and rock and roll and bands and that life. No, man. Yet when we see them at the college later in the film, no camera or film crews are in sight anywhere in the auditorium. arrived in April. 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 . "[3] He optioned P.F. The album was selling 10,000, 15,000, 25,000 copies a week and would eventually be certified as triple platinum, selling more than 3 million copies. I used the situation to bring him to tears. The building and the business were very real, but the structure was demolished in the 1980s. And what about the secret tapes? 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. Par thought playing Eddie Wilson again could spark his own comeback. Davidson argued with Cafferty over two songs, Tender Years and Wild Summer Nights, which the band had already released as a 45. No body is found and to make matters worse the master tapes to the second album mysteriously disappear shortly after. followed in 1989. 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. 2023 JustWatch - All external content remains the property of the rightful owner. 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. I said, Joe, I dont want the Rick Springfield story. Eddie vanishes without a trace, his body never found. Kluge's novel is also available, a book that Eddie enthusiast Kirk Curnutt, an English professor at Troy University in Alabama, still believes is superior. It's really a fun murder mystery. But "Eddie" got a second life during the summer of 1984 on HBO. 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. Vineland is currently trying to rebuild the Palace of Depression. Company Credits The studio re-released the soundtrack in the fall of 1984. Theyre sort of staring at me, Oh, another bull---- story. It's scary, a dangerous feeling. The sequel Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! 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. ", The film release was bungled. Sesame Street Takes on Game of Thrones and Westworld in Awesome New Videos, Everything We Know about Marvels The Eternals Movie So Far, Everything We Know about The Alienist Season 3, Quentin Tarantino Is Now Bashing the MCU. The VCR turned movies into songs, into hit songs, says author Sherman Alexie, a huge fan of the book and film. Of course, its about where has Eddie been since Eddie and the Cruisers II. Berenger isnt sure hed consider a return. That sparked the soundtrack, recorded by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, to become an unadulterated smash, rising into the Top 10. Eddie and the Cruisers is not available for streaming. Vance began to get calls. Ridgeway is a high school English teacher in Vineland, New Jersey. Like, when I'd go, I'd thinkI like to make a movie where I know who the boss is. [7], After successful screenings on HBO in 1984, the album suddenly climbed the charts, going quadruple platinum. It was just so unfair. Even the ticket booth that was used to charge admission is still there. These are John Cafferty music, not Eddie Wilson music. Cafferty eventually relented. 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. 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. 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 . Eddie and the Cruisers II Eddie Lives is Iconic. 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 . Does he still think about making Eddie? Doc works as a radio disc jockey in Asbury Park, New Jersey. How could we improve it? Davidson, the director, didnt coddle him. Hes taking it seriously.. Then, in 1984, the HBO run sparked excitement over the movie. 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. Eddie went to talk to Frank, who was lying on a blanket on the beach. He wrote, despite a good cast, "terrific" music and an intriguing concept, "the ending is so frustrating, so dumb, so unsatisfactory, that it gives a bad reputation to the whole movie. Davidson made a deal with Time-Life, a company that was going into the movie-making business. | Eddie's music sounds good, but it also sounds a lot like Bruce Springsteen's, and it would not have been the rage in 1963." Eddie and the Cruisers the word man bar scene Precision Computing 334K views 5 years ago Runaround Sue John Cafferty - Topic 466K views 7 years ago EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS 2 : RUNNING THRU. Joann Carlino: [narrating] There were so many things I wanted to say to him, so many questions I wanted to ask. Spot-on perfect, she said. Other aspects of the film are inexplicably wrong. Cut to New Jersey shore, 1963, Par in sleeveless T-shirt as rock hero Eddie Wilson. Tell us what's wrong with this post? | [3], The film was a box office flop, receiving many negative to mixed reviews from critics. 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. 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. [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. "[7] Additionally, New Jersey musician Southside Johnny was hired as a technical advisor for the film.[8]. A Different Beat EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS, directed by Martin Davidson; screenplay by Mr. Davidson and Arlene Davidson, based on the novel by P. F. Kluge; director of photography, Fred Murphy; edited by Priscilla Nedd; music by John Cafferty; produced by Joseph Brooks and Robert K. Lifton; released by Embassy Pictures. 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. , I watched it maybe a year and a half ago, Berenger says. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. I had a line when I say, Were not great, were just some guys from New Jersey. Ill be walking down Fifth Avenue and someone will yell at me, Sal, Im from New Jersey., Early on, director Martin Davidson had been struggling to raise money to adapt Kluges book. 7. Then, as the music heated up, so did the audience. Joann is able to complete the one piece of the puzzle that Frank could not: revealing what happened to the band's second album. The person that wanted the role, Rick Springfield, wasnt believed to have the right look or the capability of playing Eddie Wilson. In the morning, they told me that Eddie was gone, and they hadn't found his body. The sequel Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! The film is notable for saddling Par with a disturbingly unhip moustache. 6. An odd thing happened. "[20], In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "Some of the details ring uncannily true, like the slick oldies nightclub act that one of the Cruisers is still doing nearly 20 years after Eddie's supposed death. Come on. Then Joe Brooks, who wrote the Debby Boone smash hit You Light Up My Life, offered a quarter of a million dollars to help produce it. 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. followed in 1989. Please come back again soon to check if there's something new. We'll just say it was your first movie and they just didn't release it." But all Joe cared about was selling the album. The original structure is supposed to have been rebuilt since it was torn apart by vandals. [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. If you f--- up tomorrow, youre fired, Par remembers being told early on. And it seemed like it was just, "Who's driving the ship here? There was no way that the radio station used to play Eddies music would have been able to be picked up in New Jersey when it was being broadcast in New York. The whole thing will be very interactive and you will, of course, be able to update everything. [4] He told her what had happened to his film, and she gave his script for Eddie and the Cruisers to her business partners. Of Course He Is, Kick Off Your Christmas Countdown with These 5 Seasonal Horror Movies. 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. They called him the Kmart Springsteen, Vance complains about the impact on Cafferty. I said to John, Without these two songs, you can go home. He said, No, these are my songs. I wanted no part of that movie from the very beginning, says Davidson. 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. But Par, now 56 and acting regularly, has worked up a script for Eddie III with a friend. Plot [ edit] [23] Looking back, Davidson said, "that picture should have been a theatrical success. Martin Davidson has said that the inspiration for the film came from a desire to "get all my feelings about the music of the last 30 years of rock music into it. He has to break down. It would have been daring and edgy.. In the early morning hours, Eddie's car crashes through the railing and over the Stainton Memorial Causeway. Eddie read enough of Rimbaud to make an album called ''Season in Hell,'' and his friends wonder if he didn't, like the poet, willfully vanish. 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. Thanks for reading! 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. Eddie and the Cruisers was a massive 80s flop. Marty and I were not friends. [2] The article highlighted the 35th anniversary of the film and details how life changed for the people involved. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. It's a really weird high. And what about the secret tapes? Watch Eddie and the Cruisers Full Movie - Video Dailymotion Tonton dalam layar penuh 8 tahun yang lalu Watch Eddie and the Cruisers Full Movie Angelica Ikuti Watch Eddie and the Cruisers Full Movie Online here http://watchstreaming.popularnewsmovies.com/search/eddie-and-the-cruisers Laporkan Saluran unggulan Stringr Benzinga TIME Goalcast The Palace of Depression was a real place in Vineland, New Jersey. At Loews State, Broadway and 45th Street; New York Twin, Second Avenue and 66th Street; 34th Street Showplace, near Second Avenue, and other theaters. At first, the extras simply did what they were told. Filming & Production The filmmaker told Vance to find him someone that could produce music that contained elements of these three bands. in 1989.