This is a pair of French advance door panel posters (or ‘pantalons’) for two movies from director Walter Hill. Both are highly stylised, nocturnal and urban. Hill made a number of cracking hit thrillers in the 70s-80s, including The Driver and 48 Hours, but both of these movies got lousy reviews and flopped upon release. 

The Warriors has since been reappraised and has become something of a cult favourite. In it, a street gang has a nightmare journey to make across New York back to the safety of their base, whilst being sporadically attacked and picked off by rival gangs.

I saw this on a very bad copy VHS tape, so I did the movie no favours, but I remember it being rather dour and somewhat stilted. The movie provoked considerable controversy upon release, as screenings were linked to sporadic outbreaks of violence, even murders, leading theatres to pull it, only to re-release it again shortly afterwards to try and capitalise on the notoriety!

There is less love out there for Streets of Fire, but it is worth a re-watch – if you are able to find a copy, that is. I saw this in the cinema during my university film-reviewing days. It was billed as a ‘rock and roll fable’ and I got caught up in the sprit in which it was intended, although the dialogue and performances leave much to be desired.

The movie features a pair of cracking songs by Jim Steinman (of Meatloaf fame) – apparently, the film-makers wanted to use the Bruce Springsteen song of the same name, but couldn’t get the rights, so Steinman stepped in. This poster is not in great shape, but it perfectly captures the trashy comic-book ethos of the movie, I think.