Crossroads (1986)

Ralph Macchio is Lightning Boy. A kid who can make a slide guitar sing. Blind Dog is an old pro who knows it. Together, they're headed to a place where deals are made. And legends are born.

Director:

Walter Hill

Writer:

John Fusco

Stars:

Ralph Macchio, Joe Seneca, Jami Gertz

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Macchio	...	Eugene Martone
Joe Seneca	...	Willie Brown
Jami Gertz	...	Frances
Joe Morton	...	Scratch's Assistant
Robert Judd	...	Scratch
Steve Vai	...	Jack Butler
Dennis Lipscomb	...	Lloyd
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Bartender
John Hancock	...	Sheriff Tilford
Allan Arbus	...	Dr. Santis
Gretchen Palmer	...	Beautiful Girl / Dancer
Al Fann	...	Pawnbroker
Wally Taylor	...	O.Z
Tim Russ	...	Robert Johnson
Tom Donaldson	...	John McGraw (as Tex Donaldson)

Storyline

Eugene is an extraordinary talent in classic guitar, but he dreams of being a famous Blues guitarist. So he investigates to find a storied lost song. He asks the legendary Blues musician Willie Brown to help him, but Willie demands to free him from the old-people's prison first and to really learn the blues on the way to its origin: Mississippi Delta. Eugene doesn't know yet about Willie's deal with the devil, that he now wants to revoke.

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Plot Keywords:

deal with the devil | blues music | guitar duel | musical duel | harmonica | 

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Taglines:

'The Kid' keeps the legend alive....

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Encrucijada

Filming Locations:

Murphy, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,071,680, 16 March 1986, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$5,839,031

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White (partial) Color Black and White (partial) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Fusco's screenplay won first place in the national FOCUS Awards (Films of College and University Students) and sold to Columbia Pictures while he was still a student.

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Goofs

At the end, when Eugene walks up to the stage for the guitar duel, the Nike sneakers he has worn throughout the film sound like hard-soled shoes on the wooden floor.

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Quotes

Frances: Blind Dog and Lightning Boy? Who the hell are you guys supposed to be?
Eugene Martone: We're bluesmen...
Willie Brown: *I'm* the bluesman, he's from Long Island!

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Connections

Referenced in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

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Soundtracks

WALKIN' BLUES
Written by Sonny Terry and Ry Cooder
Performed by Sonny Terry (harmonica) and Ry Cooder (guitar)

User Reviews

Macchio, music and the blues

I feel something for Ralph Macchio, and it is not love. The first time I ever saw his face, I can swear it inspired greatness. Then he talked, he act, he spread his talents all around, and no person can deny he was a natural. The character he created and developed in the first three "Karate Kids" (the first one is one of my favorite films) was sing of commitment and skill.

I was experiencing the hilarious "My cousin Vinny" the other day and he played another original character, being that one of his last important roles. Maybe what I feel is compassion because he couldn't make it as an elder man, and I really wanted to watch him grow. Maybe I miss his first and few big breaks, where he literally knocked me down; one of those being "Crossroads".

He was 25 at that time, but still had that 17-year old look, where you would have said: "Wow, he's 17 and in main role"…Well, I'd have said that. "Crossroads" is an inspiring tale about life and music; blues. It was not the first time that a filmmaker tried to relate music with life. I have personally never had doubts about it, because music is life for me; but in this film, for writer John Fusco it was about growing up, understanding the gift and use it for good.

Macchio portrayed Eugene Martone, a naive guy, gifted guitar player, crazy driven by the magic of blues. The love for music makes our mind think unconsciously about getting far, being big; and Eugene wants to go to Mississippi to get his chance, but needs someone who knows Robert Johnson's lost melody, knows the way, and has even lived it, if you know what I mean. In this story, that character is blues master Willie Brown (a tremendous Joe Seneca), now forgotten in an asylum, probably crazy (although he says he isn't but some brilliant sequences show him out of place) and without his car. But Eugene will get him out of there and they'll both start that journey together.

What happens next, including the various stops, problems, Ralph Macchio's wonderful guitar playing abilities and encounter with beautiful girl Frances (radiant and talented Jami Gertz) is for the viewer to discover. Now, how the title relates it's touching and interesting, but where director Walter Hill triumphs (and this is something that should never be forgotten for music movies nowadays) is in knowing that the story is there. The heart of his film lies in the development of the kid's and the old man's relationship.

When we now see movies about music that sometimes don't even have a clue "musically" and most of the times there is music to promote an artist in the film, because he/she sings; in Hill's "Crossroads" and in the relationship I was talking about, the discussions, conversations, walks and even music playing, hide some of life's deepest interrogations. And I regret saying blues is always the same, because even when it is, it is one of those musical styles, like jazz, that not many listen but when they do discover their power. It's in the eyes of the musicians when they play where you can see it; they love being in that scenario, and that's just magical.