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:

Where second best never gets a second chance.

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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

Contrary to popular belief, Eugene doesn't play "Big Bad Moon" by Joe Satriani after the guitar duel. The riff is similar, but the Satriani piece was written and recorded in 1989.

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Goofs

Early in the film, Eugene puts a Robert Johnson tape into his tape player. The first track is listed as "Crossroads Blues." It should be "Cross Road"; the song title became "Crossroads" when Cream covered it in 1968.

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Quotes

Scratch's Assistant: Ain't got no chance Blind Dog. You SOLD your soul. You goin' down, all the way down. Hell hounds on your trail, boy, hell hounds on your trail.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

HE MADE A WOMAN OUT OF ME
Performed by Amy Madigan
Written by Fred Burch and Don Hill (as Donald Hill)

User Reviews

The Most Wonderful Tribute to Blues Ever Made

* Minor Spoilers *

Eugene Martone, the 'Lightening Boy' (Ralph Macchio, an actor who presently 'disappeared' from the big screen) is a lover of blues. He studies guitar in Julliard, but he indeed is looking for the thirtieth unknown song of Roberto Johnson. One day, he meets Willie Brown, the 'Blind Dog Fulton' (Joe Seneca) in an old folk's home and is convinced that he possess the lost song. Eugene helps Willie to escape the asylum and goes with him to Mississippi. They can just afford a bus ticket from New York to half way to Mississippi, so the rest of their journey is hitchhiking. In the way, they meet Frances (Jami Gertz, also vanished from the screen), a girl who left home and wishes to be a dancer in Los Angeles. They three together will pass through many strange adventures and situations. The climax of the movie is the guitar duel between Eugene and Jack Butler (Steve Vai).

This movie is the most wonderful tribute to blues ever made. The cast, direction and soundtrack are perfect. Thank you Walter Hill and John Fusco for such a delightful film. The astonishing music of Ry Cooder is spectacular. If the viewer loves blues like me, will certainly not get tired of watching this movie and listen to the CD with the marvelous soundtrack. In Brazil, this movie has not been released on DVD (only in VHS and the soundtrack on CD). This movie is completely underrated in IMDb. I do not agree with the 6.1 user rating in IMDb. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Encruzilhada" ("Crossroads")

Note: On 08 January 2012, I saw this wonderful film again on an imported DVD.