Movies - Eddie and the Cruisers

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	Movies - Eddie and the Cruisers

Eddie and the Cruisers was a movie released in 1983, followed by one sequel, Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! in 1989.

The movie is about a 1960s rock 'n roll band called Eddie and the Cruisers. The band makes a name for itself while playing regularly at a New Jersey club called TonyMart. It is there that they meet Frank "Wordman" Ridgeway, who Eddie hires to be the band's keyboard player and lyricist.

With Ridgeway's help the band stops playing cover songs and releases an album of original material, Tender Years, that becomes a hit. The band spends a year recording their next album, A Season in Hell. The album is a culmination of all that Eddie has ever hoped to do with music, different from anything that anyone else had ever done. It strikes the head of their record company, Satin Records, as too strange to release.

In the early morning hours after Satin refuses to release the new album, Eddie's car goes over the side of the Raritan Bridge. His body is never found, and he is declared dead.

Almost 20 years later, Satin re-releases the band's first album, which becomes a surprise hit, climbing higher on the charts than the original ever did. This is where the movie begins, with the editors of a television show deciding to do a story on the band, with an attempt to bring light to the band's second album, which disappeared from the vaults of Satin Records the day after Eddie supposedly died.

Though the namesake of the movie is the band's lead singer, the movie revolves around the other members of the Cruisers, especially Frank Ridgeway, and their memories of the band. Much of the movie takes place in flashback, prompted by the television reporter, Maggie Foley. Tensions building within the Cruisers during the flashback sequences coincide with Frank becoming more open about the story with Maggie.

The story's climax involves Eddie's girlfriend, Joann Carlino, completing the one piece of the flashback puzzle that Frank could not: what happened the night that Satin refused to release the band's second album. After storming from the studio, Eddie brought her to Palace Depression, a makeshift castle made of garbage and junk that he visited often as a child. She reveals that it was in fact her that took the master tapes for Season in Hell from Satin Records, hiding them in Palace Depression where she felt they belonged.

Frank and Joann go back to Palace Depression to retrieve the master tapes. After returning to Joann's house, she receives a phone call that she believes to be from Eddie. Frank hides outside and watches as a blue chevy, identical to Eddie's old car, arrives at the house, and a voice that sounds like Eddie's calls to her. Before Joann can reach the car, Frank pulls the driver from behind the wheel, who turns out to be the band's old manager. They give him the master for Season in Hell, which he promises to release under a deal that will benefit all of them.

The movie closes with Maggie's story about the band, being viewed on televisions in a store window and watched by a crowd outside. The credits role as a song from Season in Hell is premiered for the first time, and as the lights from the television dim, the crowd walks away, leaving one person. His reflection appears in the store window, revealing him to be Eddie Wilson, much older with a beard.

The soundtrack for the movie is performed by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. They are best known for their work in the movie, as well as in its sequel.

Cast

Tom Berenger
– Frank Ridgeway
Michael Paré
– Eddie Wilson
Joe Pantoliano
– Doc Robbins
Matthew Laurance – Sal Amato
Helen Schneider – Joann Carlino
David Wilson – Kenny Hopkins
Michael 'Tunes' Antunes – Wendell Newton
Ellen Barkin
– Maggie Foley
Kenny Vance – Lew Elson
John Stockwell
– Keith Livingston
Joe Cates – Lois
Barry Sand – Barry Siegel
Vebe Borge – Gerry Rivers
Howard Johnson – Wendell's Replacement
Joey Balin – Eddie's Replacement

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Eddie and the Cruisers ]

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Movies - Eddie and the Cruisers

Cast

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