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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: MACCHIO,RALPH
EAN: 9781404954687
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 1404954686
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Region Code: 99
Release Date: August 10, 2004
Running Time: 99 minutes
Sales Rank: 1660
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: March 14, 1986
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
The legend of Mississippi blues master Robert Johnson has served as a fountainhead for generations of blues and rock musicians, as well as a powerful fable for the dark, often violent mysteries of delta blues. Johnson's mythic deal with the Devil, in exchange for his extraordinary musical gifts, has become a fixture in blues lore and an example of the enduring pull of superstitions that can be traced back to Mother Africa and Yoruba deities. Producer-director Walter Hill (The Long Riders, Streets of Fire) sought to put this uniquely American mystery on film, but when he was unable to secure a script devoted directly to Johnson himself, Hill bravely decided to proceed with a more oblique, allegorical story that retold the Satanic bargain through a fictionalized drama set in the present day. In this 1986 feature, the hero is Eugene, a classically trained guitar virtuoso pulled toward the earthier powers of blues. When he stumbles across a lost blues legend, Willie Brown (a real blues figure and Johnson peer known for his partnerships with Charley Patton and Son House, among others), Eugene begins an odyssey back to the delta country and the crossroads of the title, where both Willie and Johnson had traded their souls for blues power, to help the surviving bluesman renegotiate terms.
An opening sequence, shot in sepia-toned black and white, dramatizes Johnson's own supernatural encounter, as well as one of the bluesman's historic Texas recording sessions, and Hill's visuals combine with frequent collaborator Ry Cooder's reliably authentic slide guitar to offer a promising glimpse of cinematic conjury. Even the satanic villain--a grinning huckster named Scratch--honors the trickster figure familiar to African American superstitions, rather than a generic devil. Willie Brown (Joe Seneca) is likewise a convincing link to the blues past, but Hill's central casting choice--Ralph (The Karate Kid) Macchio--sacrifices all for marquee value, a Hobson's choice that casts a shadow of unintended parody across the film. Macchio's earlier character, not Scratch, haunts this film, and even a nifty duel between Eugene, his slashing fretwork supplied off-camera by Cooder, and Scratch's ax-wielding henchman, heavy metal virtuoso, and one-time Frank Zappa protégé Steve Vai, can't safely rescue the film. --Sam Sutherland
Product Description:
No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 4-SEP-2007
Media Type: DVD
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Worth it for great Blues music and a young Jami Gertz
I really enjoy this film. The fascinating legend of Blues pioneer Robert Johnson, and his alleged deal with the Devil at the Crossroads, is the backdrop of this story. With fine performances by Ralph Macchio and especially Joe Seneca this movie is a delightfully entertaining journey. Eugene (Macchio) takes Willie (Seneca) down South to Willie's old stomping grounds all in hopes that Willie will teach Eugene the "lost" Robert Johnson song that no one has heard. Willie was a friend of Johnson's in their youth. Eugene is a talented Julliard trained guitarist with an obsession for the Blues. Along the way, they meet Frances, a runaway 17 year old girl who joins them. Played by a stunning 20 or 21 year old Jami Gertz, Frances is determined to get to L.A. to start a dance career. After Eugene falls for her, she then leaves during the night causing Eugene to get the Blues. He then has a guitar battle (with Steve Vai) to retract the contract that Willie also made with the Devil. Entertaining all around.
Rating:  - Crossroads
Do not let the mixed reviews about this film deceive you. I would say however, it's wider appeal will be for blues fans and those who are interestd in Robert Johnson in particular. Some parts of the movie are based on either facts or legends of Robert Johnson, mostly on the legend of Johnson selling his soul to the spirit Legba at the crossroads in return for the ability of being the best blues player alive. The same happened to one of his associates, Blind Dog. Blind dog later tricks the young Ralph Macchio to help him escape a nursing home in order to go back to the delta in an attempt to nullify his own bargain with Legba. Short of money, they must play the blues in roadhouses and juke-joints along the way to survive, allowing for many adventures. A surprise ending with a "blues head-cutting contest", giving a great array of guitar licks. If macchio wins, then Blind Dogs gets his deal with Legba nullified, but if Legba's man wins, then Macchio then loses his own soul. This is a must for any blues enthusiast! Find out he outcome!
John Cole
Rating: - Guitar Hero in real life!!
Crossroads is a decent attempt at drama from men (John Fusco and Walter Hill) who are known for anything but drama. However, even if it weren't entertaining, the final scene is worth the price of admission. On the other hand, unless you can ignore Macchio it's basically a reason to punch yourself for two hours, as he plays an extremely unconvincing Julliard-schooled, classicly-trained guitarist with a love of the blues.
Eugene "Lightning Boy" Martone (Macchio) has a gift for classical guitar; only, he's too stupid to take advantage of that fact and run with it. Instead he incessantly harps, whines, and pouts about his fascination with the blues. His teachers hate him. He is so fascinated that he begins to stalk an old blues player named Willie Brown (Joe Seneca), who has a plethora of aliases such as Smokehouse Brown and Blind Dog Fulton. After tormenting the old man who wanted to live the rest of his days in anonymity, Eugene breaks Willie out of an old folks' home. Their mission: walk and hitch-hike (aka hobo-ing) down to Mississippi where Willie promises to teach Eugene a lost song that was written by Robert Johnson. Only, there's no such song.
The real reason Willie leads the naïve, gullible, dumb-as-a-rock Eugene down south is to get out of a deal he made with the devil in the 1930s. It is during this journey that Eugene gets his first sexual interaction with another person (not with Willie, with Jamie Gertz), and "truly" learns what the blues are after she ... Read More
Rating: - awesome music
this is definitely a 4 star movie.the plot was good but what made it great was the awesome music that was played...joe senneca and ralph macchio were great together...i would recommend anyone to get this dvd...there is quiet a bit of bad language in this movie,that is why i gave it 4 stars instead of 5...
Rating: - Daniel-San's Toughest Challenge....Steve Vai!!
Imagine my disappointment when I kicked back with my Reese's peanut butter cups all ready for a good ol' Britney Spears movie and ended up with a movie about Blues people! That was a joke, and probably not my best either.
Crossroads is a great film that takes that old legend of Robert Johnson's deal with the devil and uses it as the basis for an on-the-road Blues saga. Ralph Macchio may study classical guitar at school, but the Blues is where his heart is. He locates the only living person who had worked with Robert Johnson and claims to know the one song Johnson never recorded. His name is Willy Brown and he's in the slammer for murder. Macchio strikes up a deal with Brown: He'll help Brown escape and return to Mississippi and Brown will teach Macchio the unrecorded Johnson song, thus paving the way for Macchio's entry to the Blues scene. You see, Brown also made a deal with the devil at the crossroads, but he feels he got hosed on that deal and wants to terminate his contract. Most of the film is the little adventures "Lightning Boy"(Macchio's Bluesman name) and Brown get into while on the road to Mississippi. At one point they pick up Jami Gertz and she becomes a love interest for Macchio. Macchio, who has lived in New York and comes from a wealthy family, finally gets to live the Blues life and finds it's a poor man's life and very different from simply reading books on the Blues. The last act of the film delves into supernatural territory when Brown finally meets the devil once ... Read More
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