Hearts of Fire

Infobox Film
name = Hearts of Fire


caption = VHS cover of "Hearts of Fire"
director = Richard Marquand
producer = Doug Harris
Jennifer Miller
Iain Smith
writer = Joe Eszterhas
narrator =
starring = Bob Dylan
Rupert Everett
Fiona Flanagan
music = John Barry
cinematography = Alan Hume
editing = Sean Barton
distributor = Lorimar Productions
released = 1987 (USA)
runtime = 95 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:21926
imdb_id = 0093163

"Hearts of Fire" was a 1987 film starring Bob Dylan, Fiona Flanagan (billed only as "Fiona") and Rupert Everett. The film was essentially a vehicle for Dylan based off his success as a rock musician. It received poor reviews, a limited theatrical release and was later written off by Dylan himself as something he was involved in only "for the money."

Origin and filming

Originally written by Scott Richardson, the screenplay was rewritten by "Basic Instinct" writer Joe Eszterhas because Lorimar Productions felt that Richardson was a "baby writer" and not experienced enough to take on the responsibility of a starring vehicle for a rock icon of Dylan's stature. Dylan is rumored to have threatened a lawsuit to keep the resulting rewrite by Eszterhas from being made and it is also regarded as the film that "killed Richard Marquand", who directed "Return of the Jedi" of "Star Wars" fame and died of a stroke the same year.

The film was shot in Canada (Hamilton and Toronto) and the United Kingdom (Southerndown and Coney Beach at Porthcawl).cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Hamilton,+Ontario,+Canada |title=Internet Movie Database - List of Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario|accessdate=2008-01-29] [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093163/locations] The film's concert scenes were shot in Bristol, UK. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093163/locations]

Although at the time of the film's original release Bob Dylan claimed to be supportive of the project, in a recent interview reportedly only did this movie "for the money."Fact|date=May 2007

Release

"Hearts of Fire" did extremely poorly in theaters. It was first released in the UK, being pulled from the theaters after approximately two weeks. As a result, the film was not even released to theaters in the United States, and was sent directly to video in 1988. "Hearts of Fire" was re-released once more on VHS by Warner Brothers on December 6, 1993. [http://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Fire-Bob-Dylan/dp/6301640586/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=video&qid=1217982080&sr=8-2] It may have at one point been available on the now-expired Laserdisc format, but the film has had no DVD release and there apparently no current plans for one.

Reviews

"Variety" lamented that it was "unfortunate that the last film of helmer Richard Marquand, who died shortly after completing it, should be "Hearts of Fire" and that the film failed "to fire on all cylinders despite a nimble performance by the enigmatic Bob Dylan typecast as a reclusive rock star." [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791552.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0] Channel 4 deemed the film a "blunt instrument of 80s vacuity." [http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=104152] DVDLaser stated that it is "a really bad movie," but also that how the viewer feels about Bob Dylan is "the key to liking or disliking the film." [http://www.dvdlaser.com/search/detail.cfm?id=16371]

"Time Out London" said that Dylan "hovers enigmatically on the sidelines, offering jaundiced comments." [http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/71848/hearts_of_fire.html] Another review said he gave "what is arguably one of the worst performances you are likely to see. His line readings are embarrassing, he clearly has no respect for any of the actors around him, or anyone behind the camera, or anyone who is likely to see the film." [http://talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com/2008/03/forgotten-film-hearts-of-fire-1987.html]

oundtrack

In 1987, Columbia released the "Hearts of Fire" soundtrack. Dylan was apparently originally contracted to write and contribute four new original recordings to the album, [http://www.interferenza.com/bcs/interw/86-aug17.htm] but would only turn in two orignal songs and one cover tune. The tracks includeded a cover of John Hiatt's "The Usual," along with the Dylan originals "Night After Night" and "Had a Dream About You Baby." Dylan would later release an alternate version of "Had a Dream About You Baby" on the 1988 album "Down in the Groove".

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0093163|title=Hearts of Fire
* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hearts_of_fire/ "Hearts of Fire"] at Rotten Tomatoes
* [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791552.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 Variety review] of "Hearts of Fire"
* [http://www.dvdlaser.com/search/detail.cfm?id=16371 DVDLaser review] of "Hearts of Fire"
* [http://talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com/2008/03/forgotten-film-hearts-of-fire-1987.html The Moviezzz Blog review] of "Hearts of Fire"