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 Our favorite "rock and roll fable," STREETS OF FIRE, celebrates its 40th anniversary today!

Walter Hill's cult classic should've been one of the biggest rock musicals of the 80s, but it just wasn't in the cards. Released to theaters on the heels of massive hits like “Spinal Tap” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (and directly competing with “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock”), it was a box office bust. The film only made back just $8 million of its $14.5 million budget, which torpedoed plans for a trilogy.

The film stars Michael Paré as Tom Cody, a mercenary who is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, rock singer Ellen Aim (played by Diane Lane), who has been kidnapped by a biker gang led by Raven Shaddock (Willem Dafoe). The additional cast includes Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, E.G. Daily, and Bill Paxton.

The film also has a killer soundtrack, which includes songs like "I Can Dream About You" by Dan Hartman and "Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young" by Fire Inc. Other legends featured on this soundtrack include Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, and Bob Seger.

Fun Fact: The film's title came from a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen on his 1978 album "Darkness on the Edge of Town."