A FILM IN THE FACE OF GOD - CROSSROADS

I know what you might be thinking here: "Crossroads?! What? That movie with Britney Spears, Kim Cattrall and Dan Aykroyd?!" And, of course, you would be wrong, because nobody has ever seen that Crossroads. I am, of course, talking about Walter Hill's Crossroads, featuring Karate Kid himself, Ralph Macchio, as a virtuoso blues guitarist on his quest to unearth the lost 30th Robert Johnson track.

Basically, there are 40 recorded versions of 29 Robert Johnson tracks. Legend has it he cut a 30th track, but it has still, to this day, never materialised, and karate Ralph really wants to hear it.

Macchio's character, Eugene 'Lightning Boy' Martone, is blues-obsessed, learning to play Johnson's "Crossroads". He looks about twelve, but apparently Macchio was 25 when the film was released. He's a janitor at a local old-folks home/hospital, where he encounters a patient with a striking resemblance to Johnson's sidekick Willie Brown, aka Blind Dog Fulton (played by the excellent Joe Seneca). He tries to discuss delta blues with the old boy, but he won't until, finally, Lightning presents him with a picture of himself with Johnson, and the memories of his own crossroad deal come flooding back.

Brown promises his protege the lost 30th Robert Johnson track in return for his freedom from the institution. The duo break out of the home and head down Route 61. The most interesting fact about all of this is that Willie Brown died in 1952. However, here the resurrected Mr. Brown is fixing his bluesman's tie in 1986.

He persuades Lightning to trade his broken old Gibson L1 wannabe in favour of a Telecaster and a Legendary Pig Nose amp, to try and emulate the transition made by Muddy Waters. All of Macchio's blues/slide guitar parts were played the invincible Ry Cooder. This was Ryland's third go at scoring a Walter Hill movie after the Deliverance-esque Southern Comfort, Long Riders and Brewster's Millions. Macchio did take lessons and, to be honest, he looks pretty good playing that guitar.

Without giving too much away, the movie culminates in a fantastic head-cuttin' scene involving Lightning Boy and a "big white boy from Memphis by the name of Jack Butler" (played by the irritatingly ribald Steve Vai). I'll leave you with a sound clip of the battle (as it is not featured on the film's soundtrack), just in case you don't want to spoil the scene by clicking the above link.

[audio: http://viceland-assets-cdn.vice.com/blogs/uk-film/files/2010/01/head-cuttin-duel_eugenes-trick-bag.mp3]

†ROCKWELL†