RIP James Foley, who directed this and other bangers (& many eps of TV including TWIN PEAKS and HANNIBAL).
Damn, AT CLOSE RANGE (1986) is gorgeous (shot by Juan Ruiz Anchía, dir James Foley), tapping a vein of dusky poisoned Americana like if NEAR DARK were a working class crime thriller. Coming of age as sweeping tragedy, the butchery of one's morals. Walken, Penn, Masterson leading a great cast.
I like that the music video for Madonna's (great) song for AT CLOSE RANGE, 'Live To Tell', also directed by Foley, is basically a condensed version of the film--but the movie's such a beautiful mood piece that its kind-of spoilers really don't matter (I saw the music video before the movie).
Madonna - Live To Tell (Official Video)
YouTube video by Madonna
Wow I'd always wondered where the narrative of this video came from!
The film is great--the music video really captures its vibe. Recommended!
I will seek it out... (I'm also now so earwormed.)
Yeah I've played that song a Lot in the last few months.
I'm really flashing back on a four hour session of rewatching the video and analysing the narrative & its relation to the lyrics with my best friend when we were maybe 12. It seemed so dark & mysterious, almost a precursor to Laura Palmer's diary... wow, flooding back!
That's awesome! Too bad you and your friend didn't get to sneak into a theatre and watch the movie too.
May 8, 2025 20:38I don't even know if it was released in the UK! Probably only in video & Blockbuster didn't carry it. I will make an extra large bucket of popcorn & have a nostalgic experience.
