<P> In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "Some of the details ring uncannily true, like the slick oldies nightclub act that one of the Cruisers is still doing nearly 20 years after Eddie's supposed death . Other aspects of the film are inexplicably wrong . Eddie's music sounds good, but it also sounds a lot like Bruce Springsteen's, and it would not have been the rage in 1963 ." However, she did praise Paré's performance: "Mr. Paré makes a fine debut; he captures the manner of a hot - blooded young rocker with great conviction, and his lip - synching is almost perfect ." </P> <P> Gary Arnold, in the Washington Post, wrote, "At any rate, it seemed to me that what Eddie and the Cruisers aspired to do was certainly worth doing . The problem is that it finally lacks the storytelling resources to tell enough of an intriguing story about a musical mystery man ." </P> <P> In 1984, Eddie and the Cruisers was discovered by additional audiences during its first pay cable run on HBO . Embassy Pictures re-released the film for one week based on successful summer cable screenings and a popular radio single, but it once again failed to perform at the box office . Looking back, Davidson said, "that picture should have been a theatrical success . There was an audience for it . People still watch it and still tell me about it ." </P> <P> Davidson was offered the job of directing a sequel to the film, but he was not keen on the idea and wanted no participation . The eventual project, which, unlike the first, had had no source novel from Kluge as its basis, was released as Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! in 1989 . </P>

Eddie and the cruisers song on the dark side