Music Theatre: Bruce Springsteen “Streets of Philadelphia” (1993)

I never knew Bruce Springsteen made a commercial video for Streets of Philadelphia, the haunting song that played under the opening titles of Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia, winning Springsteen an Oscar for Best Original Song.

But, here it is:

The nightime bluesky imagery is lovely, but Springsteen’s physical presence is incongruous, as are the various clips from the movie. I prefer the original form, played over candid scenes of the Philadelphia streets, with just the blink-and-you’ll miss it shot of Tom Hanks going for a jog, metaphorically running right into oblivion.