Ladyhawke (1985)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers:

Edward Khmara (story)
Edward Khmara (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 April 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

CURSED FOR ETERNITY...No force in Heaven will release them. No power on Earth can save them. [UK Theatrical]

Plot:

Philipe Gastone, a thief, escapes from the dungeon at Aquila, sparking a manhunt. He is nearly captured when Captain Navarre befriends him...

Plot Keywords:

Bishop | Hawk | Curse | Escape | Thief

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Matthew Broderick	...	Phillipe Gaston
Rutger Hauer	...	Captain Etienne Navarre
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Isabeau d'Anjou
Leo McKern	...	Father Imperius the Monk
John Wood	...	Bishop of Aquila
Ken Hutchison	...	Marquet
Alfred Molina	...	Cezar
Giancarlo Prete	...	Fornac
Loris Loddi	...	Jehan
Alessandro Serra	...	Mr. Pitou
Charles Borromel	...	Insane Prisoner
Massimo Sarchielli	...	Innkeeper
Nicolina Papetti	...	Mrs. Pitou
Russel Case	...	Lieutenant (as Russell Kase)
Donald Hodson	...	Guard on Cart (as Don Hudson)

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Campo Imperatore, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In one scene, Navarre tells Philippe to ride his horse to Imperius' castle and slaps the horse's rear to make it ride. However, the first time the scene was filmed, Rutger Hauer (Navarre) slapped the horse too hard and it took off over the hill and off into the horizon. The horse was too powerful for Matthew Broderick to stop, so all everyone could do was sit and wait for him to come back.

Goofs:

Continuity: Phillipe stands right beside Navarre when he gives him the cloth to wrap the hawk in. However, just afterwards when Navarre tells Phillipe to take the hawk, Phillipe is standing a good couple of metres away from him.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Phillipe: Impossible. Impossible. Nothing is impossible. Come on, Mouse. Dig! Dig, Mouse. Come on.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Big Fish (2003)

Beautiful, preposterous, haunting

The leads are physically beautiful almost beyond film comparison. Their moral-spiritual characters match, which should make the film corny. The plot is preposterous, but the main characters, Isabeau and Gaston, prosecute their roles with such unfailing intensity you can't help but accept the nonsense. What is Ferris Bueller doing in medieval France, though? Perhaps the film needs some salty leavening, and at least he makes the plot work a little more efficiently. Overall, I don't have a rational judgement to make but a purely emotional one: I can never forget this film. It has haunted me since the first time I saw it. And that is all down to the pure intensity of Hauer and Pfeiffer.