Ladyhawke

After hearing of his death yesterday, I bought "Blade Runner" on Amazon and rented "Ladyhawke" to re-watch two terrific performances by Mr. Hauer. His death scene in Blade Runner is the most wrenching and haunting scene I've ever seen on film. His performance in the fairy tale Ladyhawke was enchanting and charismatic. Nobody quite like him.

His gift to us was to convey the essence of humanity through his art.

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.

Ever since I was a kid, I loved fantasy movies. As a matter of fact, anything with sword fights was great in my book. And since I grew up in the days before Lord of the Rings came along, my favourites were always mid-to-late-eighties fantasy epics like The Princess Bride, Willow, and Ladyhawke.

It's all about an outcast knight and his lover, who have been cursed by an evil bishop to become animals during night and day, so they're never together in human form. He becomes a wolf and she becomes a hawk (hence the title). The knight enlists the help of a young thief to break into the cathedral and take his revenge on the bishop. Aside from the basic premise, it's more of a historical movie than a fantasy movie. There's no magic other than the curse, and no trolls or giants or anything, which was partly the reason I enjoyed it so much.

I've also always loved this movie for it's great storyline and interesting characters. Philipe's conversations with God still amuse me, as does the drunken monk played by Leo McKern ... It comes from director Richard Donner, who of course brought us Superman I & II, the Lethal Weapon movies and so on. This is essentially a well-directed movie, although a lot of people have issues with the choice of soundtrack. It's kind of a techno-poppy thing, which I blame NeverEnding Story for. A lot of eighties fantasy movies went with the same idea, but it works with Ladyhawke better than it works with most others, although I would of course prefer a more conventional and less intrusive score. On the whole, the sets and the props are pretty convincing, although some of the fight sequences aren't particularly great.

Here we have an early Matthew Broderick performance which shows how little his acting skills have developed since. Not that he's a bad actor, just an early bloomer I guess. Cult icon Rutger Hauer, of whom I have always been a huge fan (Blade Runner, The Hitcher, The 10th Kingdom) gives a fantastic performance as the outcast knight, and as we all know it's never a bad idea to have Michelle Pfeiffer in a movie.

You should definitely see this movie if you're a fan of the genre, or of any of the actors involved. It's a wonderful fantasy adventure for all ages.

Matthew Broderick stars in Ladyhawke in a role with an oriental setting would have been done by Sabu. There is a lot similaritity between Ladyhawke and the Thief Of Bagdad.

Our juvenile thief is Broderick who is about to be caught by the local troops and pay for his crimes when his capture is interrupted by a strange knight and a hawk. The knight is Rutger Hauer and he's the object of the hate of the local Bishop who runs the town.

Back in the days of The Code this film could never be made. One could not show a clergyman in a bad light and John Wood as the Bishop is as bad as they come. He has an obsession with Michelle Pfeiffer who is the true love of Hauer.

Wood if he couldn't have her, summons the powers of the black arts and curses them both. They can never find happiness because at sunrise Pfeiffer turns into a hawk and Hauer at sunset turns into a wolf and vice versa. Their time together is a moment or two at sunrise and sunset.

This medieval fairy tale is well done and the main players are well cast who also include Leo McKern as a defrocked priest. The sets are outstanding and Ladyhawke got two Oscar nominations in the sound department but lost.

A nice timeless fairy tale from Hollywood.

This movie, except for the "over-orchestration," deserves critical acclaim, as most of the comments have illustrated. However, no one seems to have addressed another element par excellence....the horses and equestrianship. Only one commentator made a cursory observation that Navarre's mount was a "farm horse." ... not so! That was a Fresian, one of the oldest breed of horse known and the one which the knights of old used for battle....try to train a "farm horse" to prance! Other breeds included the Lipizans, and it was the antagonists who rode them.

If one were to overlook the fine acting, the excellent storyline, the Romance (literary sense), and the romantic which tugs our heart strings in understatement, the appropriate comedy, the breath-taking camera work utilizing almost no special effects (but surpassing just about everything thrust upon us today), a horse-lover would revel in the production.

However, whoever (not the composers) was in charge of allowing the musical score, should have been barbecued at the stake for ruining an almost flawless classic. Never the less, this movie should not be missed...It will leave you in awe and wonder.

Marvin Cohn