Customer Reviews

Ladyhawke (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just saw this movie the other day and loved it. Warners should re-release as a two disk set with new interviews with Richard Donner and the cast. I would like to hear how they made the movie and what they think of it, all these years later.

A profound mideval legend brought to the big screen. An attractive cast and anachronistic but compelling dialogue.

An okay soundtrack--sort of out of place, but not completely.

I love this movie and in my mind one of the best love and action movies out there. Its just overall amazing and makes you believe in the power of love and determination!

The musical score which later approaches perfection in its subtle support of action, dialogue and scenery is at first an equally glaring, overstated distraction that mars the opening credits of "Ladyhawke" and for bad measure rears up again during the end credits. Setting this point aside for the moment, to watch Goliath's strut and hear Gaston's humorous asides to God are both well worth the research time involved in and price of finding this beautiful but now-disappearing movie. While cementing Rutger Hauer's royal stature in science fiction circles, the film includes additional performances of conviction from Matthew Broderick, Leo McKern, Alfred Molina (yes, he of much later "Spider Man 2" infamy), Michelle Pfeiffer and John Wood. It is Wood - and to an extent lessened only by his minor role, Molina - that reminds us how to best play a villain: strike fear in the best intentioned heart not by brute posturing or aimless rants, but with steady movements, even steadier gazes and a powerful voice delivering crisp words adrip with sinister intent. (Other great examples: Darth Vader and The Emperor throughout the "Star Wars" saga, & Jacob Kell in "Highlander: Endgame.") Consider how differently the male characters each utter just the name "Isabeau" at various points in this story to see, hear and best of all feel what they mean by so doing. The problems keeping "Ladyhawke" from five-star territory (a grainy DVD transfer, lack of audio commentaries and interviews, and the aforementioned score) beg to be resolved by a deluxe treatment similar to that given its equally excellent and similarly soundtrack-challenged 1985 sibling-in-fantasy, Ridley Scott's "Legend." Become "lost in it, with the rest of us."

LadyHawke follows the classic mythic structures and taps into a whole new world of wonder. Mystery and challenge faces our heroes on their journey... their heroic quest. Broderick plays the sidekick with comic relief spectacularly! A must own film for anyone who loves fantasy.

I got the product as described but just a bit later than expected. I don't know if it's because it's an old movie but the widescreen did not fill the entire screen instead I had a black box around the video.

I loved the movie, but the Disco Fever music had to go. Otherwise its a great story.

It's been a while since I've seen this movie. Good movie with a neat romance, but the cheesy 80s background music just kills it. It would have been more suitable to have a gallant classical score.

A story about a Curse, a corrupt Priest and a Love that defied darkness. This was the first movie I had ever seen Michelle P. in and her beauty was flawless, as I love Romance novels this movie really appealed to me. Rutger Hauer was every woman's Noble Knight. Matthew Broderich was so funny as was the priest that lived in the run-down castle.

I highly recommend this movie for youngsters as the story is exciting and tells the story that LOVE truimphs over Evil. A Priest in love with a woman he can not have, the captain of the guard is in love with the same woman who loves him as well. The Priest can't have her and finds out that the 2 are in love and damn them to a life forever apart. There is a thief (Matthew B.) who is the only known person to have escaped the dungeons of Aquilar, Navarre (Rutgar H.) happens upon him hears of this is and is greatly interested in getting into the Fortress of Aquilar to destroy the corrupt priest who has damned himself, Navarre and Isabeau (Michelle P.) (sigh) what lovely names.....

The guards of Aquilar have been told to recapture the theif (Matthew) and return/and or kill him to the dungeons. Of course these guards are the same guards that used to answer to Navarre. Wonderfully exciting story and a mystery too!!

Respectfully Reviewed

This is the story of Phillipe Gaston (Broderick), a pickpocket known around the city of Aquila as "The Mouse". He thinks that anything is better than prison, and likewise escapes, running to the nearby countryside. He befriends Navarre (Hauer), a renegade knight, who mysteriously always carries a hawk on his shoulder. One knight, Phillipe finds Navarre gone, and a lady named Isabeau (Pfeifer) in his place. After some klutzing around, Phillipe finds that the evil Bishop of Aquila made a pact with the devil, cursing Isabeau to only be human at night, and a hawk at day, and cursing Navarre to be wolf at night and human during the day. It turns out that the Bishop was secretly in love with Isabeau, and decided that if he couldn't have her, no one could.
You can guess the rest...

This wasn't a bad flick. I actually really liked it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who was expecting some extremely high fantasy movie. This is more lower class. But the soundtrack--GOD the soundtrack--was the worst I had ever heard. It was so bad it had you thinking about it the whole movie...yuk. And it was DISCO!! It wasn't even made in the '70s.

But if you like good acting and interesting fantasy, this is for you.