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Ladyhawke
1985
A haunting adventure fantasy about a pair of cursed lovers who are transformed into animal shapes during alternate periods of the day. Broderick, who provides comic relief, is appealing as the couple's young friend, and ultimately, their rescuer. Academy Award Nominations: 2, including Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing. Read more
| Starring | Rutger Hauer, Matthew Broderick, Michelle Pfeiffer, Richard Donner |
|---|---|
| Director | Richard Donner |
| Genres | Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
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Ladyhawke
A haunting adventure fantasy about a pair of cursed lovers who are transformed into animal shapes during alternate periods of the day. Broderick, who provides comic relief, is appealing as the couple's young friend, and ultimately, their rescuer. Academy Award Nominations: 2, including Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing.
| Starring | Rutger Hauer, Matthew Broderick, Michelle Pfeiffer, Richard Donner, Lauren Shuler |
|---|---|
| Director | Richard Donner |
| Studio | 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 58 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Sci-Fi/Fantasy |
| Language | English |
| Released | DVD: 04 Mar 2002 Production year: 1985 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Michelle Pfeiffer as the title's pretty predator and Rutger Hauer as a legendary lycanthrope, give human poignancy to this medieval fairy tale about lovers cursed to shape-change into animals. Richard Donner, who made the first Superman adventure, proves to have an elegant eye for ancient as well as everyday fables, and it's all ravishingly filmed in Italy by Vittorio Storaro, who's worked with director Bernardo Bertolucci on films such as The Last Emperor and The Sheltering Sky. Leo McKern dispels the dark from the Dark Ages with a comic turn as a Friar Tuck-ish priest, and Matthew Broderick makes an appealing young hero.
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Broderick plays a Dark Ages version of the Artful Dodger, befriending the traumatised but bold Etienne of Navarre (camp... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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9 out of 9 people found this review helpful
Great fantasy adventure
Ever since I was a kid, I loved fantasy movies. As a matter of fact, anything with swordfights was great in my book. And since I grew up in the days before Lord of the Rings came along, my favourites were always those 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. -
Most recent members' review
View all -
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful
Great fantasy adventure
Ever since I was a kid, I loved fantasy movies. As a matter of fact, anything with swordfights was great in my book. And since I grew up in the days before Lord of the Rings came along, my favourites were always those 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. -
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