Ladyhawke (1985) Retrospective / Review

Ladyhawke (1985) Retrospective / Review

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[santiago]

I like your retrospectives, but couldn't disagree more with your take on Ladyhawke. It's the fact that you're never shown the "before" in this romance that makes it so tragic, so effective. We're introduced to the lovers and the routine of their night and day cycle in a way that belies the hopelessness of their situation -- they've been living like this for years, and the curse has become their new normal. Showing 15 minutes of the couple together prior to the curse would not only cheapen the impact of seeing it finally broken, but would effectively turn the film into a weak synth-pop version of Beauty and the Beast.

[aureliadestiny]

I’ve loved this movie for 33 years, including the music which I still listen to till this day. The score beautifully conveys triumph and sadness and was perfect. The love story is very beautiful too and it’s really unusual to be brought into it halfway through, as most enjoy a pre-romance so that you can see the couple get together (I also love pre-romances). Rutger Hauer was perfect as the handsome, tortured warrior and Michelle Pfeiffer was a beautiful Isabeau. I never liked her short hair though but I understand how she tried to make herself unappealing to the Bishop. Matthew Broderick was perfect as Philipe and I enjoyed the growing relationship between he and Navarre. It’s almost like a father and son. There’s no movie quite like this in a mixture of magic, adventure and action and it stands up to time. This will always be a favorite movie of mine.

[palantir]

One of the most beautiful movies I know. Rutger Hauer is a great actor who deserved much more fame.

[QueenBoadicea]

13:03 I disagree about your dismissal of the effects. The transformation scene gets me every time and it's the minimalist effect that makes it work. If they re-made this movie today, they would overload it with effects, CGI and green screens and it would ruin the magicality and simple wonder of the actors relating to each other. Isabeau and Navarre's heartbreak doesn't need special effects to make them believable and the director understood this. That's why he got rid of the monsters.

[Xenocristo]

I watched it as a teen and I thought it was fantastic. I still do.

[TheRealTC]

Guilty pleasure for me. I think you failed to touch on a very important element: that of Philippe essentially becoming the intermediary between the "forever together/forever apart" Navarre and Isabeau. It's beautiful to see how Philippe uses the only skill he really has—guile—to bolster their flagging spirits as they have become despondent and have lost hope the curse will ever be broken. When Philippe claims Isabeau talked about Navarre "all night", Navarre wants to hear more (he hasn't heard her voice in three years), and warns Philippe he will know if the young thief is lying. Philippe then proceeds to spin a marvelous yarn about what Isabeau said, and how she looked, etc., and Navarre eats it all up, because despite his incredulity, he desperately wants to believe those syrupy words. "She loves you more than life, Captain", Philippe says. "She's had to." He wants to believe the torturous time they've been separated by the curse has not been in vain.

And when Isabeau is wounded by the errant arrow, Philippe is at it again, waxing poetic with how Navarre entreated him: "'You must save this hawk. For she is my life, my last and best reason for living.'. And then he said: 'One day, we will know such happiness, as two people dream of, but never do.'"

A doubtful (but hopeful) Isabeau asks if Navarre really said that, and Philippe swears he did. Does Isabeau believe him? Maybe not, but his words are nevertheless like a soothing balm for her aching heart.

The cursed lovers had no way of communicating with each other, and while it would be tempting to exploit that, "The Mouse" instead chooses to help them re-discover their lost passion and drive for a means of freeing themselves. That's what helps make this movie special for me, among a few other things.

RIP Rutger; you were awesome as Captain Etienne Navarre.

[stevecheevers]

Richard Donner really is underrated as a director, for a C.V of great films, Superman, Lethal Weapon 1&2, The Goonies, The Omen, Scrooged, and Maverick. He did go downhill but that's a pretty great run of films and deserves a lot more respect.

Rutger Hauer should have been a bigger star, his run of films with Paul Verhoeven that they made in Netherlands like Solider of Orange and Turkish Delight are masterpieces. His performances in Nighthawks and Blade Runner only touch on half his talent as a actor. Shame he got stuck in Straight to video fare, although I do love Blind Fury. Great review for a lost gem from 80's cinema, remember ITV always shown this back in the 90s.

[ilejovcevski]

Maybe it's a guilty pleasure of mine, but i just love this movie....even the oddly placed soundtrack. I just find it so small and charming (in a good way).

[Pinchton]

Seen this film several times, including today. The brave use of the soundtrack I find fantastic especially when the main theme is used during the rest of the film. I disagree with the idea of having a story book opening, I find the way they did it good for you find out the story of the lives of lovers as Phillippe does. Very underrated film in my opinion.

[SRV]

At a dark time in my life, I saw this movie and it improved my mood incredibly. I will always love it.

[claudiak]

I first saw the movie in the cinema when it was released in 85 and immediately fell in love with it.

I never understood the dislike for the soundtrack. I loved it back then and still do to this day. It is a bit odd, but it is one of the things that make this movie so unique.

The cinematography is awesome. Remember in the 80s, everything was garish, with bold colours that hurt the eye (back then we thought it was the hight of fashion, but that is another story), and here was a movie that dared to go against the fashion of the day with wonderful muted vistas and earthy colors.

There is nothing wrong with the pacing of the movie, the delivery of the actors or the characterization. This movie is a fairy tale. You know the rules, you know what role everyone is supposed to play, so you don't need a ton of exposition. You just have to sit back and enjoy. And that is what I do about once a year - first at the cinema, then on VHS tape, later on DVD and recently on BR.

[jmwild]

So happy to see this retrospective. I first saw this in the theater in 1985 with my middle school Gifted & Talented class, with a permission slip signed by my mother. It was one of the earliest PG-13 movies. I did once originally feel the music was out of place, but I can't imagine the movie without it now. It is one of my favorite musical scores of any movie. I had no idea how crazy the casting efforts were, or that *this* was the movie that brought Richard and Lauren together! I personally am glad that the movie didn't open with narration or some intro crawl trying to explain the story. The clues are there, through bits of dialogue, and then the big scene of the monk explaining the curse. I didn't have trouble as a child grasping the story or the characters. This is among my favorite movies of all time, and needless to say Michelle Pfeiffer became my first celebrity crush. She was unimaginably gorgeous in this film.

[two_owls]

First saw this when I was 12, and for whatever reason it really caught me and I've loved it ever since-soundtrack especially!

[jdsantibanez]

I saw this movie in the theater and I loved it. It is one of my favorite fantasy movies! Loved the soundtrack too!!

[DavidGreen_au]

I quite enjoyed Ladyhawke when I saw it back in the 80's. I certainly didn't have any troubles with the pacing or the music. I even had the soundtrack in my Vinyl collection (back in the days of antiquity).

[karlastraight]

Its an incredible film which makes you feel somehow wonderful by just watching it. The cinematography is stunning and the sets are absolutely beautiful. A real treasure

[OliverHarper]

*correction Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn never married and Kurt had only just started dating her at the time*

[anastasiosgkotzamanis]

Rutger Hauer's portrayal of Captain Navare and s the mercenary in Flesh And Blood gave us Guts, the black swordsman.

[exduzz]

Awww, one of my favourite love story/fantasy movies from my childhood.. Michelle Pffiefer was so beautiful, and this was before i even knew who she was yet.

This was the time of Goonies, BIG, Raiders, Willow, Neverending Story etc, it was an awesome time period. Thanks for doing this, i'm commenting before even watching. lol

[ogrehaslayers]

I was a kid when I saw this and I can say, my friends and I loved the movie INCLUDING the soundtrack. It worked for us lol.