Ladyhawke (1985)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers:

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

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 | Thief | Knight | Escape

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)
Gregory Snegoff	...	Cart Driver
Gaetano Russo	...	Guard in the Cell
Rod Dana	...	Guard at the City Gate
Stefano Horowitzo	...	Bishop's Bodyguard
Paul Tuerpe	...	Guard
Venantino Venantini	...	Bishop's Secretary
Marcus Beresford	...	Acolyte
Valerie O'Brian	...	Peasant Girl
Nanà Cecchi	...	Bishop's Woman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elettra Baldassarri	...	(uncredited)
Omero Capanna	...	Francesco (uncredited)
Giovanni Cianfriglia	...	One of Fornac's Men (uncredited)
Giuseppe Marrocco	...	Prete (uncredited)
Paolo Merosi	...	Acolyte (uncredited)
Jurgen Morhofer	...	(uncredited)
Benito Stefanelli	...	Bishop's Guard (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Donner

Writing credits
Edward Khmara		(story)
Edward Khmara		(screenplay) and
Michael Thomas		(screenplay) and
Tom Mankiewicz		(screenplay) and
David Webb Peoples		(screenplay) (as David Peoples)

Produced by
Harvey Bernhard	....	executive producer
Richard Donner	....	producer
Lauren Shuler Donner	....	producer (as Lauren Shuler)

Original Music by
Andrew Powell

Cinematography by
Vittorio Storaro

Film Editing by
Stuart Baird

Casting by
Marion Dougherty

Production Design by
Wolf Kroeger

Art Direction by
Ken Court
Giovanni Natalucci

Costume Design by
Nanà Cecchi

Makeup Department
Iole Cecchini	....	hair stylist
Gilda De Guilmi	....	hair stylist (as Ida De Guilmi)
Giancarlo Del Brocco	....	key makeup artist
Rita Innocenzi	....	assistant hair stylist
Gilberto Provenghi	....	makeup artist
Alfredo Tiberi	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Gerald Morin	....	unit manager
Mario Pisani	....	production manager: Italy
Anthony Waye	....	production manager: UK

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stuart Baird	....	second unit director
Peter Bennett	....	second assistant director (as Peter Bennet)
Terry Madden	....	second assistant director
Ken Rudnick	....	assistant director: second unit, New York
Mauro Sacripante	....	second assistant director
Luciano Sacripanti	....	first assistant director: Italy
Anthony Waye	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Elio Altamura	....	property master
Stephen Altman	....	set dresser (as Steve Altman)
Maria-Teresa Barbasso	....	draftswoman (as Maria Teresa Barbasso)
Nello Cappelli	....	propman
Mariangela Capuano	....	draftswoman
Lucio De Domenico	....	draftsman
Giuseppe Fatale	....	production prop buyer
Ennio Meloni	....	construction labor
Bernadino Nardoni	....	construction coordinator
Angelo Santucci	....	set dresser
Romolo Siani	....	stand-by painter

Sound Department
Rick Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dick Alexander)
Bud Alper	....	sound
Brydon Baker III	....	boom operator
Neil Burrow	....	sound editor (as Neil Burrows)
Gordon Davidson	....	sound editor
Les Fresholtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert G. Henderson	....	supervising sound editor (as Bob Henderson)
Matthew C. May	....	assistant sound editor (as Matthew May)
Alan Robert Murray	....	supervising sound editor (as Alan Murray)
Vern Poore	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rod Rogers	....	assistant sound editor
Larry Singer	....	adr editor
Chester Slomka	....	sound editor (as Chet Slomka)
Brooke H. Ward	....	assistant sound editor (as Brooke Henderson)

Special Effects by
Eros Bacciucchi	....	special effects assistant
Norman Baille	....	special effects technician
John Brown	....	special effects technician
Jerry Ciantar	....	special effects technician (as Gerry Ciantar)
Daniel Dark	....	special effects technician
Tony Dunsterville	....	special effects technician (as Anthony Dunsterville)
John Morris	....	special effects senior technician
John Richardson	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Roy Carnon	....	visual concepts artist
Rich Champa	....	optical camera operator
Peter Donen	....	additional visual effects supervisor
Mimi Everett	....	optical layout
Vincent Giordano	....	animation cameraman
Richard Greenberg	....	visual effects designer (as Richard A. Greenberg)
Joel Hynek	....	optical photography supervisor
Bill Lattanzi	....	visual effects assistant editor
Yevgeny Mamut	....	optical camera operator
Robert Mrozowski	....	animation supervisor
Scott Nicholas	....	optical camera operator
Stuart Robertson	....	optical effects supervisor
James Szalapski	....	chief visual effects cameraman
Joseph Wallikas	....	optical camera operator (as Joe Wallikas)

Stunts
Monica Ciprari	....	stunts
Ottaviano Dell'Acqua	....	stunts
Richard Graydon	....	stunt coordinator
Sergio Mioni	....	stunt coordinator: Italy
Stefano Maria Mioni	....	stunts (as Stefano Mioni)
Angelo Ragusa	....	stunts
Marco Stefanelli	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Giuseppe Alberti	....	first assistant camera
Paola Barbaglia	....	clapper loader
Federico Bruno	....	second camera operator
Filippo Cafolla	....	gaffer
Roberto Gengarelli	....	second camera assistant operator
Vincent Giordano	....	animation camera operator
Emilio Lari	....	still photographer
Alfredo Marchetti	....	key grip
Enrico Umetelli	....	camera operator
Riccardo Umetelli	....	clapper loader
Alberico Novelli	....	electrician (uncredited)

Animation Department
Robert Mrozowski	....	animation supervisor

Casting Department
Francesco Cinieri	....	casting: Italy
Mary Selway	....	casting: London

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adriana Mattiozzi	....	wardrobe seamstress
Elisabetta Montaldo	....	wardrobe assistant (as Elizabeth Bocciardo Montaldo)
Gloria Musetta	....	wardrobe coordinator
Pasqualino Sindici	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Giorgio De Vincenzo	....	assistant editor: Italy
Geno Escarrega	....	second assistant editor (as Eugene T. Escarrega)
Seth Flaum	....	assistant editor
Mark Pierce	....	editor trainee
Dallas Puett	....	assistant editor
Michael Thau	....	second assistant editor
Russ Woolnough	....	first assistant editor (as Russ Woolenough)

Music Department
Ian Bairnson	....	musician: guitars
Richard Cottle	....	musician: keyboards
Stuart Elliott	....	musician: drums
Donald Harris	....	music editor
Alan Parsons	....	music recording engineer
Alan Parsons	....	music score producer
David Paton	....	musician: bass guitar
Andrew Powell	....	conductor
Andrew Powell	....	musician: keyboards
Andrew Powell	....	orchestrator
Eric Prince	....	music copyist
Tony Richards	....	music recording engineer
Alan Snelling	....	music recording engineer
Eric Tomlinson	....	music recording engineer
Robert Fernandez	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)
Christopher Flick	....	assistant music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Nando Cartucci	....	transportation
Antonio Condello	....	unit driver (as Antonio Oondello)
Franco di Tivoli	....	unit driver
Aldo Proietti	....	unit driver
Antonio Savini	....	transportation manager
Remo Ubertini	....	unit driver

Other crew
Manuela Estrella Beeloo	....	horse trainer
Roberto Bessi	....	assistant to executive producer: Italy
Pino Butti	....	production assistant (as Giuseppe Butti)
Sergio Casadei	....	horse wrangler: Italy
Luisa Cutri	....	production secretary
Carlo Del Marro	....	assistant accountant
Alberto De Stefani	....	cashier
Bruna Percecchi di Spirito	....	caterer
Hunt Downs	....	unit publicist
Walter Fiordelmondo	....	production assistant
Maria Fiorito	....	payroll clerk
Gary Gero	....	hawks & wolves trainer
Judith Goodman	....	executive assistant to Richard Donner: Italy
Richard Graydon	....	horse master
William Hobbs	....	fight arranger
Lynne Bell Kelser	....	executive assistant to Harvey Bernhard: USA
Karen Kovacevich	....	executive assistant: Lauren Shuler
Jennie Lew Tugend	....	executive assistant: Richard Donner, USA (as Jennie Lew)
Manolo Luppichini	....	video system technician
Tom Mankiewicz	....	consultant
Aroldo Mogiani	....	crowd marshall
Ron Oxley	....	animal trainer
Larry Payne	....	hawks & wolves trainer
Gina Pietralunga	....	production secretary
Adriano Pischiutta	....	blacksmith foreman
David Price	....	assistant to producers
Giuliano Principato	....	production assistant
Stefano Priori	....	assistant accountant
Marco Valerio Pugini	....	unit runner: Italy (as Marco Pugini)
Elaine Schreyeck	....	script supervisor
Cheryl Shawver	....	hawks & wolves trainer
Enzo Sisti	....	accountant
Catherine Smith	....	assistant to producers: Italy
Aldo Spina	....	assistant to producers: Italy
Melanie Tanz	....	assistant to producers
Artur Tarry	....	production accountant (as Arthur Tarry)
Jenny Wykes	....	unit nurse
Giovanni Lovatelli	....	production runner (uncredited)
Anselmo Parrinello	....	location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hachette-Fox Distribution (1985) (France) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox Video (1986) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Encore Entertainment (1996) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Abril Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Special Effects

• R/Greenberg Associates (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Abbey Road Studios  music recorded at
• Cinema Research  additional optical effects
• Cinema Research  end titles
• Costumi d'Arte  wardrobe
• Fratelli Cartocci S.r.l.  transportation
• Giuseppe Peruzzi, Rome  wardrobe
• R/Greenberg Associates  main titles
• Atlantic Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

A Mulher Falcão (Portugal) [pt]
Der Tag des Falken (West Germany) [de]
Jestrábí zena (Czechoslovakia: Czech title) [cs]
Kobieta sokól (Poland) [pl]
La femme de la nuit (Canada: French title) [fr]
Lady Halcón (Spain) [es]
Lady Netz (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Ladyhawke (Japan: English title) [en]
Ladyhawke - El hechizo del águila (Argentina) [es]
Ladyhawke - O Feitiço de Áquila (Brazil) [pt]
Ladyhawke - legenda haukasta (Finland) [fi]
Ladyhawke og lommetyven (Denmark) [da]
Ladyhawke, la femme de la nuit (France) [fr]
O lykos kai to geraki (Greece) [el]
Sólyomasszony (Hungary) (TV title) [hu]

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:

The hawk's name is "Little Pasta". Apparently it died during production, since the movie is dedicated to it.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The nice, sharp haircut of Phillipe Gaston would have been virtually impossible without a modern electric razor.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in MST3K Little Gold Statue Preview Special (1995) (TV)

As Entertainment, Damn Near the "Perfect" Movie

As a former video store employee, I am proud to say of all the films I ever recommended, LADYHAWKE came back with all favorable reviews, and not once did anyone I rented it to take me up on my "money-back" guarantee.

No surprises there. Despite the production's troubled history between two studios (Fox and Warner's) and endless rewrites by an army of scribes, it still finds everyone involved at the top of their game, and early into most of their careers!

Rutger Hauer's bad guys were always more interesting and charismatic than his good ones, but his role as Captain Etienne Navarre was the noteable exception. In the best shape of his career both physically and artistically (with the exception of BLADE RUNNER'S Roy Batty), he painted the perfect portrait of noble hubris, tinged with the ache of unfulfilled love for his fair maiden, and the sorrow of an eternal curse that could never be lifted. Even Errol Flynn would've been envious.

Michelle Pfeiffer has been many things in her career: earthy, sensual, campy, courageous, but she would never achieve the combination of radiant strength and vulnerability that she did as Isabeau D'Anjou. There have been other actresses who have looked better and given deeper, more nuanced performances since hers...but it's a REAL short list.

When I saw the previews, I was pretty sure that the main thing I would like the least about this movie was Matthew Broderick, whose Philippe "The Mouse" Gaston was a character I was pretty sure would grate on my nerves. And for the first part of the film, he definitely does. Credit it to Matthew's likeability and talent that before the film's end, though, you're rooting for him as much as for the two leads.

And let's not forget an extremely impressive supporting cast: John Wood (WAR GAMES and JUMPING JACK FLASH), Leo McKern (the OMEN films and PBS' "Rumpole of the Bailey"), Alfred Molina (PRICK UP YOUR EARS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and the TV series THE LADIES' MAN) and a wicked turn by Ken Hutchison as Navarre's nemesis.

For the couple, the friends or the family who want action AND romance, too, you can't do better, (and can always do worse.) And as far as the "music" controversy is concerned, I am a longtime fan of Andrew Powell's work back from his early days with Alan Parsons, and later with The Project, and I thought that the juxtaposition of the contemporary music with the medieval setting worked perfectly. This is, after all, a fantasy, not a historical record of true events! Enjoy it for what it is!