Ladyhawke (film)

This article is about the 1985 film. For the musician known as Ladyhawke, seeLadyhawke (musician).For her debut album, seeLadyhawke (album).

Ladyhawke
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Richard Donner
Screenplay by	Edward Khmara Michael Thomas Tom Mankiewicz David Peoples (uncredited)
Story by	Edward Khmara
Produced by	Richard Donner Lauren Shuler
Starring	Matthew Broderick Rutger Hauer Michelle Pfeiffer Leo McKern John Wood
Cinematography	Vittorio Storaro
Edited by	Stuart Baird
Music by	Andrew Powell
Production companies	Warner Bros. 20th Century Fox Lauren Shuler Production
Distributed by	Warner Bros.(North America) 20th Century Fox(International)
Release date	April 12, 1985(1985-04-12)(United States)
Running time	121 minutes
Countries	United States Italy United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$18.4 million

Ladyhawkeis a 1985medieval fantasyfilm directed and produced byRichard Donnerand starringMatthew Broderick,Rutger HauerandMichelle Pfeiffer.The story is about a young thief who becomes unwillingly involved with a warrior and his lady who are hunted by the Bishop of Aquila. As he learns about the couple's past and secret, he chooses to help them overcome the Bishop's forces, and to lift an infernal curse.

In the same year,Joan D. Vingepublished a novelization of the film, also titledLadyhawke.

Plot

In medieval Italy, Phillipe Gaston, a thief known as "The Mouse", escapes from the Bishop ofAquila's dungeons before execution. He is recaptured at an inn by the Bishop's guards, led by Captain Marquet. The former captain, Etienne Navarre, shows up and defeats Marquet and his guards. As Navarre and Phillipe flee on horseback, Navarre's hawk scatters the other guards, aiding the escape.

Navarre and Phillipe ask for lodging at a farmer's barn. At dusk, the farmer sneaks up on Phillipe with an axe but gets killed by an enormous black wolf. Phillipe runs back to the barn to get Navarre's help. Instead he sees a beautiful young woman dressed in Navarre's cloak. She walks out and keeps company with the wolf.

Days later Navarre reveals he seeks to kill the Bishop, and asks Phillipe to help him get inside Aquila. Phillipe refuses and gets tied up to a tree. That night Phillipe sees the woman again and tricks her into cutting his bond. Phillipe gets caught by the Bishop's guards again the next day. He tells them Navarre is riding to Aquila.

The guards set up an ambush for Navarre. While Phillipe's attempt at escape alerts Navarre to the ambush, both Navarre and his hawk get hit by crossbows, and the hawk falls from the sky. Navarre fights on and manages to defeat the guards. The injured Navarre orders Phillipe to ride his horse and take the debilitated hawk to the ruined castle of a monk named Imperius for help.

Imperius sequesters the hawk in a room, but a curious Phillipe picks the lock and finds the beautiful woman inside, her chest struck with a crossbow bolt. After tending to her wound, Imperius explains that she is Isabeau of Anjou, who once refused the Bishop's unwelcome advances. After a drunken Imperius leaked the fact that Navarre and Isabeau had secretly wedded, the enraged Bishop put the couple under a satanic curse which turns Isabeau into a hawk by day and Navarre a wolf by night. Even though they stay by each other, the curse keeps them eternally apart.

The ruined castle is invaded by the Bishop's guards at daybreak. They chase Isabeau and Phillipe up a tower, and Isabeau falls over its edge. Despite Phillipe's effort to hold onto her, she falls after all, but gets transformed and saved by the first sunlight and flies away as a hawk.

Navarre catches up to the castle and dispatches the last of the guards. Imperius tells him that the curse can be broken if the couple face the Bishop as humans on "a day without a night and a night without a day". Navarre dismisses Imperius as an old drunk, and continues on his way to Aquila, intent on simply killing the Bishop for revenge. Phillipe volunteers to join Navarre and "Ladyhawke", and bids Imperius to follow them.

After the group's perilous encounter with Cezar, a wolf trapper sent by the Bishop, and Phillipe saving the Navarre-wolf from a frozen river, Phillipe convinces the couple to try breaking the curse. At night, Imperius and Isabeau smuggle the Navarre-wolf into Aquila, while Phillipe dives through the sewers to get to the cathedral.

Seeing no divine sign on the day that he and Isabeau are to appear as humans together, Navarre reverts to his original plan to kill the Bishop. He asks Imperius to euthanize the Isabeau-hawk should the cathedral bells ring, which would mean he had failed.

Phillipe infiltrates the cathedral and unlocks its doors. Navarre rides in and duels with Marquet. Suddenly noticing asolar eclipsethrough a window, Navarre realizes Imperius has been right. He tries to get back to Imperius, but fails to keep the guards from ringing the bell. Despairing that Imperius has killed Isabeau, Navarre continues his fight and eventually kills Marquet.

As Navarre is about to strike down the Bishop, a human Isabeau enters the cathedral and stops him. Together they face the Bishop and break the curse. The maddened Bishop tries to kill Isabeau, only to die by Navarre's sword. Isabeau and Navarre finally embrace in joy.

Cast

• Matthew Broderickas Phillipe Gaston, a young thief known as "The Mouse".
• Rutger Haueras Etienne ofNavarre,the formercaptain of the guardof Aquila, who is hunted by the Bishop.
  Akeela, Kollchek, Levi, and Sasha—a quartet ofmelanisticSiberianwolves—as Etienne's lupine form.
• Michelle Pfeifferas Isabeau ofAnjou,the Comte d'Anjou's daughter, who is hunted by the Bishop.
  Gift (c. 1979 – 2 or 3 December 2014)and Ladyhawke (d. May 2007) (named Spike II until 2000)—two femalered-tailed hawks—as Isabeau's avian form.
• Leo McKernas Imperius, an old monk living in a ruined castle who used to serve the Bishop.
• John Woodas the Bishop ofAquila,who is obsessed with killing Etienne and capturing Isabeau.
• Ken Hutchisonas Captain Marquet, the current captain of the guard.
• Alfred Molinaas Cezar, a wolf trapper who serves the Bishop.
• Giancarlo Preteas Fornac, a guard lieutenant.
• Loris Loddi as Jehan, a guard lieutenant.

Production

Torrechiara,province ofParma,the movie's castle

The castle ofRocca CalascioinAbruzzo,where the priest Imperius hosts the protagonists to heal them.

Richard Donner had attempted to get the film financed for a number of years and came close to making it twice, once in England and once in Czechoslovakia. He eventually got the project up at Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, where it was green-lit byAlan Ladd Jr.Originally,Kurt Russellwas cast as the male lead alongside Michelle Pfeiffer. The role of the pickpocket was offered toSean Pennand thenDustin Hoffman,before Donner decided to go with Matthew Broderick. Eventually, Russell pulled out during rehearsals, andRutger Hauerwas chosen to replace him.

Writer Edward Khmara stated "The story of two lovers kept apart by taking human form only at opposite times of day was an inspiration that occurred to me while jogging on the roof of the Hollywood YMCA. The studio contention that" Ladyhawke "is based on an old legend is, in fact, a violation of Writers Guild rules, since it denies me full rights of authorship. The Guild undertook an action against Warner Bros, on this account… and a small amount of money was paid as compensation... Warner Bros., or its publicity department, continues to circulate material restating the old legend story. The inspiration for the character of Phillipe the Mouse wasFrancois Villon.His "Testament" recounts his imprisonment and mistreatment by Bishop Thibault d'Aussigny, in the dungeons of Meung. When the Dauphin, soon to beLouis XIof France, passed through Meung on his way to the coronation, he freed the prisoners, including Villon. This incident was actually used in the original story of "Ladyhawke."

Filming locations

Ladyhawkewas filmed in Italy; theApenninemeadow ofCampo ImperatoreinAbruzzoserved as a prominent exterior location, while the monk scene was filmed atRocca Calascio,a ruined fortress on top of a mountain, not far from real-worldL'Aquila.In the region ofEmilia-Romagna,the town ofCastell'Arquatoin theprovince of Piacenzaand castle ofTorrechiarain theprovince of Parmawere also featured. Other Italian locations used includeSoncinoin theLombardyregion,Bellunoin theVenetoregion, and theLazioregion aroundViterbo.

Soundtrack

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link

Andrew Powellcomposed the score, and it was produced byAlan Parsons.Richard Donner stated that he was listening toThe Alan Parsons Project(on which Powell collaborated) while scouting for locations, and became unable to separate his visual ideas from the music. Powell combined traditional orchestral music andGregorian chantwith contemporaryprogressive rock–infused material. At the time, it was part of a trend among 1980s fantasy films of abandoning the lush orchestral scores of composers such asJohn Williams,James Horner,andJerry Goldsmithin favor of a modern pop/rock sound.Thesoundtrack albumwas released in 1985 and re-released with additional tracks in 1995. On February 10, 2015, a two-disc set was released by La-La Land Records; it includes previously unreleased music and bonus tracks and was limited to 3,000 units.

The film soundtrack, composed by Andrew Powell, has met some criticism, with some saying the synthesizer laden track is incongruous for a medieval themed movie,while others were more critical, with one reviewer calling it the "cream of the crop when it comes to atrocious scores" and another saying it sounded like an "exercise video that got played on top of a low budget '80s sitcom". It has been placed at the top of a list of worst movie soundscores, and appears on three other lists of bad movie music.Another commentator calls it one of the most "widely mocked soundtracks in the history of film".

Powell has commented on the poor reception to the soundtrack, explaining that he did not in fact use a lot of rock music in it, and that the criticism was not warranted because even a "classical" soundtrack would still be anachronistic. He has not worked on many film soundtracks since.

Reception

Box office

The film was a box-office disappointment, grossing around $18.4 million against a $20 million budgetand ranking 48th for the year at the North American box office.

Critical response

Ladyhawkehas a rating of 67% onRotten Tomatoes,based on 30 critics' reviews. The site's consensus states: "There's pacing problems, butLadyhawkehas an undeniable romantic sweep that's stronger than most fantasy epics of its ilk. "

Vincent CanbyinThe New York Timescalled the film "divided against itself", and went on to say that "scenes of high adventure or of visual splendor... are spliced between other scenes with dialogue of a banality that recalls the famousTony Curtisline, 'Yondah lies my faddah's castle.'"Time Outcalled it "all rather facile sword-and-sorcery stuff, of course, but at times very funny... and always beautifully photographed".Varietydescribed the film as a "very likeable, very well-made fairytale... worthwhile for its extremely authentic look alone".Siskel and Ebertboth gave the film positive "thumbs up" reviews on their syndicated television show and thoughtLadyhawkewas beautifully filmed with the potential to achieve lasting success as a classic in its genre.Siskel's only major complaint was that Broderick's role was almostanachronisticin his 1980s-style jokes, while Ebert felt Broderick's comedic elements were fitting.

The New York Timessingled out Matthew Broderick's skill in coming "very close to transforming contemporary wisecracks – particularly, his asides to God – into a more ageless kind of comedy", and said of Michelle Pfeiffer that her "presence, both ethereal and erotic, is so vivid that even when she's represented as a hawk, she still seems to be on the screen".Varietypraised the casting of the lead actors, considering Pfeiffer "perfect as the enchanting beauty".Time Outcalled Rutger Hauer "camp" and Pfeiffer "decorative".

Colin GreenlandreviewedLadyhawkeforImaginemagazine, and stated that "a singular tale of witchcraft, love and courage, with a fascinating idea that it almost makes the most of".

Accolades

Ladyhawkewas nominated for twoAcademy Awards,in the categories ofBest Sound(Les Fresholtz,Dick Alexander,Vern PooreandBud Alper) andBest Sound Effects Editing(Bob HendersonandAlan Murray), winning neither.It won aSaturn Awardfor Best Fantasy Film, and was nominated in the categories of Best Actress (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Best Music (Andrew Powell).

See also

• List of films featuring eclipses

External links

• LadyhawkeatIMDb
• LadyhawkeatMovie Review Query Engine
• LadyhawkeatRotten Tomatoes
• LadyhawkeatBox Office Mojo