Ladyhawke (1985)

Okay, I'm going to write about one of the best 80s fantasy movies.  And no, I'm not talking about the '87 quotable classic, or the one that heralded the rise of a muscular action hero.  I'm talking about the overlooked, should be classic, Ladyhawke.  And while there exists a glaring issue with the film, it's a solid fantasy that deserves more love than it's received.  

The story starts with Phillipe Gaston, a thief known as The Mouse (Matthew Broderick, WarGames, Ferris Bueller's Day Off), escaping from the prison of L'Aquila.  The ringing of the bells alerting everyone of his escape captures the attention of disgraced Captain of the Guard Navarre (Rutger Hauer, The Hitcher, Blade Runner), and he saves Phillipe from from the party sent to track him down, led by the villainous Captain Marques (Ken Hutchison, Straw Dogs).

Navarre wants Phillips to help him enter L'Aquila, so he can kill the Bishop (John Wood, WarGames).  His reason are kept hidden, which works in the film's favor, as Navarre isn't a cold blooded murderer.  He takes out Marque's men in the first fight with only one possible kill.  And doesn't even kill Marque after the captain pushes one of Navarre's loyal soldiers onto his blade.  Rather, he takes them out with a bunch of horseshoes, a steaming stick plucked from a fire, and some serious bad-assery.  And I'm mean that.  Towards the end of the battle, he just smacks a soldier's sword away with his hand before striding off to regain his sword and double barrel crossbow.  Hauer is such a badass during this fight, it should have made him a major action hero.  But it was the 80s, and all action heroes had to have massive muscles, so what can you do.  

Oh, did I mention he has a hawk that follows him?  That's important later.  

Don't mess with me, or I'll give you the bird.  Sorry, couldn't stop myself.

Phillipe isn't happy with the prospect of returning to L'Aquila, But he's convinced by Navarre and they bed down in a farmer's barn.  However, the farmer has some evil intents, and Phillipe is saved by a black wolf.  Of course, Phillipe is frightened of the wolf and goes to awaken Navarre.  Finding him gone, he tries to kill with the badass crossbow.  But a mysterious woman (Michelle Pfeiffer, Scarface, Batman Returns) stops him and goes off with the wolf.

And who's hand wouldn't be stayed from killing a wolf by her.

Phillipe discusses the evening's events with Navarre in the morning, who envies Phillipe's meeting with the mysterious woman.  We get another battle, and the hawk is wounded.  Navarre instructs Phillipe to take the bird to a castle, where a defrocked monk, Imperius (Leo McKern, The Omen, The Prisoner), lives.  The monk, upon hearing Navarre's name, takes the bird under his wing (sorry, couldn't help myself), and works to heal it.  Phillipe, wondering why Imperius has locked the door to the chamber, picks the lock and finds the hawk is woman he met earlier.

Phillipe learns Navarre and the woman, Isabeau were lovers, cursed by the bishop, who lusted after her.  Now, Navarre becomes a wolf at night, while Isabeau is a hawk during the day.  Imperious admits he was the one that gave the couple away, but has found a way to break the curse.  

More mayhem ensues the next day, as the Bishop's soldiers storm Imperial's castle, but Navarre shows up to save the day.  Imperious tries to convince Navarre he's found a way to end the curse, but Navarre won't listen to him.  His goal is to kill the bishop, while Phillipe and Imperious do their best the keep that from happening.  

And yeah, no spoilers, but we all know how it ends.

Come on, it's a romantic fantasy.  It's not going to end on a sour note.

I have an idea why this movie didn't do well.  While it won a Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film, it made only 18.4 million US dollars on a 20 million dollar budget.  Considering the success of The Princess Bride two years later, it's baffling why this film isn't better loved.  But, as I mentioned, I have a few thoughts on that.   

Let's dispel the idea that the score by Andrew Powell, of the Alan Parsons Project, as a flaw that doomed the film.  Sorry, I'm not going there.  While it's more prog-rock than a classic orchestral score favored by other fantasy films, it hits all the notes.  Just listen to the opening credits, which hints at the dark mystery of the story, before getting into the heroic theme, then introducing the romantic theme. It's better than most crtitics say, and I wonder how many of them had no problem with Queen's We Will Rock You in A Knight's Tale.

No, I think the film's only flaw is casting Broderick.  It's not that he gave a bad performance, but he was the wrong actor for part.  No matter how good he is, and he's good, his performance still feels like a kid from New York wedged into a Medieval fantasy.  And though his breakout role came the following year, it's hard not to watch the film now without expecting Marques to call out "Bueller" during their first encounter.

I still expect Broderick to start singing Twist and Shout at this point.

But everything else works so well.  Director Richard Donner delivers a gorgeously shot film, and frames some epic moments with the two real stars of the picture.  Hauer never looked more like an action hero.  As I mentioned earlier, his first fight scene is so good, you can forgive some awkward choreography.  Donner made him look like a glorious badass, and between this and Blade Runner, he should have been a bigger action star. 

Pfeiffer is shot to be luminous and ethereal, but she delivers more than just being a pretty face.  When Phillipe, upon their first encounter, asks who she is, her reply, "I am sorrow," is emotionally devastating.  She's mysterious at first, before enjoying the company of Phillipe later on.  And I don't care what the trailer hints at (we'll get to that in a moment), she's devoted to Navarre, and is just happy to be around someone during the night.

And that's proven late in the second act, where the lovers see each other for the first time in two years.  Hauer and Pfeiffer are just riveting, and sell their relationship in just a few seconds together.

He's just a second from crying out, which will tear your heart apart. 

The battle sequences are exciting without being as overblown, as with some other fantasy films at the time.  And the old school special effects, using dissolves and clever editing to portray the transformations, is perfect.  Sure, the filmmakers could have gone for full blown transformations using effects pioneered in earlier films like The Howling and An American Werewolf in London.  But this isn't a horror film, and such an effect-heavy sequence would have gotten in the way of the story.

I mentioned earlier how I don't know why this film bombed, but I have an idea.  While the poster is pretty bad, lacking any appearance by Hauer, the trailer is just awful.  It focuses on solely on Broderick, and even suggests he's the romantic lead, when he's just the audience surrogate, allowing us to be brought into this realm.  The narrator does mentions the fantasy element, but the trailer doesn't show it.  Hell, watch it below and you'll see what I mean.   It's incompetent marketing at its finest.

I am so glad I didn't see this before I watching the film.  I wouldn't be writing this review, as I'd avoided it at all costs.

Look, I get the focus on Broderick.  He scored a hit with WarGames two years earlier, and I'm sure his presence allowed the movie to be made.  But once the studio heads saw the film, they couldn't figure how to sell the film on its merits, so just decided to focus on a bankable teen star.  

Which is a shame, as Hauer and Pfeiffer are the real stars.  As mentioned above, during the final moments of the second act, when the two are able to see each other, Hauer's cry of agony as Pfeiffer transforms into a hawk and flies off packs an emotional impact.  If you're not affect by that scene, well, you have no heart.  And I'm saying that as a die hard horror fan.  Had the trailer focused on them, and the fantasy elements of the film, I believe the reception by audiences might have been stronger.

Ladyhawke is a great fantasy film and deserving of a better release than the bare bones Warner Achieves Blu-Ray version available.  Check it out however you can, generate some interest, and maybe a company like Shout Factory will give it a proper release. Even if that doesn't happen, I hope I've introduced you to a great fantasy film that doesn't deserve to be swept into the dustbin of cinematic history.

I'm staking my claim, this is one of the best fantasy films of the 80s  Watch it and prove me wrong.