ThiefHott Too much of everything

Sexylocher Masterful Movie

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

AverageJoesDriveInPodcast This is such a well crafted beautiful tale. The curse that separates our characters is heartbreaking. You feel for them. Love keeps them at one another's side even after it is the key factor in what tore them apart. The cast is fantastic and it's a very beautifully shot film. What really makes this film so great is the story. It's grounded in reality with just a touch of the fantastical to make it interesting. This is more of a reality-based fantasy, more so than a Dungeon & Dragons type fantasy. So don't expect Elves, Orcs, Dragons, Trolls or other fantasy creatures. Truthfully, this would be a great date movie. It has a little something for everyone. Even as great as this film is there are a few little things that keep it from a higher rating for me. They aren't major issues, but they are things that have always bugged me. The score is great at times but feels weirdly out of place in others. It's not very balanced. This film deserved a much more epic soundtrack. Secondly, it's just a smidge too long, there's maybe ten min or so that could be cut out and I don't think it would affect things very much. If you've never seen this one and love 80's fantasy with a great story, this one is for you. In many ways, I think it's a bit of a forgotten gem. Hopefully, more people will discover and enjoy this. It certainly deserves the attention. My Rating: 8/10

elliott78212 Let me start with the bad, the score it doesn't fit the time but I'm sure some studio head thought we need this to appeal to younger audiences of the time. Vittorio Storraro Cinematography is stunning, lush colors, locations, no CGI here my friends. The castles and mountains to the costumes and villages just take you back in time adding to this fine, fun, fantasy. Michelle Pfeiffer youth and beauty, Matthew Brodericks awkwardness are all well played throughout,to be honest he's quite funny. Rutger Hauer has always had mixed success be here his presence is fitting, rent it online or watch it in rerun you won't be disappointed they don't make films like this anymore and when they try so filled with CGI they don't have the organic immersive feeling this Romantic Fantasy Adventure delivers.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Richard Donner's Ladyhawke is atmospheric high fantasy as only the 80's could produce. It's got a lighthearted medieval sense of wonder and romance that is irresistible. It concerns wandering knight Navarre (Rutger Hauer), and his true love Isabeau (Michelle Pfeiffer) who have been cursed by an evil bishop, and are kept eternally close, yet apart. By day, she is transformed into a hawk, and by night, he a wolf, and never able to be together in human form. Hauer, originally cast as the villain, was promoted to leading man status here (Kurt Russell was in place to play him but Donner wisely handed the reigns to Hauer, who infuses his performance with intense charisma and longing). Pfeiffer is a shining jewel as the princess, giving warmth to her scenes. They are joined on the quest by an unlikely ally: Fast talking, troublemaking pickpocket Mouse, played by of all people, Matthew Broderick. Ferris Bueller in the Middle Ages works better than you might think, as Broderick, not the best actor, ramps up his energy and actually has quite a bit of fun with the role. Because Hauer and Pfeiffer don't share any scenes in human form, well almost, there needed to be a third person with them to interact, or it would have been a strange, wordless film. Mouse makes a chatty travelling companion and peppy little sidekick for the both of them. The film has a timeless feel, and an authenticity to its central romance, feeding the main characters quest with heartfelt urgency and emotion. Musically and visually it's a moviegoers dream, all hazy, gorgeous frames and drawn out, paced sequences that are rare in films today.

evanston_dad I wonder how many people sought out the film "Ladyhawke" after reading the sci-fi bestseller "Ready Player One."In that book, two characters debate the merits of this largely forgotten 1985 fantasy film, one character claiming that it's terrible while the other defends it. I had heard of it but didn't know much about it other than that Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Broderick were in it and that it was nominated for a couple of technical Oscars (Sound and Sound Effects Editing). I was extremely and pleasantly surprised with this movie. It's a beautiful fantasy with a lovely story and just the right amount of self-awareness to know not to take itself too seriously.Pfeiffer plays one half of a cursed couple who are never allowed to interact with each other as humans; she turns into a hawk at daylight while her lover, played by Rutger Hauer, turns into a wolf during the night. In order to break the curse, they need the help of a hapless crook played by Broderick with a half-assed British accent. (Why the filmmakers decided Broderick needed an accent I don't know, since Hauer and Pfeiffer make no effort to sound anything other than American.) The story has the delicate grace of a fairy tale, and the movie is beautiful to look at, which is not surprising given that acclaimed cinematographer Vittorio Storaro is behind the camera. My wife and I have been having fun with a little movie project lately, watching a bunch of 1980s films that one or the other (or many times both) of us missed originally. Some have been duds ("Labyrinth") but some have been surprisingly good, and "Ladyhawke" is among those.Grade: A-