Review of Ladyhawke (1985) by Hannibal O — 16 Apr 2008

Directed by Richard Donner when he was at the peak of his career (Goonies the year before and Lethal Weapon two years later). The film has somewhat dated since its release, but overall it still holds up.

The first criticism most people point out is the awful Tangerine Orange-wannabe soundtrack. Thanks to Chariots of Fire and Flash Gordon, many films in the 80s experimented with modern film scores for period or sci-fi/fantasy films.

Sometimes it worked (Labyrinth, Chariots of Fire) and sometimes it didn't (Ladyhawke). The bad thing is that the rock music score is used over the opening credits and for about the first 40 minutes of the film and then it mysteriously vanishes and gets replaced by a classic Hollywood score that is much much better.

This film was also made at a time when fantasy and sci-fi was experiencing a resurgence due to immense success of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Many of these were successful even if they didn't experience their success until they hit the video market.

You could tell the studio was playing the safe route when it green-lit this movie: the cost was shared by Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox, it was directed by Richard Donner, it was cast with well known actors, and it was written by Tom Mankiewicz (Superman).

The film has a simple yet effective story. Its about good versus evil, unrequited love, and magic with crowd-pleasing humor and dialogue from Matthew Brodrick (who is a fish out of water in this film as he retains his New Yorker mannerisms).

The film is beautifully shot, which is no surprise since its shot by Vittorio Storaro, the DP behind Apocalypse Now. Like all his films, he takes full advantage of colored lens filters and the result is beautiful.

Rutger Hauer does his usual brooding acting that made him famous and it works again here. Michelle Pfeiffer's character doesn't have much depth to her, but that doesn't really matter since she's, in my opinion, the most beautiful actress Hollywood has ever produced (although its funny to see her sporting a 80s hairdo in a medieval period film).