Ladyhawke **** (1985, Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo McKern, John Wood) – Classic Movie Review 6800

Co-producer-director Richard Donner delivers the splendid, quite exquisite 1985 medieval sword and sorcery adventure Ladyhawke with the help of the most rousing performances from an ideal, actually perfect cast, headed by Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo McKern, and John Wood. There is plenty of comedy, drama and romance in the beguiling, quite spell-binding mixture. It was nominated for two Oscars – Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing.

A curse separates lovers Captain Navarre and Isabeau (Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer), so the knight Navarre (Hauer), helped by cheeky thief Philipe Gastone (Matthew Broderick), goes on a quest (as of course knights always must do) to destroy the spell and its creator.

Ladyhawke is tremendous, charming, lovely entertainment, also helped by putting the big budget ($21 million) on the screen, the plush locations and the beautiful cinematography of Vittorio Storaro. Broderick’s modern performance is appealing and. surprisingly, isn’t out of place here. The mild violence is too strong for young audiences, so it is suitable not for the under 13s.

Also in the cast are Leo McKern as Imperius, John Wood as Bishop, Ken Hutchison as Marquet, Alfred Molina as Cezar, Giancarlo Prete as Fornac, Loris Loddi as Jehan, and Alessandro [Alex] Serra as Mr Pitou.

Ladyhawke is directed by Richard Donner, runs 122 minutes, is released by Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox, is written by Edward Khmara, Michael Thomas and Tom Mankiewicz, based on a story by Edward Khmara, is shot by Vittorio Storaro, is produced by Harvey Bernhard, Richard Donner and Lauren Schuler [Donner], is scored by Andrew Powell and designed by Wolf Kroeger.

RIP Richard Donner, director of Superman (1978), Ladyhawke (1985) and Lethal Weapon (1987), who died on July 5, 2021, aged 91.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6800

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