Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfieffer, Matthew Broderick LADYHAWKE
Written: Jan 02 '01 (Updated Jan 18 '01)
Product Rating:
Pros: a sweet quaint tale of love and magic set it medieval times
Cons: the soundtrack is just terrible
The Bottom Line: To sum it up, I have to say that this is an excellent choice for a quiet evening at homne with your "love". Try it the next dreary weekend.
Michelle Pfieffer plays Isabeau. She is a woman of unrivaled beauty who captures the heart of the community of Aquilla. She is even the target of the love of the Bishop.
However her heart already belongs to the Captain of the Guard, Navarre(played by Rutger Hauer).
When his loveletters are returned unread the Bishop decides that it is more than he can bear. However, when one of his "underling" priests tells of the love of Navarre and Isabeau in a drunken confession, he turns his back on the Church, on his God, and calls on the "powers of darkness" to curse the young lovers.
And what a curse ...
By day Isabeau takes the form of a hawk, returning to her human form at sunset. At sunset Navarre takes the form of a black wolf, only returning to his true form at sunrise. While they continue to be together .. they are also "eternally apart", only having a fraction of a second at sunset and sunrise to glimpse one another's faces. And this will be their existance for as long as there is day and night.
It has been 2 years, and Navarre has decided that the Bishop must die. Their existance has become more than either of them can bear. And in desperation he decides that perhaps this will end it, one way or another.
Enter Mouse, played by Matthew Broderick. A petty thief, he is the only one to ever escape the dungeons of Aquilla and therefore is the perfect one to guide Navarre to his revenge.
Will Navarre have his revenge?
Will the curse ever be broken?
I will allow you to watch this movie to find out.
The Review
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It has a bit of everything: humor(listen to the side comments that "Mouse" is always making to God), romance, magic, love, swordfights, action, etc.
As such it makes a nice date movie as it has aspects which appeal to both men and women.
Some things to know:
It is set against a medieval backdrop. This makes for lovely costuming ... and scenic shots of castles and countryside.
The plot is somewhat predictable. But, it is a sweet tale nonetheless.
This is a visually breathtaking movie ... there are some exquistite shots of the hawk in flight (look for the one where "she" flies over the water wings leaving ripples in her wake), of sunsets, of misty moonlit nights in the forest.
The acting is not incredible. However, it is believable. Everytime I see this movie I have to wonder if Hauer and Pfieffer were involved romantically during its filming. There is one scene in particular where the couple are gazing at one another and I swear you can see "the lovelight shining" in thier eyes.
The soundtrack. OK I'll say it upfront, I have NO idea what they were thinking. This is a romantic, mystical tale set in the medieval period, and the soundtrack is ... I can only describe it as Techno-Rock. it is incredibly out of place, and I can only advise that you try and ignore it.
Is it suitable for Kids?
There is no nudity, no gore, no foul language.
There are violent scenes. There are a few scenes which can be frightening. My only advise can be that for children under 10, watch it first yourself and then decide. Children over 10, should be just fine with this flm.
Another Suggestion
If this movie appeals to you, let me recommend another movie.
"Stealing Heaven" which tells the true story of star-crossed lovers from times past -- Heloise and Abelard. However, this movie is NOT for kids. But is wonderful and romantics and tragic and heartbreaking.
A haunting adventure fantasy about a pair of cursed lovers who are transformed into animal shapes during alternate periods of the day. Broderick who p...More at Family Video
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