I spent last month rewatching a bunch of 1980s fantasy movies. (I know, I missed some, I’ll get there eventually.) Sometime around the middle of the month, I revisited Ladyhawke for the first time since high school, and found myself surprised at just how well it held up. True, some elements have not aged well—an opening song that recalls nothing so much as the MacGyver theme, for instance—but on the whole, it ended up being one of my favorites. And the more I think about it, the more I think Ladyhawke may be the most successful of all the fairy tale films.
Ladyhawke was released in 1985, as part of that decade’s wonderful fantasy boom. But Ladyhawke doesn’t behave like a typical 80s fantasy movie, or a modernized fairy tale, or even a fairy tale subversion, let alone a heroic quest or coming-of-age tale.
In The Princess Bride and The NeverEnding Story, we get a modern wraparound to ground us in the present. Those movies check in with their modern protagonist periodically—we see that The Grandson is grossed out when Westley and Buttercup keep kissing, and we know that Bastian is committed to Atreyu’s journey no matter how dark and spooky the school’s attic becomes. And in Labyrinth we have the comforting idea that Sarah’s the one generating her adventure; halfway through the film, when she’s returned to her room, we see the seeds of the film all around her, including a doll that looks like Jareth, stuffed animals that look like the Goblins, an Escher poster and Maurice Sendak books that all provide visual cues. Plus obviously she’s reading a book called The Labyrinth in the opening shot of the film. In Legend, The Dark Crystal, and The Last Unicorn it’s immediately clear that we’re in worlds where magic is an accepted part of life—neither Princess Lily nor Schmendrick run screaming in terror when they first slap eyes on a unicorn.
In Ladyhawke, however, we only gradually become aware that we’re in a fairy tale, and this slow reveal informs the movie’s tone in fascinating ways.
What are the rules of this world?
At first we seem to be in a normal medieval world. We join our protagonist, Phillipe Gaston, as he escapes prison and emerges from a fortified city into a bucolic landscape. We quickly learn several things:
- Philippe is called The Mouse because of his ability to sneak in and out of tight spots in search of loot.
- He’s a notorious enough thief that everyone in the prison knows his nickname, and the Bishop himself wants him hanged for his thievery.
- The Bishop is Not a Nice Man.
We get all this information quite efficiently through a series of crosscuts in which commoners are hanged while the opulently-dressed Bishop celebrates Mass and the beleaguered Phillipe crawls through the sewer beneath. (This is movie shorthand for an uncaring system.) Phillipe also keeps up a steady, if one-sided, conversation with God, promising not to steal anymore and asking for help getting out of the sewer. What soon becomes apparent is that this is a normal thing for Phillipe: he talks to God constantly, subverting the hierarchy of medieval Catholicism just as he remains outside of lawful society by stealing what he needs. Someone coming to Ladyhawke with no knowledge of its position as a fantasy would assume that we’re about to see a film about a little guy going up against an oppressive, hypocritical theocracy. It’s actually pretty realistic as far as medieval films go, and gives no hint about what’s actually to come.
I’ve written in the past about my deep affection for Stephen King’s IT. There’s a scene in IT where Stanley, one of the children being targeted by a demon, grapples with the horror of, well, being in a horror novel. As he realizes that the monsters under his bed are real, he muses that if anyone in 1950s Derry, Maine saw a Biblical miracle happen, their response would not be wonder, but sheer terror:
Go to your church and listen to your stories about Jesus walking on water, but if I saw a guy doing that I’d scream and scream. Because it wouldn’t look like a miracle to me. It would look like an offense.
The first time I read the book (at 12-ish?) that moment really hit me. That moment (which King gives a fair amount of time to develop in an otherwise action-packed book) summed up a lot of how I was beginning to feel as I left the magical universe of my childhood for a more rationalist adolescence. And, this might seem like a stretch at first, but that moment illuminates what I love about Ladyhawke.
Even after we meet Etienne Navarre and his beautiful hawk, the film plays its cards close to the vest. We meet Isabeau, and see that she has a special relationship with the wolf, and we see that Navarre disappears at night. Obviously, we figure it out pretty quick. But Philippe doesn’t—because Philippe isn’t in a movie, or a fairy tale, or a legend. He’s an ordinary (if quite skilled) thief, just trying to stay ahead of the law. When he sees Isabeau with the wolf, he begs God not to make him part of their mysterious relationship, and then challenges Navarre:
There are strange forces at work in your life. Magical ones that surround you. I don’t understand them, but they frighten me. You have given me my life. The truth is I can never repay you. I have no honor, and never will have. I don’t think you would kill me for being what I am, but better that than to return to Aquila.
Of course, a threat from Navarre keeps him there for a while, but he does escape several times, only to find himself dragged back into Navarre’s story. When the hawk is wounded during a fight, he callously tells Navarre that “the poor thing is done for” without realizing what he’s saying. It isn’t until he takes her to the monk Imperius, and then sees Isabeau in the bed with a fresh wound in her shoulder, that all the pieces fall into place.
Even then, he plies Imperius with liquor to get him to tell the whole story, because he can’t really believe what’s happening. The friar tells him the tragic story, and imbues it with great cosmic importance. He was father confessor for both Navarre and Isabeau, but in a drunken stupor he revealed their love affair to the Bishop, who was in love with Isabeau. The Bishop then cursed the lovers to the half life in which they’re always together, yet eternally apart. This is a great fairy tale, and they could have just left it there, but instead the film takes it a step further, and Imperius explicitly states that the Bishop allied himself with Satan in exchange for the curse, which was spat up from Hell itself. So now we know the group isn’t just fighting to restore Isabeau and Navarre’s full humanity, so they can live happily ever after—they’re fighting a minion of Hell itself.
But wait, there’s more! Imperius tells his new friend, “You have stumbled onto a tragic story, Philippe, and now, whether you like it or not, you are lost in it like the rest of us.” But that’s just it: this is not a typical fairy tale world. This curse is an aberration, a horrible moment of the world going off its axis, and supernatural forces breaking into the material world. It’s only our four protagonists who are trapped in this story, and now reality begins bending around them.
Imperius’ exposition comes 50 minutes into a 121-minute-long movie. From this point we’re in a very different film. Literally as the protagonist learns he’s trapped in a fairy tale, we’re introduced to an evil, bloodthirsty huntsman.
Now That We’re in a Fairy Tale, Let’s Start Subverting!
The bishop hires a vile man named Cesar to hunt down Navarre in his wolf form, thinking he’ll be able to capture Isabeau after that. However, here again the film subverts the usual fairy story, as we’ll see.
One of the big debates people have had over the last year is what constitutes a “strong female character.” Is she a Robert E. Howard-style lady warrior? A Ripley/Sarah Connor-style hard ass? A Michelle Yeoh-style ass-kicker? Back in the 80s, this debate hadn’t really caught fire yet. The women in most 80s fantasies were either beautiful but vapid (Princess Lily, Buttercup) or warriors (Teela, Sorsha, Valeria). Isabeau is revolutionary to me because she is neither of these. She is a believable woman of her era, with a hint of an unhappy childhood, who is put in an extraordinary situation and rises to it.
Isabeau has lived essentially alone for three years, or, to state it more plainly: every night Isabeau wakes up naked and alone in a forest, dresses herself, defends herself, and hunts rabbits for her meals, while tending an enormous horse and keeping an eye on the giant wolf—who is fully a wolf, remember, and could wander into trouble at any time. She has done this for three solid years at the start of the film. So when a real threat comes in, the film gives us a quick fakeout before trampling a particularly annoying fairy tale convention.
When Cesar first finds Isabeau and Philippe, it is the boy who brandishes Navarre’s sword, telling the villain, “If you lay a hand on her, you’ll find it on the ground next to your head,” which is an admirably badass line. Cesar, however, is not impressed, since Philippe almost collapses from the weight of the sword, and laughs at him before riding on. A second later, it is Isabeau who comes charging out on Goliath. She stalks Cesar through the forest, using all the stealth she’s learned in her years of isolation to track him. When Navarre’s wolf form turns up, growling at Cesar, Isabeau exploits the huntsman’s moment of distraction to kick him into his own wolf trap. She stands over him and watches him convulse until she’s sure he’s dead—no pity, no fear, no squeamishness.
Naturally in the morning Philippe refers to their adventure as “nothing I couldn’t handle,” but the audience knows the truth. From this point, the film shifts again, and Isabeau changes her black cloak for a red one.
The film then takes the next step in its quiet subversion: the presumptive hero, Etienne Navarre, is wrong. About everything. His entire, vengeance-based plan is The Worst Thing He Can Do, because killing the Bishop, the one thing that has driven him for the last three years, will make the curse permanent. (We don’t know how Imperius knows this, but it’s safer to trust him on this.) Isabeau, Philippe, and Imperius all know this, and try to make him see reason, but he stubbornly goes ahead, insisting on his own way until he almost dies in his wolf form. Philippe, the mouse, the weak one, saves him while he’s in wolf form, and finally convinces him to give Imperius the extra day he needs to test his theory.
Imperius’ Arc from Comic Fool to Hero.
We’re introduced to Imperius as a comical character. He’s a jolly, drunken, round friar, who’s as annoyed by Lent as any sensible person. But as we get to know him, we see that he has the most tortured backstory of any of the characters. His betrayal of Isabeau and Navarre has altered the course of his life. How Imperius learned of the curse is never clear, but the devastated friar exiled himself to a rickety monastery to alternately search for ways to break the curse, and drink himself into oblivion. Luckily, he finds a possible solution before his liver gives up on him.
But what’s more interesting is Imperius’ relationship with the divine. He claims that the Bishop has allied himself with the Devil, and that the curse was “spat forth by Hell itself.” He also regards the coming eclipse as proof that God has forgiven him for breaking the seal of confession. This ties a story that could be a simple fairy tale into much larger cosmic forces, a battle between good and evil on a grander scale. Rather than just being a comic foil, or even a secret badass, Imperius ends up being a true hero, as his knowledge finally allows the lovers to break the curse. And his actions may actually be guided by God.
Love May Conquer All, but Science Helps
Imperius credits God with giving him the knowledge to break Isabeau and Navarre’s curse, but this is one of the few fairy tale films that can also have a purely scientific explanation. Since the couple needs to face the Bishop together, on a day when there is no night and a night when there is no day, an eclipse creates a perfect, scientifically-plausible miracle to save their relationship.
Wait, Who’s the Hero Again?
Everyone saves everyone else. Navarre saves Phillipe in the beginning, and murders the Bishop to save Isabeau from his final attack. But Isabeau grits her teeth and remains conscious during an arrow extraction, and saves Navarre twice while he’s in his wolf form (plus attacking people on his behalf while she’s a hawk). Phillipe dives right into an icy lake to save Wolf-Navarre from drowning, and (mostly) willingly sneaks back into the castle of Aguila to help his friends, even though it’s certain death if he’s caught. And Imperius dedicates years of his life to studying the curse, nurses Isabeau after her wound, and goes up against a Satanic Bishop.
So in the end Ladyhawke isn’t a typical fairy tale tweak, or a coming-of-age film about a young thief who finds a higher purpose, or a tale of a dashing knight who rescues his ladylove, or a tale of good vanquishing a satanic evil—it’s all of those things. And I love it.
Leah Schnelbach thinks today’s movies need more evil Bishops. You can find her on Twitter!
That has got to be the best analysis of Ladyhawke that I have ever read. Now I want to see the movie again!
Really wonderful discussion of one of my favorite movies–thank you! I always end up sputtering when people make fun of it, and can only try and articulate a defense of “But do you SEE how Isabeau and Navarre LOOK at each other?!?”
This is almost enough to make up for having The Neverending
StoryBore at #1 on the aforementioned list of 80’s fantasy movies. I haven’t seen LadyHawke since the early 90’s, but now I’m adding it to the list of movies I will be watching at the next opportunity. I quite enjoyed it back then, but thanks to this I expect to enjoy it even more.I love this movie. My mom took me to see it to cheer me up the day after a rather miserable and depressing junior prom. But the soundtrack has not aged well at all and seems like such an anachronism. I’d love to see a reissue with a new, more conventional, film score that doesn’t detract so badly from the movie.
I loved Ladyhawke when I saw it, and I still do; it’s a fabulous film.
The problem is, as has been mentioned, the hideously infantile, 70s-quality, TV-movie-of-the-week soundtrack that makes it embarassing to watch. I note at IMDb, with some relief, that its composer, Andrew Powell, appears to not have done too much further damage in the film industry.
I echo Shanna Swendson’s comment that if someone could do a reissue with a new soundtrack, it would be wonderful.
@@.-@: You beat me to it. I remember Ladyhawke as a film that I would’ve enjoyed if the pop-music score hadn’t been so danged incongruous and anachronistic and essentially ruined the experience for me. Granted, the kind of orchestral scores we generally associate with movies like this are just as anachronistic for a film set in the 12th century, but not as cognitively dissonant to modern ears as an electric-guitar score.
Still, by now I’ve no doubt seen other productions with similarly anachronistic music, and maybe I’m more inured to it by now, so maybe I should consider checking the film out again.
Well said, Leah! I’ve loved this movie since I was a kid and for all the reasons you’ve described. To me, it’s Rutger Hauer’s best (yet understated) role, Matthew Broderick’s coolest (because the Mouse is witty and has the heroic resourcefullness yet plausible fear of a Tolkien hobbit), and Michelle Pfeiffer’s most interesting character.
I love it when movies (like good books) make you wonder who the hero is, because the plot’s just twisty enough to surprise you. Navarre is the warrior-type hero after you get to know him, rough around the edges in all the right ways. Philippe is maybe the real hero because his belief in the lovers’ salvation, after getting drawn in and allowed to witness it as no one else could, allowed them the chance to break the curse. And yeah, Isabeau strikes me as a particularly realistic heroine; it’s a supernatural tale, but it feels more grounded in the medieval culture than, say, The Princess Bride, and she seems to exemplify in spirit and determination (and in so short a time) the person that Navarre fell in love with. It makes it all seem more real.
To me, that’s important. In too many movies it’s just assumed that there is love because, duh, they’re beautiful people, so of course they’re paired up. But in Ladyhawke, I feel like we get to see both Isabeau and Navarre for who they are—and their curse actually magnifies their love. Because this is a well-written tale. It’s awesome.
And damn it, I own the soundtrack. Yep, most of it’s 80s-synth-cheesy, but there are several gems within it, too.
Agreed, the soundtrack is horrible. Even in its day I hated it despite loving everything else about the film. A re-release with a new score would be epic.
#2. The sunrise moment is such a great minute, summing up all they go through.
About the music, I don´t think it held up even back then, I saw this in the mid-90s and sounded about as good as scratching a board.
“I know I promised, Lord, never to steal again. But I also know that YOU know, what a weak-willed person I am.”
This was a wonderful analysis of one of my all time favorite films. I also have to echo everyone else’s sentiments. The sound track is abysmal, particularly during any scenes involving the Bishop’s guards riding horses. It’s cringe worthy. The story and the acting are so superior, however, that they almost make up for it.
I love this film. Definitely one of the best.
A black dog haunts my steps.
Tonight I’ll slip into feathers
and hunt on the wind,
while a man in a wolfskin cloak
lies in my bed.
#gramochroi on twitter ©Yvonne Marjot2015
I am big Alan Parson’s Project fan, but that score was a total disaster.
True story. I had a girlfriend in college who was a big Ladyhawke fan. It was over when she discovered my Alan Parson’s Project collection.
yes, I like this movie quite a lot. “Oh, God, is it Lent already?” is a normal line in my house. Schnelbach misses a point, ‘though, in her zeal to be nasty about the supposedly “actually pretty realistic” hypocritical hierarchy of medieval Catholicism. A monk is just as much an establishment figure of Church authority as a bishop, and there’s no suggestion this bishop is in any way ordinary. Having broken the seal of Confession, Fr. Imperius is still a priest but barred from celebrating any of the sacraments—which we don’t see him doing, even after he thinks God has forgiven him. He can go to Rome and deal with the consequences of breaking the Seal–the Church assigns serious penance but doesn’t boot any sincere penitent. The bishop dies impenitent of his betrayals, which in medieval and modern Catholicism is the worst possible event, the closest thing to certain damnation. The film makers knew what they were doing. “Theocracy,” above, just made me laugh.
I would love to see Ladyhawke re-released with a new soundtrack.
I loved the movie, and will definitely have to watch it again, now.
But what could possibly be wrong with Ladyhawke meets McGuyver?
All the above, and the horse is beautiful, too!
The first time I saw this movie was a day in elementary school when the teachers (plural!) wanted a “free day” and piled us all in one room to watch Ladyhawke. I was already in love with fantasy and scifi at that age, so I was completely excited when the movie turned fantasy. (Well, tbh I was already pleased it was a “period” movie. Loved those too.)
It is definitely one of my favorites, and often overlooked or unknown to my fantasy loving friends (Hauer is only known for Blade Runner, don’t you know). It IS a different way of telling a fantasy story, even though it keeps key cliches like a “true love” redeemed or an epic showdown with a true evil.
I own the soundtrack. What? Fight me. In all seriousness, the music is def not what most would consider for this type of film, but there are others who have done the same. Tangerine Dream in Legend? America in The Last Unicorn? Pop/Rock in A Knight’s Tale? I own those too. I could go on, but you get the idea. Just because it’s not the sweeping scores of The Lord of the Rings doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Sometimes the anachronistic creates interesting themes or atmosphere that reinforce the story themes as ones relavent to a modern audience, even if the set dressing is medieval.
That being said, it took some getting used to the electronic stuff when I first owned the OST in the nineties, haha. Now I can’t imagine it another way.
@16. Hmm, MacGyver replacing The Mouse? Why can I see that all too perfectly? Less talking to God and more voice-overs though, probably. Not sure he could Science all the answers, but I’m sure he’d try!
@myself *relevant…
@18/mirana: As far as Legend goes, I refused to see the movie until I could get my hands on the version with the Jerry Goldsmith score, which I only managed to do a few years ago. But that wasn’t so much due to antipathy toward the musical style (though it was partly that) as being upset that Goldsmith had done all that work and had it unceremoniously ditched. (I’m also kind of peeved about Alex North and 2001.)
Anyway, now that I think about it, ’80s synth music has kind of a nostalgic/retro quality to it now, so maybe it wouldn’t feel quite so incongruous anymore. :)
My issue when I first saw it was that Matthew Broderick was too obviously Ferris Bueller/Matthew Broderick and not the character Phillipe the Mouse. I don’t recall the soundtrack but Prog rock is my favorite musical genre. Hmm, would be interesting to re-watch. Curiously, iTunes and Amazon instant video only offer SD, not HD.
And nobody has mentioned Richard Donner? (Goonies, X-men, Scrooged, and that guy with the bright red boots.)
This review of a childhood favorite of mine is so well done. Thank you. You’ve filled me with an all new desire to revisit a powerful story.
I loved Ladyhawke! This was a great analysis, and it helped me see the film in a new light.
Never, ever seen it. Now I have to go dig a copy up.
My jaw dropped midway through the description of the storyline and stayed there until the last line. Sounds fantastic and WAY better than Wikipedia makes it sound.
@14. THANK YOU. Evil Bishop is a bad guy because he’s EVIL. Not because he’s a Bishop. The Monk is like many other characters: wrong-but-not-evil, just like, look! the supposed hero. Now I’d better stop before I start ranting. ;)
Now I know what I’m doing with one of my upcoming boring evenings. . .
I’m actually a big fan of the Alan Parsons Project, and I’d probably love this score just as a piece of music to listen to. But as a film score, it was such a bad fit that it totally took me out of the story, even upon the first viewing in the theater during the original run. I think the more electronic score might possibly have worked for an otherworld fantasy film, but as noted in the article, this one was actually pretty well grounded in the real world, so such a modern score was jarring. They needed something more quasi-medieval in tone, maybe even using early music instruments and motifs. Since religion was a strong theme, they could have used some liturgical-sounding themes.
I suppose I was lucky that I didn’t see Ferris Bueller until later because this was my first exposure to Matthew Broderick, and so I didn’t have any other associations with him.
A couple of moments in this film that have stayed with me are 1) when Philippe says that all the best moments in his life have come about because of lying. and 2) the look of ice cold rage in Isabeau’s eyes when she drops the jesses in front of the bishop.
So many of you have already said what I woull say and in a fantastic way. This is one of my favourite movies ever, not just my favourite fantasy movie.
I’ve always loved the idea of the curse, of these two lovers aways together, always separated. And the quiet heroism of both Phillipe and Imperius. It has a very strong script, and this is more than any fantasy film of any time can offer, and it has a cast of charactes that I wish I had created.
Simply brilliant :-)
If anyone wants to revisit the soundtrack since it’s probably been a long while for many, you can look it up on Grooveshark. They have the whole thing (and no weird ad interrruptions like elsewhere). Just search “Andrew Powell Ladyhawke.”
I honestly like Tangerine Dream’s work in Legend less than I do Ladyhawke’s theme, but eh…to each their own.
I am sorry no. Nothing is better than the never ending story. You seem to put even the princess bride above it therefor your opinion is obvioulsy worthless. ;)
This hate for the Tangerine Dream soundtrack to Legend is crazy. That music fits the surreal cinematography of that film perfectly. The Goldsmith score makes it more grounded, which actually ruins that movie. It is not even in the same category as the soundtrack for Ladyhawke.
@31: I managed to track down my online review of Legend — turns out it was a whole 11 years ago that I saw it, wow — and it turns out the Tangerine Dream score was only one of the things I didn’t like about the theatrical cut. As I wrote then, “The storytelling is superficial, the editing is jerky, and it makes a big mistake by revealing Darkness’ face at the beginning, rather than leaving us in suspense as the director’s cut does. It really diminishes the impact of the big reveal scene with Mia [Sara].”
But then, I didn’t think the director’s cut was that great either — visually stunning, but with flawed writing. It was much better than the theatrical cut, but still not a great movie.
I can’t believe no one is talking about the horse! Goliath is the coolest, most badass and intelligent horses (who also loves to show off) in all of cinema.
Well, the soundtrack is easy to fix. For starters, dump the opening song in favor of Julia Ecklar’s brilliant song “Ladyhawke”. (As sung by Technical Difficulties, if I have a choice…*grin*.)
G Gary is right – Julia Ecklar’s song would have made a better opener so long as it was sung by someone with a good voice.
I loved this review of Ladyhawke and agree with all of it. A brilliant movie that deserves more attention than it gets.
By the way, this site refused to let me post under my own name because it said my alias was already in use. Yeah, by me! It’s my name! I’m the one who used it here before! Same email and everything! This sort of arrogant and arbitrary action by computers is why people grow to hate them.
My email address since 1992. My favorite film in many ways (the soundtrack is terrible) but everything you wrote is wonderful, and wonderfully true.
@36 – please email webmaster@tor.com if you have problems logging in.
Ladyhawke has always been one of my favorite movies. The soundtrack is very unusual with a modern sound in a medivel setting. I noticed that attempt in a couple of other movies and the only other I liked was ‘A Knights Tale’ when they did an interesting job with suddenly combining rock music into the mix.
Overall, the story in Ladyhawke was killer and I really liked your dissertation of it. Well laid out with excellent analysis.
I love this film, but… like everyone above, that soundtrack!! I can’t watch most scenes without cringing. Considering all the epic orchestral scores that came out of the 80s, such a shame they went in that direction.
I can’t think of anything so deserving a re-score as poor Ladyhawke…
I don’t think Technical Difficulties has their version up online, but Julia Ecklar has a rather nice performance of her song at the Virtual Filksing,
http://www.prometheus-music.com/eli/virtual.html
Am I seriously the only one who was put to sleep by this movie? Twice?
No thanks. Never again.
Not the first movie to make this mistake with music. Different genre, but George Roy Hill threw “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” at the viewer in the middle of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. If an Oscar winning director can do it, I suppose we can forgive the director of the very excellent Ladyhawke.
This is one of my favorites and I would like my grandkids to be able to see it as well. However, I can not find a copy of it other than one copy at Amazon for about $90. Any suggestions of where I could find it?
Ladyhawk has always been one of my All Time favorite movies! This Review said it all!
@44/Ron: Check your local library. A lot of what libraries do these days is DVD rental. It can also be rented from Netflix, although they don’t have it available for streaming.
@42 As a kid, I fell asleep during Ladyhawke too, and found the entire thing tedious. Re-watching it as an adult, I appreciated it a lot more, however. So, is it the greatest fairy tale of them all, as the title of this post claims? Not by a long shot. Above all else, a fairy tale should not be putting kids to sleep. But is it one of, if not THE most mature and well made epic fantasy movie to come out of the 80s? Yeah, I’d give it that. As the article says, it fully commits to its world in a way that most fantasy movies at the time did not, it portrays a realistic medieval setting rather than just a vague poorly defined D&D world, and has characters that are more than just broad archetypes.
When I originally say Ladyhawke, I thought it was about the best fantasy movie ever. That opinion has not softened.
This is one of my all time favorites even with the bad soundtrack. (which never even really bothered me because I was so sucked into the movie). I could never understand why it didn’t get more hype than it did. It was very underated. The only complaint I had was the filming in somespots were so dark you couln’t see what was happening. (Maybe it was my eyes). Anyway great movie and a great actors. Will always be one of my favorites.
Thank you! I’d forgotten some of the subtleties and now I want to see it again. What an awesome movie.
Well, after two months or so, I finally got around to rewatching this movie. And yeah, it is a pretty solid movie on some levels, but there are things that undermine it. The score is definitely one of those things. Listening to it again, and trying to be open-minded about the ’80s synth style, I realize the problem isn’t just that it’s a stylistic mismatch to the period; the problem is that it’s just not a very good score. It gets relatively better later on, but in the first half-hour, it’s not modulated or fit to the onscreen action at all; it just has one tone and turns on and off abruptly, and it’s a distraction from the events onscreen rather than a complement to them. Even the occasional orchestral parts are kind of broad and unsubtle and cheesy.
And so is the other biggest problem with the film, one Matthew Broderick by name. He delivers every line like he’s declaiming it onstage, and his every intonation and movement and expression seems rehearsed and constructed rather than genuine and spontaneous. Maybe that fits a character who’s a habitual liar, but you’d think a good liar would’ve learned to be a bit more convincing. Also, watching Rutger Hauer in this film reminded me that I was deeply unimpressed by his performance the first time I saw the film, and my opinion hasn’t changed. He was great in Blade Runner, but not so much here. This film had only two really superb actors in it, Leo McKern and Alfred Molina, and it barely used Molina.
As for Isabeau, she is a pretty competent protagonist, but all the other characters seem to appreciate her only for her beauty — which, granted, pretty much lives up to their hype. Maybe that’s part of the subversion — that all the men around her (and this is a film that fails the Bechdel Test on every level) see her only as a pretty face, when she’s quietly, understatedly proving herself much more through her actions.
I had some issues with the climax, like, why didn’t the Bishop run off to somewhere safe when Navarre came for him in the church? Why was he just standing there? Also, why were all those monks just standing there watching instead of running away screaming? And why did they seem so happy at the end, considering that the guy they were cheering on had just murdered their boss? They didn’t know the whole story yet, so their acceptance of the situation seemed unmotivated.
“The truth is, I talk to God all the time and, no offense, he never once mentioned you.” -Phillipe Gaston
It’s true that when I saw Ladyhawke in the theater on its opening weekend I was also a huge Alan Parson’s fan, but I watch the film every year and the soundtrack doesn’t bother me to this day.
Would I enjoy a different soundtrack, one that better fits the emotional tone of the movie? Sure I would. But after having seen Ladyhawke more than 30 times, the score is now an integral part of the experience – and I still love the movie.
Brilliant analysis. This is one if my top ten and one of the few films I have watched more than a couple of times. The story I s complimented by three fine actors
A wonderful movie that’s not afraid of a complex plot. The characters are very cleverly drawn and most are also complex and rendered in uncommon detail. A few people have mentioned the horse – a beautiful Frissian. My wife had a pair for carriage driving and whenever people what kind of horse they were, she would cite the horse in this movie and nobody who had seen the movie failed to have a vivid memory of the horse. It is certainly a favorite around our house but for much more than just the horse!
Great analysis. I loved the movie AND I loved the sound track. Interesting comments re the music. But then again I am an eighties girl.
A good review for a good movie. My only quibble is terminology. It is really a romance more in the continental than in the English tradition, with its greater emphasis on the supernatural. What I would like to know is the source of the story? Is it old or new?
@56/Michael L Hays: Ladyhawke was an original screenplay, though Warner Bros.’ publicity alleged, untruthfully, that it was based on a real medieval legend.
Now that I think of it, the theme DOES sound like MacGyver, but I still really like it because, well, it’s the Alan Parsons Project. :-)
Great review! It’s easily one of my top five movies ever.
Philippe (wriggling through sewers): Not unlike escaping from Mother’s womb…. What a memory!
Isabeau (after being tricked by Philippe): He’s (Etienne) going to kill me.
I love Isabeau walking up and into the Bishop’s face, showing him her hawk’s jesses and dropping them at his feet then turning away with supreme contempt. She’s totally ready to let him live on, sauteing in his own frustrated hate.
On the other hand you can’t entirely blame Etienne for thinking the solution is to kill the Bishop. He’s a knight, killing people is what he does and he’s been taught that wronging his ladylove should mean lots of gore. If only Isabeau could talk to him she’d be able to persuade him otherwise easy, as far as he’s concerned she’s the sun, the moon and the stars all together. Unfortunately she can’t talk to him and he doesn’t trust Philippe, much less the friar responsible for their problems.
And Philippe’s slow realization there is something seriously hinky about this knight, this beautiful lady, the hawk and the wolf is very funny to watch. Well at least the horse is exactly what he seems to be!
I came late to this movie, which I did not see until well after Mel Gibson’s Conspiracy Theory. I still remember the moment in Ladyhawke where I screamed “That’s it! That’s it!” and my family wondered why I was yelling. It was because we finally knew what movie had been playing on the screen in a scene where Gibson is trying to escape in the middle of a crowded theatre. I still don’t quite get the reference to what was going on in CT, unless they were trying to make a statement about going up against “the system”/?
Anyway, my family all decided we liked Ladyhawke even better than Princess Bride. Loved this commentary!
As a teen I read a movie review of Ladyhawke and lost my heart to it. Of course the movie was not shown in any theater near me. So it took me years until I was finally able to watch it in a programme cinema in the Parisian suburbs… My friend and I had trouble finding the place and when we finally entered the credits had already started. It was amazing, after years of phantasizing about this story, having it finally come to live in front of me. I was not disappointed. Still my favorite movie to this date.
Excellent review of the movie! I was always caught up in the story and the music didn’t stand out to me. This remains in my top 10 movies, along with The Princess Bride and My Cousin Vinny
#33, I loved Goliath the horse too! For me, he was a black version of Shadowfax(or Terry Pratchett’s Binky). Anyway, I must agree with you there. He had such a light step, almost dancing.
A favourite film of mine too. The music worked for me. I had the movie on the DVD player while I was workíng on the edits for my mediaeval YA novel Wolfborn. It even inspired a scene I snuck in towards the end… ;-)
Ladyhawke has been my one and only top favorite since I first saw it. My wife refuses to watch it with me – not because she doesn’t like it, but because I know the entire script, and often cannot resist saying some of the lines along with the actors. I agree with all that has been said before (which I will not reiterate) but I find it interesting that no one pointed out the fact that (acting-wise) Matthew Broderick gets the hero’s accolades here. The film is done so wonderfully, and once the viewer is aware that Navarre is the wolf and Isabeau the hawk, everyone seems to forget that (between Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Broderick) the only actor who is really on-camera 100% of the time is Broderick! The tragic transitions between wolf and hawk to man and woman become so completely accepted in the heart and minds of the viewer that we forget that there has been any exchange between actor and animal! Such a wonderful movie, and although I do agree with the original mistake of musical choice for the score, I suppose that I have become immune to it through all of my viewings that I don’t even notice it any more. Although I have many “period” fantasy films that I love, (LotR, Dragonheart, etc.), Ladyhawke has been, and I think always will be my top #1 movie favorite.
Thank you so much for such a wonderful review for what is still one of my most favoritest movies of all time. I first became acquainted with it when my then husband brought it home from the video store, right after the birth of my son. I was immediately captured by the strong score which after more than 30 years I can listen to in my car and know what is happening at any given time. I, too, can recite the dialogue along with the actors because I have watched it so many times over the years. My favorite camera shot is the one of Isabeau’s hand with the rising sun seemingly shining through it during the main characters mutual transformation when they almost touch. I almost forget to breathe, every time. I also think it’s most redeeming quality is that the love for this movie has been passed to several generations of my family. My mother watched it with me on the first viewing and then recommended it to my sister and sister-in-law who then watched it with their children as I did with mine. I can’t wait to watch it with my grandchildren when they are old enough!! My family and I even send messages on FB containg LadyHawke references that only we understand. I think that what I love the most about this film is the devotion of the two lovers and the romance of it all without any blatant sex scenes to get in the way!! It truly is in a class by itself.
I watched this a billion times as a kid. I love it too – thanks for another great analysis.
Thank you for saying everything I could never put words to, even though I’ve loved this film for more than 30 years.
Great article! Finally! Someone talks about Goliath, MByerly. Two reviews on Ladyhawke in one day. I’m in fantasy heaven. I love this movie and I still do. Yeah, the sound track is cheesy but I can deal. Hauer and Phieffer were great. The moments during the change were heart wrenching. But Goliath changed my horse world forever. That movie sparked so much interest in Friesians (a medium weight draft horses bred in Freesland, part of the Netherlands) that they were brought back from the brink. I have a Friesian Percheron cross that would make any knight swoon. His name is KnightShade and he has made me happy for 13 years. If he had been a mare, his name would be Isabeau. Friesians now abound in most period movies. They feature heavily in GoT. I always notice the horses.
The soundtrack to this movie is sooooo bad that, much as I enjoyed the film, I’ve never been able to rewatch it in full because the score stops me cold right at the beginning every time. I’d love to see this movie rescored.
How did Imperius know the exact day of the solar eclipse? How was he so sure the curse between Navarre and Isabeau be broken if they show themselves together in front of the evil bishop during the eclipse?
@70. He’d done the research.
@70/Raymond: “How did Imperius know the exact day of the solar eclipse?”
The knowledge of how to predict eclipses by tracking the movement of the Sun and Moon has existed since antiquity. There are some records of early eclipse predictions as far back as 6-700 BCE, but reliable prediction of Solar eclipses (which are more difficult to predict than Lunar eclipses) dates back to about the 2nd century BCE in the West and the early Common Era in China.
https://www.popsci.com/people-have-been-able-to-predict-eclipses-for-really-long-time-heres-how#page-4
https://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/a11846.html
Isabeau is wonderful. So beautiful and ethereal yet so bold and resolute. You don’t see that combination everyday.
Navarre’s knightly instincts betray him. He’s been trained to believe that he can solve problems with his sword but this is one case where he can’t. It’s hard to accept.
Loved your analysis of the movie, which is spot-on. But I want to add something. I think the role of the divine, subtle as it is, is very deliberate, and it’s one of things that strengthens the movie. No other modern fantasy film, except maybe The Lord of the Rings cycle, works on this level.
Also, I know I’m in the minority for this, but I actually like the music. Yes, stylistically, some of the musical themes are dated (but that can be said for almost any movie, after a point). What I appreciate is that the filmmakers took a creative risk, blending rock, orchestral, and period music before it was popular to do that. The score fits (for me) the quirky nature of the film. A purely orchestral score, say by John Williams, would have emphasized the anachronistic aspects of the story and characters (like Michelle Pfeiffer’s flat voice and modern haircut).
Thanks Leah, for a great tribute to an underappreciated fantasy film that holds up beautifully today.
For those still complaining (decades later) about the score, this always amuses me. I have a lifelong love for Early Music, and have played my share of recorders, and I’ve even sung more than a few motets. I get that the music may not work for everyone. But the “anachronistic” complaint just doesn’t hold up. Because, since the story itself takes place somewhere around the 14th century, ANY modern symphonic score is actually just as anachronistic as the synthesizers, guitars and horns Powell chose here.
I still think it’s a brave and creative choice, and a lot of fun. Personally, for me, it works. The pop-rock score gives the film this lovely fish-out-of-water feeling — it oddly emphasizes the story’s timelessness for me. And within the scenes themselves, appropriate medieval music does take place on medieval instruments like lutes and recorders (both when the hawk-woman dances for the Bishop, as well as, later on, at the inn where Philippe takes Isabeau).
And I think it’s got some genuinely gorgeous moments. I love the subtle shimmering of the synths each time the hawke swoops down to Nevarre’s waiting arm. Or the gorgeous melody of Isabeau’s theme,or the haunting music of the transformations.
Meanwhile, I always think this movie has the most gorgeous cinematography, and it really does justice to the Italian landscapes. It looks and feels like a medieval fairytale. And I love the poetic, almost old-fashioned way Donner handles the transformations — we don’t get goofy melty 80s people-into-animals special effects moments (or vice versa) and instead we just see them begin or end with the changing of the eyes and with the creative use of slow-motion and dissolves. It’s so much more effective and holds up so well (especially Isabeau’s spectacular moment at the tower and the scene between Nevarre and Isabeau in the snow at dawn).
Also, as wonderful an actor as Kurt Russell is, I’m so glad Rutger Hauer stepped in to play Nevarre. He’s a gorgeous choice and he moves with this authority and grace (both with the weaponry and on the horse) that makes him instantly believable as a knight-captain. And he has wonderful chemistry with both Broderick and Pfeiffer.
PS — one quick addition. @ChristopherLBennett, I think the reason people don’t react the way you describe is that Nevarre was known to be the former Captain of the Guard, and when he appears (in full regalia), he immediately calls out the Bishop. He doesn’t make a move toward any civilians, and just immediately makes his way toward the Bishop, who shows zero surprise. And I think the Bishop doesn’t run because, at first, he thinks the Captain will protect him, and then later, I think he’s banking on using Isabeau against Nevarre. He’s supernaturally allied with Satan, after all.
As far as people being happy for the couple in the end, this is after the following takes place:
1. Nevarre battles his way pretty honorably to the Bishop, who then openly admits to the curse in front of the entire gathering, and says if Nevarre kills him, the curse will never end.
2. Nevarre forces the Bishop to look at him and Isabeau, breaking the curse/magic. The Bishop is pretty blatant here about his guilt.
3. Isabeau hands the hawk’s jesses to the Bishop, who again looks pretty darn guilty, some more, and who then immediately tries to stab her (an unarmed woman) in the back (with his holy crucifix-thingy too!).
4. Nevarre saves Isabeau by throwing his sword and killing the Bishop, whose last word is her name. (John Wood is awesome).
So — basically, everyone’s pretty happy at this point because it’s obvious that the Bishop was evil (and it was probably an open secret anyway) and that the two lovers have been rightfully avenged and saved.
@76/Angela D Mitchell: I dunno… What you suggest would make sense if the observers were reasonable, but as we’ve seen with Trump voters, people who are loyal to an authority figure will often ignore even the most blatant evidence of their wrongdoing and just double down on their loyalty. People don’t like to admit they were wrong, or especially that they were fooled, so their pride compels them to deny the truth and cling to their loyalty.
So at the very least, the crowd should’ve been divided, with some of them seeing the light as you describe while others remained in denial and stayed loyal to the Bishop.
I’m guessing the Bishop is not a popular ruler and such support as he has is based on force and fear. Besides this is a fairy tale.
@78/roxana: But the people applauding at the end weren’t the general public, they were monks — the Bishop’s direct subordinates in the Church. And there was no earlier indication that they were unhappy with their leadership, as far as I recall. Again, even if some of them were, it doesn’t follow that 100% of them would be equally happy and unconflicted to see their immediate superior defeated by a notorious outlaw.
Historically there’s often been considerable tension between monks and the episcopate. Especially when bishops claimed control over monasteries. But you’re right it would have been good if such tensions had been indicated. But like I said, fairy tale. Realistic politics need not apply.
@80/roxana: I hate it when people claim that fantasy or SF is a license for writers to lower their standards of competent storytelling. That’s not true at all. Even if a story is completely fanciful, it’s the writer’s job to sell it to the audience. It’s called willing suspension of disbelief, not mandatory, so it’s something the writer has to earn through their skill at conveying the illusion. A stage magician doesn’t expect the audience to forgive obvious fakery and visible wires — on the contrary, a magician who lacks the skill to make an illusion convincing will lose the indulgence of the audience. The audience knows it’s all fake, but they’re there to be impressed by the skill of the performer who makes it look real. It’s the responsibility of the magician to make the illusion convincing, and the writer of fantasy or science fiction has the same responsibility. If something drags the viewer out of the story because it just doesn’t feel believable, the genre is no excuse; it’s still a flaw in the illusion, a failure of skill. We’re not obligated to suspend our disbelief about something that doesn’t earn it.
I said fairy tale not fantasy. Fairy tales aren’t big on logic. It is a flaw but the movie Maker wanted a happy ending. Not to address the realistic consequences. Which actually could have been really interesting but required a whole nother movie to explore.
The evil and corrupt bishop being such a common trope in fairy tales and folk ballads, that it was probably not even worth mentioning. It is one of those groundfloor tropes of the genre (like why radiation gives people superpowers instead of cancer in the superhero genre) that you just to accept is there.
@82/roxana: Splitting semantic hairs is irrelevant. I’m talking about the craft of storytelling. Saying “This genre is an excuse for sloppy work” is an insult to the entire genre, no matter what genre it is.
@83/random22: Yes, evil and corrupt bishop, sure, but these were his own direct underlings applauding his defeat. It stands to reason that many of them would be loyalists. It just rang false to me. I don’t “have to accept” it, because that’s not how fiction works. Audiences are not forced to accept anything; it’s the storyteller’s job to make us want to accept it, no matter how fanciful it is. As I said, it’s called the willing suspension of disbelief. For some reason, people keep forgetting that key word.
I too am an Alan Parsons Project fan. I heard the soundtrack before I ever saw the movie. To this day, I can identify a scene just by listening to the sound track. I’m also a huge fan of Fresians. Goliath was beautiful. Would love to know what breed the gray was that Navarre’s nemesis rode inside the church at the end.