FILM TITLE: LADYHAWKE DIRECTOR: RICHARD DONNER COUNTRY: USA 1985 CINEMATOGRAPHY: VITTORIO STORARO MUSIC: ANDREW POWELL ( Allan Parsons Project ) CAST: Mathew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo McKern, John Wood, Ken Hutchinson. SUPER FEATURES: The story. And a beautifully done film.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some films stand out as love stories. Some just die in the throng of the glut for yet another romance. This story, and it may be because the film is so well done, is better than most romances.
There was a time when the church ruled. And there were many knights who fought for these rulers. And, on occasion, one knight falls prey to the greed of the church. This knight, Navarre, has made the mistake of falling in love with a woman, whom the cardinal is also interested in. The result is that the knight is doomed to never meet this woman again. At night he turns into a wolf, and during the day she turns into a hawk. They can never share their time again.
It was all the work of a priest who, eventually, fell out of favor with the cardinal. And this same priest, has to live day and night with his sin. And a hope that one day he can do something about it to save not only the love affair, but also destroy the glut and evil of the cardinal.
Involved in all this is Garcon, the mouse as he is known, who has escaped the dungeons of the law which oppresses the weak and the poor. And it is he who becomes the messenger between the two loves and connects them with the aging priest who is trying to forget his old ways. He lives in a castle in ruins, amidst his books and torments.
And, the story develops to decipher the riddles and the meaning of the many words which the potent magic contains, but they do not understand.
Cast very nicely, and in a very well photographed film, are all the leading characters in the film, starting with both Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer.
While the directing in the film does not appear obtrusive, or overly typecast, it is the cinematography that makes this film stand out, along a very nice soundtrack, which, although modern, still adds a nice flow to the film. The impressionistic style of Vittorio Storaro and his magnificent use of color makes this film appear even better than it really is. But it is nonetheless a good film that stands out.
Worth seeing.
5 GIBLOONS out of 5.
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