Ladyhawke
Short description
In a medieval European setting, a knight and a noblewoman are cursed by a corrupt bishop who wants the woman for himself. Because they chose each other, the spell keeps them apart: the knight becomes a wolf after dark, while she takes the form of a hawk during daylight, leaving them human only at dawn and dusk and unable to touch. A young thief who escapes from the bishop's dungeons falls in with the pair and becomes their go-between, carrying messages between two people who can never meet as themselves. He is joined by a former monk with knowledge of magic, and together they work toward confronting the bishop and undoing what he has done.
Richard Donner directed Ladyhawke, his fifth film as director in chronological order, made between The Goonies and Lethal Weapon, and he produced it with Lauren Shuler Donner. Tom Mankiewicz, Edward Khmara and Michael Thomas wrote the screenplay. Matthew Broderick plays the thief Phillipe Gaston, Rutger Hauer is Captain Etienne Navarre and Michelle Pfeiffer is Isabeau d'Anjou, with Alfred Molina, John Wood and Leo McKern in supporting roles. The production cost about 20 million dollars and took in roughly 18 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.9 from about 55,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 from around 1,300 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 5.9 from 31 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Captain Etienne Navarre's horse is a Friesian stallion, a breed originating from the Netherlands, Rutger Hauer's homeland.
- The film features music by The Alan Parsons Project.
- A similar transformation trope is used in the "Magic Hour" episode of the television series *Charmed* (1998-2006), only there a man transforms into an owl, and a woman into a white wolf.
- In 1985, Joan Vinge wrote the novelization *Ladyhawke* based on the film's screenplay.
- Initially, Richard Donner planned to cast Mick Jagger in the role of the bishop-sorcerer in the film.
- In one scene, Etienne Navarre, played by Rutger Hauer, orders Gaston (played by Matthew Broderick) to ride to the castle and slaps the horse on the rump. In the first take, the actor slapped the horse so hard that it bolted and galloped away, soon disappearing from sight, and Broderick was unable to stop it, forcing the entire film crew to sit and wait for their return.
- All three castles used in the filming of the movie belonged to Italian director Luchino Visconti and his family.
- At the end of the film, the character played by Rutger Hauer lifts Isabelle (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) and twirls her around. Hauer came up with this scene for greater emotional impact and suggested it to director Richard Donner before filming began. Donner liked the idea, and they didn't tell Pfeiffer anything specifically so that her reaction to what was happening would be as natural as possible.
- Four wolves from Siberia were brought to California to film the wolf into which Rutger Hauer's character transforms.
- Initially, Richard Donner intended to cast Rutger Hauer as the 'bad' captain of the guard, and Kurt Russell as the 'good' captain, Etienne Navarre – a younger actor than Hauer. But Hauer wanted to play Etienne much more. He was lucky that Russell turned down the role shortly before filming began.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
