Ladyhawke (1985)
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A thief becomes entangled in a quest to break a satanic curse that transforms two lovers into a wolf and a hawk.
The story
In medieval Italy, a thief known as "The Mouse" escapes from the dungeons of the Bishop of Aquila. He is rescued by the former captain Etienne of Navarre, who is being hunted by the Bishop's forces. While seeking refuge, they encounter a mysterious woman who appears to be linked to Navarre's hawk. As the thief learns of the couple's secret past and the infernal curse dooming them, he chooses to help them overcome the Bishop's forces to lift the curse.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In medieval Italy, Gaston, a thief known as "The Mouse", escapes from the Bishop of Aquila's dungeons and is rescued by Etienne of Navarre. While seeking refuge, they encounter a woman who is revealed to be Isabeau of Anjou. It is discovered that the Bishop cursed Isabeau to be a hawk by day and Navarre to be a wolf by night. Navarre, seeking revenge, is joined by Gaston and an old monk named Imperius. They learn the curse can only be broken if the couple faces the Bishop as man and woman on "a day without a night and a night without a day." During a solar eclipse, Navarre and Isabeau face the Bishop together, breaking the curse and defeating the Bishop.
- First release year
- 1985
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- United States; Italy; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Richard Donner
- Writers
- Edward Khmara · screenplay; Michael Thomas · screenplay; Tom Mankiewicz · screenplay; David Peoples · screenplay (uncredited); Edward Khmara · story
- Cast and characters
- Matthew Broderick · Gaston, an escaped thief known as "The Mouse"; Rutger Hauer · Etienne of Navarre; Michelle Pfeiffer · Isabeau of Anjou; Leo McKern · Imperius; John Wood · the Bishop of Aquila; Ken Hutchison · Captain Marquet; Alfred Molina · Cezar; Giancarlo Prete · Fornac
- Genres
- medieval fantasy; drama; romantic fantasy; fantasy adventure
- Themes
- love; curse; sacrifice; revenge
- Tone and mood
- romantic; fairytale; fantasy
- Setting
- Medieval Italy
- Premise and plot tags
- shapeshifting; fantasy adventure; medieval; curse
- Source material / true-story basis
- Inspiration from Francois Villon's 'Testament'
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics but underperformed at the box office, grossing $18.4 million against a $20 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 68% · review count: 31; Metacritic · score: 64 · scale: 100 · review count: 11
- Production trivia
- Kurt Russell was originally cast as the male lead.; The soundtrack was placed at the top of a list of worst movie soundscores.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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