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Ladyhawke is a 1985 film starring Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer, directed by Richard Donner.
The film is set in medieval Europe. Hauer (in one of his rare classic hero roles) plays former Captain of the Guard, Étienne of Navarre to Pfeiffer's Isabeau d'Anjou. They fall in love, but are torn apart by means of a transformation curse cast upon them by the corrupt hierocratic bishop of Aquila who has chosen Isabeau to be his own. Navarre is human by day but wolf by night, and Isabeau is a human by night but a hawk by day, the two never meeting in human form.
Broderick plays Phillipe Gaston, known as "Phillipe the Mouse", a plucky young thief turned dungeon escapee, who aids the lovers in a dangerous quest to break the supernatural bonds set upon them by the curse.
Imagery
Dr. E.C. Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, cites the film in his book Beyond the Blue Horizon as a modern example of archaeoastronomical eclipse imagery. The therioanthropic elements are shared with two medieval lais by Marie de France — "Bisclavret", the tale of a werewolf, and "Yonec", in which a knight transforms into a falcon — and are also reminiscent of the ancient symbologies of solar hawk and night wolf.
Music
The music of the film was composed by Andrew Powell, a composer and orchestrator most well known for his work with Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson for The Alan Parsons Project. Donner stated in the soundtrack's liner notes that he had been location-scouting with a steady soundtrack of the Projects' albums, and so he married music style to pictures in his mind before the film was even begun. Powell wrote the score and approached Parsons to produce the music, thus making it appear as if it was an instrumental album of the band. Parsons is often mistaken as the composer for the film.
Ladyhawke's soundtrack draws much criticism by those who feel that the 1980s synthesized pieces clash with the medieval setting of the film, though it has to be noted that the soundtrack also includes orchestral works and genuine medieval and renaissance tunes; when Phillipe and Isabeau dance in the stables, the tune they dance to is a genuine Italian 14th Century dance named Trotto. The film also includes a genuine renaissance piece by John Dowland.
Setting
Due to a certain astronomical event that takes place, the film can be dated to 1239 in the South of France. However, there are holes in this theory as certain lines in the film contradict this date. One such line is Cezar's 'Since the plague there are more wolves than men', implying the Bubonic Plague of the mid-14th Century. However, it could be argued that he was referencing a minor localised plague which he exaggerated in order to excuse his failure in the task the Bishop had set him.
Filming Locations
The locations of the movie are in Italy in the Province of Parma. The castles include Fontanellato, Bacedasco and Castell'Arquato, where most of the exterior filming took place.
External links
1985 films | Fantasy films | Cult films | Films directed by Richard Donner | Werewolves in film and television
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"Ladyhawke"