October 3rd: LADYHAWKE (Richard Donner, 1985)
NOTE: This film will be projected in the high-definition Blu-ray format.
During the Middle Ages, a young thief joins forces with a knight and a shape-shifting woman against a villainous bishop.
Producer Lauren Shuler worked in television at ABC, and then at Motown Records' new film division that began in the early 1970s. Her first credit as producer was for Mr. Mom, from a John Hughes script and starring Michael Keaton, that became a sizable hit. While developing her next project, she came across a script by writer/actor Edward Khmara that charmed her with its blend of fantasy and romance.
Despite the recent success of other medieval/fantasy films such as Excalibur and Conan the Barbarian, Shuler had trouble getting funding for the production. She found an ally in director Richard Donner, who already had two enormous hits with Superman: The Movie and The Omen. While Donner had hoped to cast Sean Connery and Dustin Hoffman, and eventually Sean Penn in the latter's role, Shuler pushed for new genre hero Kurt Russell and the young Matthew Broderick (fresh off his appearance in WarGames). Michelle Pfeiffer was chosen for the female lead, having made a big impression recently in Scarface.
The production hit a major snag when the the main financier dropped out, resulting in both 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. agreeing to share the cost of the film. Disagreements between Donner and Russell led to the latter quitting right before the shoot was to begin, and he was replaced by Dutch actor Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), who had previously turned down one of the smaller villain roles.
Prior to shooting in Northern Italy as well as Rome's famed Cinecitta studios, Broderick and Hauer both underwent training with swordfighting, horseback riding, etc., with Hauer having more experience from past productions. Behind the camera was Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor), already a 2-time Oscar winner. In addition to difficult effects work utilizing blue screen, the production worked with a number of trained hawks and wolves.
The film was edited by Donner's usual collaborator Stuart Baird (Superman, Tommy, Skyfall). Notoriously, the musical score was composed by Alan Parsons Project member Andrew Powell, and contained not only standard orchestral music, and medieval elements, but a considerable amount of anachronistic synthesizers and a general prog-rock sound.
Ladyhawke was released to mixed critical reviews (receiving most praise for its visuals), and finished with a gross slightly under its budget. It won Saturn award for Best Fantasy Film and Best Costumes, and was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing. It has gone on to become a cult classic. Shuler and Donner would eventually marry and are still together today.
Running time is 2 hours.
During the Middle Ages, a young thief joins forces with a knight and a shape-shifting woman against a villainous bishop.
Producer Lauren Shuler worked in television at ABC, and then at Motown Records' new film division that began in the early 1970s. Her first credit as producer was for Mr. Mom, from a John Hughes script and starring Michael Keaton, that became a sizable hit. While developing her next project, she came across a script by writer/actor Edward Khmara that charmed her with its blend of fantasy and romance.
Despite the recent success of other medieval/fantasy films such as Excalibur and Conan the Barbarian, Shuler had trouble getting funding for the production. She found an ally in director Richard Donner, who already had two enormous hits with Superman: The Movie and The Omen. While Donner had hoped to cast Sean Connery and Dustin Hoffman, and eventually Sean Penn in the latter's role, Shuler pushed for new genre hero Kurt Russell and the young Matthew Broderick (fresh off his appearance in WarGames). Michelle Pfeiffer was chosen for the female lead, having made a big impression recently in Scarface.
The production hit a major snag when the the main financier dropped out, resulting in both 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. agreeing to share the cost of the film. Disagreements between Donner and Russell led to the latter quitting right before the shoot was to begin, and he was replaced by Dutch actor Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), who had previously turned down one of the smaller villain roles.
Prior to shooting in Northern Italy as well as Rome's famed Cinecitta studios, Broderick and Hauer both underwent training with swordfighting, horseback riding, etc., with Hauer having more experience from past productions. Behind the camera was Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor), already a 2-time Oscar winner. In addition to difficult effects work utilizing blue screen, the production worked with a number of trained hawks and wolves.
The film was edited by Donner's usual collaborator Stuart Baird (Superman, Tommy, Skyfall). Notoriously, the musical score was composed by Alan Parsons Project member Andrew Powell, and contained not only standard orchestral music, and medieval elements, but a considerable amount of anachronistic synthesizers and a general prog-rock sound.
Ladyhawke was released to mixed critical reviews (receiving most praise for its visuals), and finished with a gross slightly under its budget. It won Saturn award for Best Fantasy Film and Best Costumes, and was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing. It has gone on to become a cult classic. Shuler and Donner would eventually marry and are still together today.
Running time is 2 hours.
Comments
Post a Comment