Ladyhawke (1985)

Directed by Richard Donner. Starring Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo McKern, John Wood, Ken Hutchison, Giancarlo Prete, Alfred Molina. [PG-13]

Fantasy adventure set in medieval Europe of two lovers—disgraced captain of the guard Hauer and ethereal noble beauty Pfeiffer—cursed and hunted by an iniquitous bishop (Wood); by night, he vanishes and she assumes her sensual human form, but by day, he rides the countryside and she is transformed into a red-tailed hawk. Joining them in their efforts to break the curse are a chatty, smart aleck thief (Broderick) and a guilt-ridden monk (McKern). Unevenly paced and begging for a script polish—some of the dialogue is flat, and the strategies behind the heroes’ quest can be a muddle—but it’s lushly photographed by Vittorio Storaro, the production design is robustly detailed and atmospheric, and the action and romance elements are rousing. The animals are real charmers, too—in addition to the stately hawk, check out the swaggering frolic of Hauer’s horse, Goliath (“Hello, Goliath, let me tell you a story about a wee little man named David”). Key distraction: Andrew Powell’s score, which has a tendency to break into an incongruous style of synthesized progressive pop-rock fanfare.

74/100