The day of the hawk

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Movie
German title The day of the hawk
Original title Ladyhawke
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1985
length 121 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Richard Donner
script Edward Khmara ,
Michael Thomas ,
Tom Mankiewicz
production Richard Donner,
Lauren Shuler
music Andrew Powell
camera Vittorio Storaro
cut Stuart Baird
occupation

The Day of the Falcon (Original title: Ladyhawke ) is a romantic fantasy film from 1985, which was directed by Richard Donner . The leading roles are played by Matthew Broderick , Michelle Pfeiffer and Rutger Hauer . Vittorio Storaro was in charge of the camera and the music was provided by Andrew Powell from the Alan Parsons Project . The film opened in German cinemas on March 29, 1985.

action

Italy in the 13th century: Nobody has yet managed to escape from the dungeons of Aquila , but the crook Philippe Gaston, known as “the mouse”, manages and escapes the prison walls through the sewer system . The bishop doesn't want to let that go and chases down the nimble Philippe. On his escape, the boy suddenly receives help from the "black knight" Etienne de Navarre . He is a loner who only travels with his black horse "Goliath" and a nameless falcon , which he protects like his life. He accepts Philippe as a squire , not least because of his knowledge of sewers. Philippe is grateful for the help, but prefers to flee alone instead of returning to Aquila with Navarre. Navarre recaptures him several times and ties him up at night. Phillipe is a notorious liar and constantly swears all sorts of things but doesn't think about keeping his oaths.

Philippe realizes that Navarre is hiding a secret. So the knight disappears every night, and instead a young woman appears to protect him from a large black wolf , where Phillipe is horrified to notice that the wolf is very trusting to the woman. In another fight with the bishop's captors, Navarre's falcon is shot, but instead of giving up, he sends Philippe with him to the constantly drunk monk Imperius. The monk initially wants to turn Philippe away and only helps him when he finds out who is sending him. When night falls, Philippe goes to the falcon and finds the young woman. The monk tells him the story of Navarre and the mysterious woman whose name is Isabeau d ' Anjou . They were once lovers and lived in Aquila, where Navarre was captain of the guards. Because the bishop was also in love with Isabeau, he tried everything to separate the two. Imperius, both confessor, betrayed her and her love, drunk, to the bishop. The jealous bishop called on the prince of darkness, who cursed the lovers : at night Navarre becomes a wolf, during the day Isabeau a hawk. So the lovers can never be together and only see each other in their human form for a brief moment at sunrise and sunset.

Imperius takes care of Isabeau's injury. He now sees a chance to make amends for his mistake. He prophesies that there will soon be a day without a night and a night without a day, when Navarre and Isabeau will have to come together before the bishop to break the curse, but Navarre does not believe him. After another attack by the bishop's men, he plans to get to Aquila with Philip's help in order to kill the bishop there. The four travel to Aquila together, with Philippe mediating between the two lovers with little lies. He is convinced of Imperius' plan. Under time pressure, he first brings Isabeau on his side and finally Navarre, who realizes that Philippe saved his life when he was a wolf.

Finally the four get to Aquila. While Philippe makes his way through the sewers into the cathedral and opens the locked gate from the inside, Navarre asks Imperius to kill the falcon in the event of his failure. On the way to the cathedral, Navarre rides past the guard, who remains loyal to him and lets him pass unmolested. While mass is taking place in the cathedral , Navarre rides through the gate and faces the bishop. A battle with the new captain of the watch ensues when the predicted solar eclipse suddenly occurs. He kills the captain, but the sign is accidentally given that announces his failure, but Imperius cannot bring himself to kill the falcon. At the last moment, Isabeau appears in the cathedral and breaks the curse when Navarre forces the bishop to look at him and Isabeau as human beings. He kills the bishop when he tries to kill Isabeau. Both thank Philippe and Imperius, and both suggest that they saw through Philippe's little white lies.

background

The music for the film was composed by Andrew Powell, a British composer and orchestra director best known for his work with Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson on the Alan Parsons Project . The soundtrack has been widely criticized because the poppy direction was considered inappropriate for a medieval fantasy film , although the music also contains orchestral elements and medieval and renaissance tones. For instance, the music, dancing at the Philippe and Isabeau in the barn, a Genoese dance called Trotto from the 14th century .

The day of the falcon is based on a fantasy novel by the American fantasy author Joan D. Vinge and an old French legend from the 14th century .

The film was shot mainly in Italy in the province of L'Aquila and in Parma and Cremona . You can see the castles of Torrechiara , Soncino , Bacedasco and the Castell'Arquato . Some scenes were filmed in Campo Imperatore , a plateau near the highest peak of the Apennines . The ruins of Rocca Calascio in the Gran Sasso National Park also served as a film set . Other scenes were filmed in the vicinity of Cortina d'Ampezzo , at Passo Giau ( Croda da Lago ) and in the vicinity ( Misurina Lake ) of the Three Peaks .

Others

There was a suitable solar eclipse like the one in the film in 1239 in southern France. But other facts in the film and the book contradict this number. Cezar's statement, "There have been more wolves than people since the plague" probably refers to the plague that raged in this part of France in the mid-14th century. However, it could also be a minor epidemic. In the DVD version, Cezar actually says “Since the plague there have been more wolves than people.” More serious is that between 1204 and 1246 there was no Count of Anjou (Isabeau's father). As a fantasy film based on a fairy tale, the story is not based on historical facts, but only uses the setting.

The " falcon " is not such, but a North American red-tailed buzzard . The English film titles Ladyhawke refers to a female goshawk (Engl. Hawk ), not (Engl. A falcon falcon ).

The plot of the film was also adapted in the series Charmed - Magic Witches . In the 46th episode "Hexenhochzeit" ( Magic Hour ), the witches meet a cursed couple. He is an owl by day and a wolf at night. A solar eclipse can both break the curse.

Reviews

Lexicon of international film : "Sensitive and excitingly staged and, thanks to excellent camera work, of great aesthetic appeal."

Cinema : "Richard Donner [...] shot Der Tag des Falken, a reserved fantasy opus full of tender poetry. In rousing images he succeeded in evoking the legendary times of the Middle Ages, to which the Italian scenes made a significant contribution. "

Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer: “[…] above all a good story! The rock 'n' roll soundtrack may be a bit out of place [...] a beautiful and entertaining fairy tale "

Vincent Canby , The New York Times : "Ms. Pfeiffer [is] probably the most beautiful woman in contemporary cinema [...] even if the falcon represents her, you think she is in the picture."

Awards

The film was nominated in 1986 for the Oscar film award in the categories of Best Sound and Best Sound Effects. In 1986 he won the Saturn Award in two categories ( Best Fantasy Film and Best Costumes ) and was nominated for the Saturn Award in two other categories ( Michelle Pfeiffer , Best Music ). He was also nominated for the Hugo Award in 1986.

The film won the Motion Picture Sound Editors Award in 1986 in two categories and was nominated for the Young Artist Award in the category Best Adventure Film that same year .

literature

  • Robert Marich: 1985 The Day of the Falcon. In: More than just a kiss - The most enchanting love films. White Star Verlag, Vercelli (Italy) 2010, ISBN 978-3-86726-156-2 , pp. 174-177.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Day of the Falcon. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ The Day of the Falcon. In: Cinema . Thomas Mende, Ltg, accessed on August 16, 2008 .
  3. ↑ Jeffrey Overstreet: Ladyhawke. In: Looking Closer. Archived from the original on April 3, 2008 ; accessed on October 3, 2008 (English): “best of all, a good story! [...] The rock-and-roll soundtrack may be a bit out of place [...] a beautiful and entertaining fairy tale "
  4. ↑ Vincent Canby : Ladyhawke (1985). In: The New York Times . April 12, 1985, accessed on August 16, 2008 (English): "Miss Pfeiffer, who may well be the most beautiful woman in movies today [...] even when she's represented as a hawk, she still seems to be on the screen"