No force in Heaven will release them. No power on Earth can save them.
1985-03-27
$20.0M
121 min
Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lies a cruel curse. Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the corrupt Bishop and in doing so break the spell.
Matthew Broderick is quite spritely in this mystical adventure. He breaks out from prison, using the sewers ("just like leaving the womb") where he, luckily, encounters "Navarre" (Rutger Hauer) just as he is about to become toast. The man travels with a hawk, and soon we discover that he and the hawk have a distinct synergy - the hawk is "Isabeau" (Michelle Pfieffer) by night; he a terrifying wolf then. How to break the curse? Well, they must face the ruthless bishop (John Wood) in his stronghold of Aquila, and the bishop's men are hunting all of them. It's quite an enjoyable fantasy this. Broderick talks too much (maybe I'd have hanged him too) but there is plenty of swordplay; mischief from Broderick's "Gaston the Mouse"; a little comedy from an on-form Leo McKern and it all looks quite stylish. It is a bit too long, it could probably lose twenty minutes, and there is far too much of the score but the falconry photography is fine and the ending lively. Worth a watch.
