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A charming, offbeat 80s fantasy-romance with striking atmosphere, memorable leads, and a genuinely singular tone. Its synth-heavy score and slightly awkward third act are part of the appeal for many viewers, even if the film’s style can feel dated or uneven.
40% (85,676)
Where to watch: Buy
1985 · 2h 1m · ★ 40% (85.7K)
No force in Heaven will release them. No power on Earth can save them.
Director: Richard Donner
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer
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.
Richard Donner
Warner Bros. Pictures, 20th Century Fox
Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alfred Molina, John Wood, Leo McKern, Ken Hutchison, Giancarlo Prete, Loris Loddi, Charles Borromel, Massimo Sarchielli, Nicolina Papetti, Alessandro Serra, Venantino Venantini, Nanà Cecchi, Gregory Snegoff, Benito Stefanelli, Omero Capanna, Giovanni Cianfriglia, Nello Pazzafini
A charming, offbeat 80s fantasy-romance with striking atmosphere, memorable leads, and a genuinely singular tone. Its synth-heavy score and slightly awkward third act are part of the appeal for many viewers, even if the film’s style can feel dated or uneven.
Ladyhawke is one of those fantasy films that feels like it arrived from a slightly alternate timeline. It has the bones of a medieval quest, but what lingers most is the romantic curse at its center and the film’s dreamy, almost music-video atmosphere. The result is less about world-building than mood: moonlit forests, pastel skies, and a love story stretched across impossible forms.
Richard Donner keeps the film moving with a light touch, balancing adventure, comedy, and yearning without ever fully settling into one lane. Matthew Broderick gives it a sly, nervous energy, while Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer supply the tragic grandeur that the premise needs. The film’s reputation has only grown because it’s so distinctively itself, even when it’s a little awkward or overextended.
The Alan Parsons Project score is the movie’s most divisive flourish, but it also helps make Ladyhawke unforgettable. It’s a fantasy that doesn’t try to be timeless; it’s proudly, weirdly of its era. If that combination of sincerity, romance, and 80s excess sounds appealing, it’s an easy recommendation.
liv (4.5★) · 505 likes
idk why you’re all pretending the electronic soundtrack is a bad addition, as if a medieval fantasy movie with 80s synth isn’t the sexiest combination ever put to film
Georgia Coley (3★) · 424 likes
mom: “oh we should watch Ladyhawke, I have fond memories of watching that in high school” me: “it looks kinda cheesy tho” mom: “believe me it’s not, you’ll love it” dad: “honey this is gonna be one of those movies you think was better than it is, it won’t age well” mom: “oh just shuddup and give it a chance” 2 hours later me: dad: mom: “oh I didn’t remember all that stuff” me: “well...I guess it coulda been worse”
Gregory Joseph (4★) · 317 likes
Low-fantasy hang-out. Even the sword duels are paced, stretched out. The sky is always pink, and everything is generally pastel and diffused. Powell and Parsons' shameless score is peplum, it's dub, it's fusion, it's fanfare, anything. There are shots in this movie, whoa there are shots... like, Michelle Pfeiffer in a red riding hood, lying in a shallow ice grave of pine boughs next to Rutger Hauer's black wolf body, duh lit by pink dawn sunlight.
3apu_ (3★) · 293 likes
Sir, the truth is, I talk to God all the time, and, no offense, but He never mentioned you.
FilmApe (2.5★) · 226 likes
I have settled on two possible one sentence reviews of this film. Choose the one you like the most. 1. What, was Guywolfe taken? 2. Ferris Bueller's Medieval Day Off
Shares the blend of romance, adventure, comedy, and fairy-tale sincerity, with a similarly enduring cult appeal.
A close match for late-80s fantasy adventure energy, with earnest questing and a playful tone.
For viewers drawn to mythic medieval atmosphere, doomed romance, and stylized fantasy imagery.
Another visually distinctive 80s fantasy with a dreamlike mood, romance, and strong production design.
Captures the era’s imaginative fantasy spirit and emotional sincerity, especially for viewers who like a nostalgic glow.
A good fit for those who enjoy fantasy that mixes whimsy, danger, and off-kilter humor.
For audiences who appreciate unusual fantasy worlds and a strong sense of visual invention.
Shares the old-school adventure feel, quest structure, and unabashed genre earnestness.
Offers a similarly romanticized, mythic tone with action, destiny, and a cult 80s sensibility.
A strong companion piece for its fairy-tale darkness, transformation imagery, and sensual, eerie atmosphere.
For viewers who like medieval settings, corruption, and a serious, textured period mood.
Shares the melancholy fantasy-romance quality and a wistful, slightly uncanny tone.
cursed love, medieval fantasy, romantic adventure, identity and transformation, corrupt authority, fate and separation, quest narrative, outsider companionship
80s fantasy, romantic adventure, medieval setting, curse, transformation, synth score, campy tone, quest, pastoral visuals, cult classic