Nighthawks

Starring:Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner, Persis Khambatta, Nigel Davenport, Rutger Hauer, Hilary Thompson, Joe Spinell, Walter Mathews, E. Brian Dean, Caesar Cordova, Charles Duval, Tony Munafo, Howard Stein, Tawn Christian, Jamie Gillis, Luke Reilly, Yvette Hawkins, Einar Perry Scott, Erle Bjornstad
Director: Bruce Malmuth, Gary Nelson
Studio: Good Times Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

A slick, sometimes over the top action adventure set in New York City during the end of the disco era, Nighthawks stars Sylvester Stallone as a hotshot New York cop with a troubled personal life drawn into an international terrorist vendetta. Stallone and partner Billy Dee Williams are recruited into a covert operation to stop an infamous terrorist named Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer), whom they believe to be in New York. Soon a cat-and-mouse game ensues between the blue-collar cop and the refined terrorist through the streets, discotheques, and subways of the city. And then things get personal as Wulfgar targets Stallone's wife (Lindsay Wagner). A fairly routine but well-photographed action thriller with the usual fast-paced adrenaline rush sequences for which Stallone has become famous. --Robert Lane

Customer Reviews:

a little dated but good movie.......2007-05-10

I saw this movie several years ago and have enjoyed watching it periodically. Its one of Sly Stallones better movies. The bad guys are truly bad. good escapist, rebel cop vs terrorist slime movie

Classic Stallone.......2007-05-09

Great old 70's flick with a killer ending! A must see for people who grew up in the 70's and 80's.

This could have been an interesting franchise.......2007-04-21

Nighthawks is subtle and restrained; to call it classy wouldn't be a stretch-it's right in line with the French Connection or The Seven Ups.

In this film there isn't any of the foolishness that you'd find in any of Stallone's later works. Deke DaSilva could've been cut from a similar string as Frank Serpico (beard and mustache), but he's not a man beaten down by the system like Serpico and he's a more imposing presence. Frankly, the beard seems to lend Stallone some serious credibility in the roll. DaSilva has found his niche in life, but sometimes life throws him a curveball like Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer) and he's forced to come out of that niche.

While Nighthawks may not have pushed the edges of the envelop in terms of story telling, that is truly where it's strength lies. It never attempts to be clever for the sake of being clever. It's also worth noting that this film is fairly straight-forward, easy to digest and quite frankly, it leaves no bad aftertaste even after repeated viewings.

The only tenable gripe I can find with the movie is that Billy Dee Williams and Lyndsay Wagner appear to be somewhat underutilized and that causes the viewer to emotionally disconnect from their characters and somewhat unhinge the story.

Other than the aforementioned critique, the film is quite solid and will remain in my collection for years to come. Enjoy....

Nighthawks.......2007-04-07

I am very pleased with the product. I received it in a timely manner.

Surprisingly interesting..........2007-01-11

Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer) is an international terrorist not to be taken lightly... He is wanted by half the countries in Europe... He is currently financed by no one... He becomes trapped as 'Persona Non Grata'...

Wulfgar manages to succeed where others have failed... His pattern is the instilling of fear... He makes female contacts to establish safe housing for his armory... He always covers a woman who is clean... He loses one, he finds another... He has a liking for fancy food, expensive clothes and the most varied nightlife...

Wulfgar doesn't think like a criminal... He wants to be a hero... Since the London incidents, he wants to prove himself as invincible as he ever was... So he decides to change his look, and strikes without warning... Wulfgar's associate is Shakka Holland (Persis Khambatta), a pretty cool woman, with no maternal instincts, who murders without apparent provocation...

DaSilva (Sylvester Stallone) wants to treat Wulfgar like 'some mugger' on the streets... He makes a mistake when he finds himself unexpectedly facing the malevolent killer... He refuses to act in the same ruthlessness Wulfgar does, and to use deadly force in defense of the lives of innocent hostages... He hesitates to shoot and kill... DaSilva rejected to pay attention to the impact of the terrorist's actions on his thinking and beliefs... This mistake enables the best policeman to meet the dangerous terrorist on equal terms...

'Nighthawks' turns out to be surprisingly interesting... Rutger Hauer easily holds our attention throughout the film... He is a disciplined terrorist indifferent to his victims, cold and calculating... His mission to harm the enemy transcends any concern about his victims... For Wulfgar, the end justifies the means...

Stallone and Billy Dee Williams make good partners... Stallone doesn't play his usual character, the ruthless policeman who combats violence with greater violence... He seems to be more human desperately trying to do the right thing at the right time...

Average customer rating:

a little dated but good movie
Classic Stallone
This could have been an interesting franchise
Nighthawks
Surprisingly interesting...

Nighthawks
Starring: Sylvester Stallone , Billy Dee Williams , Lindsay Wagner , Persis Khambatta , and Nigel Davenport
Director: Bruce Malmuth , and Gary Nelson
Manufacturer: Good Times Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Customer Reviews:

a little dated but good movie.......2007-05-10

I saw this movie several years ago and have enjoyed watching it periodically. Its one of Sly Stallones better movies. The bad guys are truly bad. good escapist, rebel cop vs terrorist slime movie

Classic Stallone.......2007-05-09

Great old 70's flick with a killer ending! A must see for people who grew up in the 70's and 80's.

This could have been an interesting franchise.......2007-04-21

Nighthawks.......2007-04-07

I am very pleased with the product. I received it in a timely manner.

Surprisingly interesting..........2007-01-11

Average customer rating:

Slow, but quietly ennobling
London Bar and Work Lives
Depressing slice of the gay life twenty years ago.

Nighthawks (1978) (Unrated)
Starring: Ken Robertson , Tony Westrope , Rachel Nicholas James , Maureen Dolan , and Stuart Craig Turton
Director: Ron Peck
Manufacturer: Water Bearer Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000F4MLT4
Release Date: 2006-05-09

Customer Reviews:

Slow, but quietly ennobling.......2006-07-31

This film is best appreciated if you take time to recognize what it is NOT. It is not an expose of the dark side of gay life in the 60s (think Dirk Bogarde in "The Victim," 1961); it is not a frivolous or slick Hollywood "coming out" story (a la "In and Out"); nor is it painfully earnest like so many independent films by gay directors. The film is simply a look into the life of a gay school teacher (Jim) in London in the mid-seventies (though I suspect it could have been shot in New York, San Francisco, or Sydney and been just as credible). Jim's days consist of making reasonable efforts to manage a classroom of unruly teens; his evenings are spent going to bars and discotheques where he connects (with varying degrees of success) with other gay men. There is a redundancy to this scenario that modern movie-goers may have little patience for ("Okay, we get it!" I can hear them screaming at their TV screens), but I found the repetition to be important. The teacher continues Sisyphus-like to make the daily efforts to meet someone. There are scenes in bars that seem to go on forever. Like Jim, we see nothing but a wall of men dancing together to endless dance club music. There are shots that last three or more minutes where the camera focuses solely on the Jim's eyes as they scan the room. Is this desperation? or patience and optimism? Viewers will clearly interpret such scenes based on their own histories and perspectives. Another recurring scene is of Jim driving his previous night's guest to the tube or their place of work. These scenes, too, can be seen as either depressingly repetitive or satirically comical. ("Oh, the things we tell one another the morning after," I said to myself. "Who do we think we are fooling?) The writer-director Ron Peck is clearly in command of his subject material. This is not Warhol's "Chelsea Girls" where the camera was kept running for no particular reason. As a viewer, you are confident that something is going on in this quiet and highly textured film. Those who can surrender to the film's rhythms will get something out of it. There are at least three stories unfolding here. There's the story of a gay man looking for a relationship; the story of a teacher willing to expose his personal life to his students if it will make a difference in their lives; and there is the story of a man's relationship with a needy fellow teacher (who happens to be a woman who probably has a crush on him, but clearly is uncertain how to process what she is learning about her colleague's lifestyle). In the end, the teacher seems to be a valiant soul, keeping it together and struggling, as all souls must, to play the hand he has been dealt.

Although there are no DVD extras, Peck did do a follow-up film that is also worth looking at ("Strip Jack Naked," 1991).

London Bar and Work Lives.......2006-05-22

Jim (Ken Robertson) is a thirtyish geography teacher in a London comprehensive school, something like an American high school. Remarkably for 1978, he is an out gay man to any adult with an interest and quietly non-descript to the rest, including his parents. Nighthawks generally alternates scenes of Jim's visits to gay bars and their natural follow-ups with scenes of him teaching his class or talking matters over with recent teaching addition Judy (Rachel Nicholas James).

Before the movie, Jim has banished Tim, his lover for the last three months, and is looking for someone new. He tries Mike, Neal (Stuart Craig Turton), Peter, an American banker, and John. Quietly shocked, Judy offers brief advice and parallels.

Matters come to a head when Christopher, a student, asks in class whether Jim were 'bent' or 'queer'. Jim says he is, conducts a question and answer session, and, contingently, survives the reaction.

Jim has two nude scenes, Neal shows some skin, as do various dancers in the two London bars used. There are no explicit sex scenes.

Water Bearer Films did a good job of remastering, making the picture much sharper than the VHS version. There are no extras.

Each time I see the film, I like it more. The film does an especially good job of showing dating skills, including politeness, suitable intimacy management, and how to be out without making a big deal about it. The actors come across as real people dealing with real situations. Recommended.

Depressing slice of the gay life twenty years ago........1999-02-06

This daring film (for its day) takes us on a tour of a lonely life - a gay teacher in 1978 London trying to find a lover. It is touted as the first gay-themed narrative film with a "positive" outlook - in that no one is ashamed of being gay and no one dies in the end for being so. I will grant it that, but the life (however accurate) of a seeker of love and relationship in a world only interested in casual sex is, in the end, a negative look at a negative world. How far we've come. The film is cast with competent, though almost universally plain, actors. Some scenes go on far too long. And it's drab and drear both in locations and in lousy color saturation. This is a hard one to sit through. Its importance is totally historical - to see where we were and be glad we've come a great deal farther towards our goals.

Average customer rating:

Murder 101 & Nighthawks (2pc)
Starring: Sylvester Stallone , Billy Dee Williams , Lindsay Wagner , Persis Khambatta , and Nigel Davenport
Director: Bruce Malmuth , Gary Nelson , and Bill Condon
Manufacturer: Good Times Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000067IXY
Release Date: 2002-07-02

Average customer rating:

a little dated but good movie
Classic Stallone
This could have been an interesting franchise
Nighthawks
Surprisingly interesting...

Nighthawks [Region 2]
Starring: Sylvester Stallone , Billy Dee Williams , Lindsay Wagner , Persis Khambatta , and Nigel Davenport
Director: Bruce Malmuth , and Gary Nelson
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( N ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

F.I.S.T.
Paradise Alley
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Cobra
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ASIN: B00005UWQX

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

a little dated but good movie.......2007-05-10

I saw this movie several years ago and have enjoyed watching it periodically. Its one of Sly Stallones better movies. The bad guys are truly bad. good escapist, rebel cop vs terrorist slime movie

Classic Stallone.......2007-05-09

Great old 70's flick with a killer ending! A must see for people who grew up in the 70's and 80's.

This could have been an interesting franchise.......2007-04-21

Nighthawks.......2007-04-07

I am very pleased with the product. I received it in a timely manner.

Surprisingly interesting..........2007-01-11

Average customer rating:

Slow, but quietly ennobling
London Bar and Work Lives
Depressing slice of the gay life twenty years ago.

Nighthawks [Region 2]
Starring: Ken Robertson , Tony Westrope , Rachel Nicholas James , Maureen Dolan , and Stuart Craig Turton
Director: Ron Peck
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( N ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Strip Jack Naked (Unrated)
Dante's Cove
Third Man Out
Another Gay Movie
Brokeback Mountain (Widescreen Edition)

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Customer Reviews:

Slow, but quietly ennobling.......2006-07-31

London Bar and Work Lives.......2006-05-22

Depressing slice of the gay life twenty years ago........1999-02-06

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