Nighthawks

There is no security.

The other day while browsing in The Six Million Dollar Man & The Bionic Woman Fanpage, someone posted a picture of a film I hadn't seen featuring Lindsay Wagner. To my surprise, the film was starred by Sylvester Stallone & Rutger Hauer, two heavy weight actors from the 70's/80's, so I instantly decided to search for Nighthawks, a 1981 action thriller masterpiece I now officially include in my top 50 of the greatest films I've ever watched, and I mean it. 

Directed by Bruce Malmuth (also director of Hard to Kill, The Karate Kid Part II & Pentathlon) and the uncredited Gary Nelson (director of cult film The Black Hole & legendary series Get Smart from 1966 to 1969) with a marvelous story written by David Shaber (Writer of 1979's cult film The Warriors) Nighthwaks may be the definitive terrorist film from the 1980's and perhaps, from all decades if you're into these kind of films. Stallone delivers a fantastic performance in a character that's far more vulnerable and believable (for that matter) than his immortal Rocky & Rambo.

DaSilva & Fox, two though N.Y. cops.

Heymar 'Wulfgar' Reinhardt.

Conservative street cop DaSilva (Sylvester Stallone) reluctantly agrees to terminate an international terrorist (Rutger Hauer) who has demanded media attention. But DaSilva's "at-home" tactics are very much put to the challenge.

The story was originally intended to be produced as "The French Connection III" by screenwriter David Shaber at Twentieth Century Fox, with Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle teamed up with a wisecracking cop (tentatively Richard Pryor). When Hackman was reluctant to make a third film as Doyle, the idea was scrapped; Universal acquired the rights to the storyline, which Shaber reworked into "Nighthawks", the more you know!

Troubles continued on set, due largely to Stallone having creative control. Stallone, through producer Herb Nanas, picked out his own cinematographer (usually the director's job). When he disagreed with the original director on certain plot points, the director was fired and replaced by Bruce Malmuth. This further caused issues because not only was Malmuth piecing together someone else's work, he was fairly new as a director and actually gave out too much direction, stressing some actors. Stallone even butted heads with Rutger Hauer, who he saw as getting too much screen time. The lesson, of course, is to allow directors rather than stars to have control.

Beautiful Irene.

Lyndsay Wagner, ♥.

Although not among Stallone's best-known films, it may be one of his better films. Perhaps the studio's production problems have lead to it not getting the level of promotion it has deserved? This is now seen as the film that launched Hauer's career, and surely he is as good or better than Stallone. Hauer is now  best known for "Blade Runner", but maybe if more people saw "Nighthawks" they would have a broader appreciation for his work.

Shout! Factory has picked out the film as part of its Shout Selects line to put a spotlight on the film. It has never looked better, and has the original music put back in place (Keith Emerson, Rolling Stones). We also have new interviews that add to the discussion, as previously we had only Stallone on record talking about the stunts (which are respectable).

Now or never!

Not today coppers!

Although the Shout disc is easily the best released to date, and probably the best there ever will be, it does have shortcomings. For one, there is no audio commentary, which would have been a nice touch. But more importantly, it does not include the cut scenes, which have additional violence and plot. Much of the relationship between DaSilva and his wife is left vague, with entire scenes removed. An extended edition would be great, but even just having them separate on the disc would make this more complete.

That caveat aside, this film is amazing despite any on-set troubles and if you haven't seen it before or want to revisit it, the Shout disc is the way to go. The disc is packed -- packed! -- with interviews, including a new interview with producer (and Stallone manager) Herb Nanas, who had his first on-screen credit with this film but had actually been with Stallone for years. Cinematographer James Contner has almost 25 minutes in his interview, and is not shy about discussing on-set conflict. Lindsay Wagner talks of all her scenes that were cut (a deja vu of "The paper Chase"), and we even get a few minutes with Catherine Mary Stewart on her brief but important role. "Nighthawks" is a lost classic well worth some re-evaluation in the Stallone or Hauer canon. (Not to mention Billie Dee Williams!) 

Mean motherfucker.

Bad sister.

Another cool aspect of this film, is the fact that we get to see a lot of urban landscapes from New York. From the subway chase, to the skyscrapers, and high-altitude postcard quality shots the big apple plays indeed its own character in the movie. In addition, Lyndsay Wagner's supporting role as DaSilva's ex-wife brings a nice touch to the climax of the film. However, I really wish her scenes weren't cut as heavily as they were. She's a great actress and the sub plot of her relationship with DaSilva feels incomplete in the final edition of the film.  How ironic it is that the sole reason I wanted to watch this film is because of her presence in it, and how brief her scenes are! 

Overall, Nighthawks is one of the best action packed films from the 80's. It's sole mission to entertain from start to finish, is greatly accomplished, and the terrorist topic could have been easily taken from a 21st century film. Rutger Hauer steals the show as the cold blooded terrorist, while the good guy duo of Stallone and Dee Williams balance the quality in acting as well. Go watch it now!

Here's the movie trailer:

Keetje Tippel

Fine movie poster.

Keetje Tippel is one of Verhoeven's lesser known movies but it really deserves to be seen and better known, all over the world. Reason why it isn't known better is I think because of "Turks fruit" from 1973. After that movie people expected this movie to be a sort of "Turks fruit 2", also because it was once again directed by Verhoeven and had Monique van de Ven and Rutger Hauer as the two main leads. Turks fruit and Keetje Tippel show some similarities in the way the story is told but it are in fact of course two totally different movies. The movie is also known as Katie's Passion or Katie Tippel and in Spanish countries was known as Una Novia Llamada Katy Tippel.

Rutger Hauer before Blade Runner.

Making her way into high society.

The movie provides a pretty good and insightful view of life in late 19th century Amsterdam. The atmosphere of the old Amsterdam is perfectly captured by Jan de Bont's cinematography and by the costume design and art direction.

What makes "Keetje Tippel" better than the average period drama is the directness of the story telling. This is of course thanks to Verhoeven's typical style of directing that always is very direct and straight to the point. Once more the movie features quite some nudity and confronting scene's. But it all works well because it serves a purpose in the movie and it's obviously not only put in it to simply shock the viewer in a cheap way. The movie however is quite short and it didn't feel that the movie covered the entire story and the ending is abrupt and not entirely satisfying because it still leaves a bunch of questions unanswered.

The acting isn't always top-class but this is more because of the simple dialog, rather than its the actors their fault. Rutger Hauer however deserves credit for his role and he plays his character in a very believable way. Monique van de Ven is good for about 70% of the time but her acting really pushes it at times and her character at times goes a bit too much over-the-top. The movie further more features a good supporting cast.

Some freaks edit videos with only nude/sex scenes here's Keetje Tippel treatment.

Care for some fun?

18th century exploitation.

The story is always interesting and you never know what is going to happen next, thanks to the unpredictable and realistic characters that are being portrayed in this movie. The movie is based on the real life of Neel Doff, which gives the movie an even more realistic and confronting feeling.

Monique Van der Ven.

Better than your average period drama's. See this movie if you get the chance. To become more interested on this early Paul Verhoven's work the trailer would be a fine suggestion to look for this movie, ages before Verhoven made his way into Hollywood and legendary stardom thanks to Robocop. If you want to make your way through this movie you can find it on the 50 Drive-In Cult Classics Milkcreek Entertainment released  last year, and for less than $15 you can find this film and plenty more on a nice DVD set. Find them on E-Bay, BestBuy or Amazon.

See you some time soon with some more cool B movies reviews.

La Belva Col Mitra

DVD release cover.

Beast With a Gun (a.k.a La Belva Col Mitra, Mad Dog  & Mad Dog Killer) is another excellent example of the italian police thriller cult sub-genre. The film is quite a lot nastier than most of the Italian crime films around, and  some times it feels like it could righteously fit into the exploitation cult genre. Naturally, there's the usual array of fistfights, shootouts and car chases; but here we've also get to see some  rapes (light stuff nothing too literal this movie is not I Spit on Your Grave) and scenes of knife injuries - among other stuff. So La Belva Col Mitra might not be for everyone's taste, but I think most people would agree that the nasty action certainly gives the film a bit more of flavor. 

The film begins with the runaway of three nasty convicts. Their leader is a man named Nanni Vitali, and their first port of call after escaping from jail is killing the dirty scumbag that rat them out on the fuzz. However, when they catch up with him; Nanni gets interested in his girlfriend, and proceeds to rape her behind the trees before killing the snitch. He also wants the girl to help them pull off a robbery; and she's ok with helping them, but not before telling the police all about it of course.

Original movie titles, my copy says "Mad Dog"

Mr. Bad guy.

The main bad character is absolutely spot on with his role as the bad to the bones criminal at the centre of the tale, and every moment he's on screen is completely gripping. He is joined by Marisa Mell, who provides the eye candy in style! Richard Harrison rounds off the central cast with the tough and experienced cop role and like his co-stars - plays it well. 

Realism obviously wasn't big on director Sergio Grieco's priority list, however, as the film features numerous instances that don't make a lot of sense - the scene that springs to mind instantly is the one where Giuliana is shot in the leg...and then instantly diagnoses it all by herself as 'not serious' and barely bats an eyelid! funny!

Innocent bystander?

Not so innocent now right?

At first she suffered, but then she liked it! mother of God!

Tell me about it!

Most of Marisa Mell pictures are in nude format.

Now, let's check the strongest points in this Italian Police Thriller: 

- The Vicious Nanni. Nanni Vitali is one of those vicious, brutal, sadistic type characters that are necessary for this kind of film to work. The things he is capable of doing can be at times shocking. The ferocious way he beats-up the gas attendant for no real purpose at all is the perfect example. He's the kind of character you wouldn't want to run into in real life.

- Marisa Mell. Marisa Mell is another of those European actresses who may not have been much of a thespian, but she has a certain screen presence that's undeniable. It's too bad the decision was made to ignore her character for the final third of the movie.

Police hero Italian style.

It's crime time!

Now let's check the weakest points of the film according to yours truly: 

- Unbelievable Plot Points. While I could write about several instances where the movie stretches credibility, I'll limit these comments to two. First, no real police would bungle a heist set-up as bad as the police in this film. They have inside information. They know where and when the robbery is to take place. They have their own people poising as factory workers. Yet two people are killed and the robbers make off with a van full of hostages. Second, while scouting the vast Italian countryside, the police just happen to select and climb the very electric pole that will give them a clear view of the killers' hideout. How lucky can you be! 

- Originality. Beast with a Gun is a fairly standard Italian police thriller that offers very little in the way of innovation. It's all routine, run-of-the-mill, seen-it-before type stuff. A little more creativity would have gone a long way to making it a good film of its type.

In the end, if you're a fan of this kind of film, you probably won't see anything you haven't seen before. But what is presented is generally well done with some very nice accompanying music. And, Marisa Mell makes the whole thing worthwhile for me.

Kidnapped sister.

Don't kill me!

By the Way...

Do you remember the scene in Jackie Brown with Robert DeNiro and Bridget Fonda watching TV and then Samuel Jackson walks in and goes: "Is that Rutger Hauer?" and Fonda replies: "No, it's Helmut Berger."?

alright gotta set the table and make some tea for my wife, you know real life is really important.

This movie can be found on DVD on the 50 Drive-In Movie Classics box set released by MillCreek Entertainment originally in 2006, but a 2010 re-relase of the same exact box set is available.

Here's the original Italian movie trailer: