Ladyhawke and scifi and fantasy rambling

[dangermousie]

I think I feel like pulling out Ladyhawke, one of the movies I adore. It's romantic, and fairy-tale like. It reminds me of a story in one of the Lays of Marie de France. Plus, Rutger Hauer as Navarre actually looks like he could be a medieval knight and is built to inflict some major damage with the sword.

It's a cult classic, but in case you are unfamiliar with the story, it involves a petty thief, Mouse (Matthew Broderick) whose path intersects with that of star-crossed lovers Navarre (Rutger Hauer) and Isabeau (Michelle Pfeiffer). Navarre is a knight who fell in love with Isabeau, a bishop's ward. However, when the bishop, who lusted after the incredibly beautiful Isabeau himself, found out, he practiced dark magic and put the lovers under a curse designed to torment them eternally. During the day, Isabeau is a hawk, and during the night, Navarre is a wolf. Thus they can never touch, never talk, never really be together. The story follows Mouse, Navarre and Isabeau. Can they find the way to fight the curse? Avenge themselves? Deal with it all?

The ending always makes me swoon and cry at the same time.

Here is an awesome MV for it:

In general, I am on a sort of Rutger Hauer kick after Blade Runner. Has anyone seen Soldaat van Oranje. Here is a MV for it, and it looks excellent (it's about Dutch resistance to the Nazis):

In other news, I started rereading Tanith Lee's Silver Metal Lover, which is pure poetry in guise of scifi. Romantic and dream-like and tragic.

Last but not least, OK, I am sure anyone who is a Star Wars fan knows this already, but it came as news to me:

In the OT, Carrie Fisher had to stand on a box for most of her scenes with Harrison Ford, because she was a foot shorter than him and did not properly fit into the frame.

This has to be the cutest thing I've heard today. I don't know why but it makes me SQUEE. (You know, for some reason, Han/Leia make me think of a space-opera, swashbuckling Ron/Hermione. Don't ask me why.).

Comments

my friend gave me silver metal lover

[calledinvain.livejournal.com]

as a present many years ago - I have the 'sequel' to it on my bookshelf, but haven't brought myself to read it...it's like Howl's Moving Castle - you can't really improve on perfection.

Re: my friend gave me silver metal lover

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I know about the sequel but, like you, I have no interest in reading it. The original is so complete in itself. It's also one of the few books that I've read that are more vivid than vivid, an almost feverish quality (The other novel of hers I read, Gods are thirsty, about Camille Desmoulins, has that same quality.).

Re: my friend gave me silver metal lover

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Doesn't the sequel involve him getting remade years later and falling for someone else? If so, I'd say it rather ruins the entire point...

Re: my friend gave me silver metal lover

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. It's about entirely different characters, who come across Jane's manuscript.

Re: my friend gave me silver metal lover

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Ah. I honestly know as little about it as possible as I don't think it should exist, but when I did ask what the plot was, that's what I was told.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Ah, Navarre...one of the few hollywood medieval knights to actually seem to be a medieval knight...and Matthew Broderick wasn't annoying(outside of what was called for by the character) and Michelle Pfieffer's amazingly blue eyes have never worked so well for her(except for Stardust)

I kinda have a love/hate relationship with Silver Metal Lover...on the one hand, excellent story and excellently written, but on the other...not a big fan of a lot of the characters(really, the first time I read it, I only liked the heroine's friend and mildly liked the two leads, and didn't really care for the leads until I reread it a few years later.) But it's probably the best go at that kind of story there is.

Aren't we glad that these days, they often revel in male stars being a foot taller? But that does sound amazingly cute. And I can see Han/Leia reminding you of Ron/Hermione...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I loved both Jane and Silver, so the book really worked for me. But above all, I am so struck by the writing style...

one of the few hollywood medieval knights to actually seem to be a medieval knight

Exactly. He so had the build for it. Those kids would train since they were ten or so, and have you seen those swords and the mail? You could barely lift it, let along swing it effectively. All the Hollywood 'pretty boys' they usually stick in medieval epics are pretty but in no way bulky enough for medieval warfare.

GUUUH, he is so intense in it.

Aren't we glad that these days, they often revel in male stars being a foot taller? But that does sound amazingly cute. And I can see Han/Leia reminding you of Ron/Hermione...

Yup, the swotty perfectionist bossy one, and the liad back scruffy one.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Exactly. He so had the build for it. Those kids would train since they were ten or so, and have you seen those swords and the mail? You could barely lift it, let along swing it effectively. All the Hollywood 'pretty boys' they usually stick in medieval epics are pretty but in no way bulky enough for medieval warfare.

Another thing is that when they do have bulky guys, it's JUST bulk...no definition, just body building types. The knights had more defined muscles and builds, as the muscles were there for a purpose, not just to have muscles.

Orlando Bloom "looks" right for the most part, andis best suied for such roles, but even so you look at him and go "yeah, but a real one would take you in nothing flat..." *says this with unconditional love for both Will and Balian*

I like Jane/Silver as characters now, i just didn't as much when I first read it.

Yup, the swotty perfectionist bossy one, and the liad back scruffy one.

Not to mention that one is quite, quite smart and the other is something of a smart aleck(though I don't think Ron has as much of that as Han has)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

OK, you know what you've done? I am now rewatching Empire Strikes Back. Heh.

Orlando Bloom "looks" right for the most part, andis best suied for such roles, but even so you look at him and go "yeah, but a real one would take you in nothing flat..." *says this with unconditional love for both Will and Balian*


Exactly.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Oh well, that's fine. It's only one of the best scifi movies ever. I love their "I love you." "I know." thing. And how they love but don't really like each other...it's "I will love you and go to the ends of the universe for you, but I honestly have n idea why beyond the factthat you're hot..."

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I agree. A real knight would be more of The Rock and less of the Bloom. I honestly can't even think of an actor who could believably play a knight right off the top of my head in modern Hollywood. MAYBE the guy who played Colossus in X-Men (I think his name is Daniel Cudmore).

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

more of The Rock and less of the Bloom

Heh. I could maybe see Russell Crowe. he has the beefy/stocky thing going.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Crowe probably comes the closest. Dominic Purcell comes pretty close too.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yup. Bloom has the "feel" right, but not the build.

Hmm...yeah, Colossus might pull it off...

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Maybe Dominic Purcell. They rarely have that type of actor as a major star. Maybe Gerard Butler if he went all Spartan again?

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Hmm...not sure who Dominic purcell is, but I agree about Butler(I have not seen the movie, but have seen pics)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

He plays Lincoln on Prison Break

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Ah. A show that has never interested me even enough to see who's in it...

[morwen_peredhil]

I passionately adore Ladyhawke (except for the cheezoid eighties synthesizer soundtrack, which should be killed with fire).

Soldaat van Oranje is excellent, but not particularly romantic if you were expecting that.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

That synthethizer thing was horrifying. As some comment said, this is a perfect score...if your hero is Shaft.

I didn't think SvO would be romantic (WWII movies rarely are, understandably) but I am glad it's good.

[ancarett]

Oh, I love every one of the things you've mentioned here in this post! Every single one! *squee*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

*squees together*

[kathputli-girl.livejournal.com]

I adore Ladyhawke! I've been trying to find it on DVD for ages - it's always sold out!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I know, it's so swoonwrothy.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Ahh, good ol' Ladyhawke! Back when fantasy cinema went through a chick flick streak ;).

I didn't know about Carrie Fisher having to stand on a box until I saw some behind-the-scene photo from TESB some years ago, where she is standing on a crate. I figured there had to have been, given that she is 5'1" and Harrison Ford is 6'1". Without it, Carrie would be talking to Harrison's belly button.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have almost a foot difference with me and my husband and suffice it to say, heels are a necessity.

[tatterpunk.livejournal.com]

Love it all, but --

Silver Metal Lover? Oh god. The book of my high school years. No joke. It will slay you so hard.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I really must read more Lee!

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Ladyhawke is still my favourite fantasy/medieval movie of all time. Rutger Hauer is wonderful in it and yes, he has the right build for being a knight. I just love the movie, I even had drawn the silhouette of Navarre with his horse and falcon against the setting sun on my wall in my old room. I just loved it.

As for Bloom .. In Kingdom of Heaven he looked the part. He was bulky, he was dirty and in the director's cut the movie is wonderful.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

As for Bloom .. In Kingdom of Heaven he looked the part. He was bulky, he was dirty and in the director's cut the movie is wonderful

Agreed. I liked TC just fine but DC cut made it into this incredible incredible movie.