Ladyhawke Rescored

I have always enjoyed this movie, warts and all. It hit at the right time for me, so became a favorite. One of the the things that stood out for me making the movie fune was Broderick's performance as fourth-wall-breaking Mouse. The few slightly awkward bits have been carefully cut in this edit. The other small, yet huge, cut was the silly helmet's-eye-view segment of the climactic battle scene; I've always groaned and asked the screen "Why, Richard? Why?" Now thankfully expunged here.

Now, the huge work of this edit. The score. That has transformed the movie. Gone is the dated '80's synth heavy score and in its place is a great orchestral score that fits the sword and sorcery fantasy medieval setting. It doesn't always 100% fit the visuals, but is always close enough to work well, and often is perfect. There's several places where the visual and audio beats just hit like they were meant to go together. It's an amazing achievement getting a score for another movie to fit this one so well.

Highly recommended version of this movie.

I don't get the hate for the Laydhawke score. Does every movie in this genre have to sound the same? I love it. Ladyhawke wouldn't be Ladyhawke without it. The score is what makes this movie unique and sets it apart from the rest of the cookie cutter medieval sword and sorcery type movies. That said... it's about time someone made this edit! We've all been hearing complaints about the Ladyhawke score for decades and it's very refreshing to see it finally come to light. Next time someone complains about the score, just point them here - they'll love it.

This is a great edit. I can't imagine the amount of work that went into this, and at the end of the day, the new score just sits there seamlessly, like it was meant to be there all along. And that's the biggest compliment I can give to this edit- that if you didn't know it was edited, you wouldn't think anything was amiss. Technically, there are a couple of issues. The opening credits are, for some reason, a different AR than the rest of the film, with black bars on the left and right sides. And a film like this really benefits from a proper 5.1 mix. Presenting it in stereo is fine, and likely makes the audio editing easier, but ultimately makes for a lesser experience. However, these do not greatly detract from the edit. I wouldn't consider this a superior version, but a much-needed alternative version of Ladyhawke. Highly recommended, especially if you didn't like the original.

Great movie. The thing that gets me is the synth music. So I greatly appreciated this. The rescore is incredibly beautiful. Nice job. Brilliant score for this film. It helped me appreciate certain moments way more. It add so much but is never overwhelming.

Brilliant. So many times I tried to watch this movie and that 80s synth just threw me out, but this rescore allows you to settle in and enjoy the story. It was cathartic after so many years. Thanks !

Ladyhawke itself is not a movie I have a ton of nostalgia for and I can't say it impressed me that greatly as a film on this rewatch. That said, this version definitely works better than the original. The Eliot Goldenthal score works quite well with the vision here presented by Richard Donner. There are parts where personally I felt the score was too jaunty over the action, or borderline sappy over the drama, but honestly that's totally in-keeping with Donner's tone and vision. It matches his directorial style here well, where he never fully goes for gripping action or sweeping drama, but tries to create a childlike sense of joy and wonder that pervades the story.

This film is honestly probably best viewed by someone around 12 years old, so any parents out there might want to seek this out. Personally I want my fantasy bigger and bolder and probably more exploitative, but there is a niche for this. A/V editing is top notch, fitting perfectly into the film. A 5.1 mix would be the natural direction to take this sweeping score, but I can give it a pass. For those with nostalgia for this, it may scratch an itch; for those with no real memories, this would be the preferred way to watch.