Hudson Hawk
Hudson Hawk | |
---|---|
Directed by | Michael Lehmann |
Screenplay by | |
Story by | |
Produced by | Joel Silver |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Dante Spinotti |
Edited by | |
Music by |
|
Production company | |
Distributed by | Tri-Star Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $65 million[1] |
Box office | $97 million |
Hudson Hawk is a 1991 American
The
A recurring plot device in the film has Hudson and his partner Tommy "Five-Tone" (Aiello) singing songs concurrently but separately, to time and synchronize their exploits. Willis-Aiello duets of Bing Crosby's "Swinging on a Star" and Paul Anka's "Side by Side" are featured on the film's soundtrack.
The film was a huge critical and commercial failure in the United States, only grossing $17 million and earning three
Plot
Eddie Hawkins—"Hudson Hawk" (from the bracing winds off the
Unbeknownst to Hawk, his blackmailers are all being manipulated by the American corporation, Mayflower Industries, run by husband-and-wife Darwin and Minerva Mayflower and their butler, Alfred. Headquartered in the
After blowing up an auctioneer to cover up the theft of the Sforza, the Mario Bros. take Hawk away in an ambulance. He sticks syringes into Antony Mario's face, falls out of the ambulance on a gurney, and they try to run him down with the ambulance as they speed along the highway. The brothers are killed when their ambulance crashes. Immediately afterwards, Hawk meets
Hawk successfully steals the Da Vinci Codex from another museum, but later refuses to steal the helicopter design. Tommy Five-Tone fakes his death so they can escape. They are discovered and attacked by the CIA agents; Kaplan reveals that he and his agents stole the piece, and unlike them, had no problem killing the guards. Hawk and Tommy escape when Snickers and Almond Joy are killed, and pursue the remaining agents. Kit Kat and Butterfinger take Anna to the castle where the Macchina dell'Oro is being reconstructed.
The showdown is in the castle between the remaining CIA agents, the Mayflowers, and the team of Hudson, Five-Tone, and Baragli. Kit Kat and Butterfinger are killed by Minerva, although Kit Kat frees Baragli before dying. Tommy fights Darwin and Alfred inside the speeding limo, and Hudson fights George Kaplan on the roof of the castle. Kaplan topples from the castle, landing on the limo. Alfred plants a bomb in it, escaping with Darwin; Tommy is trapped inside while Kaplan is hanging onto the hood. The bomb detonates as the limo speeds over a cliff.
Darwin and Minerva force Hawk to put together the crystal powering the machine, but he intentionally leaves out one small piece. When the machine is activated, it malfunctions and explodes, killing the Mayflowers. Hawk battles Alfred, using his own blades to decapitate him. Hawk and Baragli escape the castle, using the da Vinci flying machine, discovering Tommy waiting for them at a cafe, having miraculously escaped death through a combination of airbags and a sprinkler system in the limo. With the world saved and da Vinci's secrets protected, Hawk finally gets to enjoy a cappuccino.
Cast
- Bruce Willis as Eddie "Hudson Hawk" Hawkins
- Danny Aiello as Tommy "Five-Tone" Messina
- Andie MacDowell as Anna Baragli
- Richard E. Grant as Darwin Mayflower
- Sandra Bernhard as Minerva Mayflower
- Donald Burton as Alfred
- Don Harveyas "Snickers"
- David Caruso as "Kit Kat"
- Andrew Bryniarski as "Butterfinger"
- Lorraine Toussaint as "Almond Joy"
- Frank Stallone as Cesar Mario
- Carmine Zozzora as Antony Mario
- James Coburn as George Kaplan
- Doug Martinas Igg
- Steven M. Martinas Ook
- Leonardo Cimino as The Cardinal
- Enrico Verso as The Apprentice
- Courtenay Semel as Bratty Girl In Museum
- Frank Welker as Bunny The Dog
- William Conrad as The Narrator
Soundtrack
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2021) |
The soundtrack album was released by Varèse Sarabande in 1991. There are eleven tracks in all. The film's score (represented by tracks 4-9) was composed and conducted by Michael Kamen with Robert Kraft. Kraft also wrote "Hawk Swing" and co-wrote the film's theme with star Bruce Willis.
- "Hudson Hawk Theme" - Dr. John (05:38)
- "Swinging on a Star" - Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello (02:53) - Sung in incorrect order of verses (the plot device in the movie refers to the original track length as 5:32)
- "Side by Side" - Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello (02:18) (the plot device in the film refers to the original track length as 6:00)
- "Leonardo" (04:55)
- "Welcome to Rome" (01:46)
- "Stealing the Codex" (01:58)
- "Igg and Ook" (02:22)
- "Cartoon Fight" (02:54)
- "The Gold Room" (05:57)
- "Hawk Swing" (03:41)
- "Hudson Hawk Theme" (instrumental) (05:18)
The song "The Power" by Snap! is featured, although not included on the soundtrack, when Hudson Hawk is taken for the first time to the headquarters of the Mayflowers. Minerva Mayflower, played by Sandra Bernhard, is sitting on a desk and sings the song while it plays on her headphones.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 31% based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 10. The site's critics consensus: "Hudson Hawk's kitchen-sink approach to its blend of action and slapstick results in a surreal, baffling misfire."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 17 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[7]
In the Chicago Tribune, Terry Clifford observed that: "The end result is being thrown up on selected screens this weekend, and the suspicion that this was a pooch turns out to be undeniably correct. Boring and banal, overwrought and undercooked, Hudson Hawk is beyond bad."[8]
As Kenneth Turan wrote in the Los Angeles Times:
The saddest thing about Hudson Hawk is that director Lehmann and co-screenwriter Waters were previously responsible for the clever, audacious Heathers, a film that represented all that is most promising about American film, while this one represents all that is most moribund and retrograde. Perhaps they both earned enough money here so that they won't be tempted to indulge themselves in similar big-budget fiascoes. Here's hoping.[9]
Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave the film a "two thumbs down" review on their At the Movies TV show. Ebert described the film as a complete disaster: "every line starts from zero and gets nowhere". Siskel's review was marginally more positive saying that Willis had a few funny moments and furthermore that the film might have been salvaged if Willis and Aiello had been the only zany characters against a cast of straight men as opposed to a cast full of overacting where everyone tried too hard to make each line funny.[10]
Jo Berry from
Jane Lamacraft reassessed the film as one of the "Forgotten Pleasures of the Multiplex" for
In his autobiography, With Nails, Richard E. Grant diarises the production of the film in detail, noting the ad hoc nature of the production and extensive rewriting and replotting during the actual filming.[citation needed] Willis went on to become one of the leading box-office stars of the 1990s, but has not made any further forays into scriptwriting.[citation needed]
Box office
The film performed poorly in the United States, partly because the film was intended as an absurd comedy, yet was marketed as an action film one year after the success of Die Hard 2.[19] It grossed only $17 million in the United States and Canada.[20] Internationally, it performed much better, grossing $80 million[21] for a worldwide total of $97 million. By the end of its theatrical run, the film had lost the studio an estimated $90 million.[22]
The film performed well on home video[23] and by 1995 started to pay out to profit participants, including Bruce Willis.[24]
Accolades
It received three
Home media
The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc in late 1991. Upon its home video release, the tagline "Catch the Excitement, Catch the Adventure, Catch the Hawk" was changed to "Catch the Adventure, Catch The Laughter, Catch the Hawk".[26] Despite the film's failure at the US box office, the film was successful on home video.[23]
It was released twice on DVD, first in 1999 and again in 2007 with new extras. In 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment released Hudson Hawk on Blu-ray for the first time; it was included in a set with Hollywood Homicide. All extras were dropped for the latter release.[27]
Video game
A video game based on the film was released in 1991 under the title
References
- ^ Greenberg, James (May 26, 1991). "FILM; Why the 'Hudson Hawk' Budget Soared So High". The New York Times. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ "Hudson Hawk". The Washington Post. May 24, 1991. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- ^ "'Hawk' Better Fly". Chicago Tribune. June 2, 1991. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ Plaskin, Glenn (May 19, 1991). "Real 'Hudson Hawk'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ "Hudson Hawk". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
- ^ "Hudson Hawk". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 17, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
- ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ Terry, Clifford (May 24, 1991). "Smug 'Hudson Hawk' Looks Like A Turkey". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ Turan, Kenneth (May 24, 1991). "Bruce Willis' 'Hudson Hawk' Fails to Fly as Comedy Caper". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- ^ Siskel and Ebert review Hudson Hawk – via YouTube.
- ^ "Hudson Hawk". Variety.com. December 31, 1990. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ Travers, Peter. "Hudson Hawk". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008.
- ^ Brundage, James. "Hudson Hawk". Filmcritic. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (May 24, 1991). "Review/Film Bruce Willis as a Hip Cat Burglar". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
- ^ Brown, Joe (May 24, 1991). "Hudson Hawk". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
- ^ Hicks, Chris (May 27, 1991). "Film review: Hudson Hawk". Deseret News. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
- ^ "Hudson Hawk". Entertainment Weekly. May 31, 1991. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
- Empire. July 1991. Archivedfrom the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- The Los Angeles Times. Archivedfrom the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
- ^ "Hudson Hawk". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- Daily Variety. p. 2.
- ^ "Hear me out: why Hudson Hawk isn't a bad movie | Movies". The Guardian. May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ a b Putzer, Gerald (January 6, 1992). "'Terminator 2' Takes Ring In $200 Million Year". Variety. p. 5.
- Daily Variety. p. 2.
- ^ "Past Winners Database". The Envelope at LA Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- The Los Angeles Times. Archivedfrom the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
- ^ "Double Feature - Blu-ray: Hollywood Homicide, Hudson Hawk". millcreekent.com. Mill Creek Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
External links
- Hudson Hawk at IMDb
- Hudson Hawk at AllMovie