Customer Reviews

Hudson Hawk (Special Edition)

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I remember really diggin the hell out of this at the theatre, despite the fact that it tanked and I was all of 12. What gets me is that- I understand why your average brainwashed zombified office drone wouldn't like this but the critics panned it too. Actually, that doesn't surprise me, given the heidi fleiss treatment they've lavished on the wretched 'Troy.' Anyway, Glad to see there's a little amazon cult of like-minded souls who appreciate the hilarious absurdity, one-off jokes, great performances, neat ideas and all around craziness this movie delivers.

Yeah, there are some plot problems and pacing is off-kilter, but heck, this film is so much fun from the first second til the end when Eddie finally gets his- no I won't ruin it... Give it a chance. I haven't perused the DVD but doubt it has much extra stuff. This isn't the kind of film the gets the redux.

If the thought of Danny Aiello, Bruce Willis, James Coburn, Sandra Bernhardt, Andie McDowell (no relation to Malcolm), a young David Caruso, and a handful of other dynamic character actors doesn't appeal to you then stop reading now. Moreover, if the thought of the world's greatest jewel thief stealing Da Vinci treasures, a Vatican spy agency, an over-the-top madman entrepreneur and his depraved wife aimed at destroying the world's economy, a corrupt CIA covert ops team called "The Candybars," doesn't pique your interest then go back to bed.

Some of the best one liners I've ever heard. They never get old. "I must speak with the dolphins now." "Just kill her- Darwin! This is supposed to be torture, not therapy." "Bettie Jo Baijarsky? I can get you an address on that." "Bunny?!? Ball Ball!!!"

If you like Bill Murray's everyman attitude in ghostbusters then this film's humor will appeal.

In summation- If you dug 'Ice Pirates,' "The Princess Bride," or any Terry Gilliam film you will probably dig this one.

ciao.

Which is why many people never got it. They were probably expecting DIE HARD or a hard action film but this is delightfully lighthearted and funny in a silly kind of way. NO WAY is it meant to be taken seriously. Like a film where thieves time their robberies to songs is supposed to be real?

Eddie Hawkins (Willis) is the Hudson Hawk, the greatest catburglar who ever lived and he has been blackmailed by the CIA and an OTT camp villian couple called The Mayflowers (Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard). Against his will he is shipped off to Rome (literally) to steal some of DaVinci's greatest works. His friend Tommy (Danny Aiello) and an undercover nun (Andie MacDowell) assist him as he robs the Vatican and tries to shake off a bunch of MTV-generation CIA agents called the Candy Bars (Kit-Kat, Butterfinger, Snickers and Almond Joy). Much adventure and comedy follows.

It's got lots of silly humor and cool stunts and is richly bizzare too. Quite refreshing really. Don't watch this expecting anything else than deliberate silliness. It's a film I can watch when I'm in any mood as it is major fun.

The DVD is in pretty plain Dolby 2.0 surround and is anamorphically enhanced at 1.85:1

I don't understand...and I don't really care about the other reviews. This is a very funny movie. A young Bruce Willis and an all-star cast. Hidden humor abounds in the tounge-in-cheek action comedy. The presidential phone ring from James Coburn's Flint movies is just one example. I rented it and now I plan to buy it.

Wholly underappreciated and loathed by many, even Bruce Willis I believe. Upon first viewing in the theater I can see why. It was ludicrous, over the top and didn't make much sense. Since my first viewing, I have probably seen it at least ten times. I can just about quote it word for word. I use many of the quotes on a day to day basis. It's one of those films that "stuck." Bruce Willis is at the top of his game in this one. He pulls out all the stops, all his facial expressions, his full entourage of tongue in cheek mannerisms and his smart aleck attitude is off the charts. He is brilliant. I seem to recall at the release of the movie that it was costing so much and taking so much time because artists had to go in and draw more hair on his head. If so, they certainly didn't do him justice. Funny rumor nonetheless. Best role of David Caruso's career as well, because he doesn't talk! Like in another review on here, you just have to "get it." If you don't, you will probably dislike it. It is a great flick and I am so glad that I do "get it." It has remained in my rotating top 5 movies for years. It may not have done well money-wise, but it's obviously endearing to enough people to warrant a 15th Anniversary Special Edition and I will buy it yet again. It will be my 4th time. First on VHS, then on laserdisc, then the last DVD edition and now this one. To quote the commentary on the previous DVD, "Did I mention this movie did well in France?"

Yes, this movie is ridiculous, and it's supposed to be! I have always found it to be a lighthearted dark comedy with repeat watching appeal. :)

If you're looking for anything serious, or that takes itself seriously, this isn't for you. Otherwise I guarantee you will chuckle more than once at the Hawk's quest for a cappucino. ;)

"Hudson Hawk" is the story of a cat burglar, the Hudson Hawk (Bruce Willis), who has just been released from prison and is called on by just about everyone (his parole officer, the CIA, his best friend, and an eccentric pair of billionaires) to do one last job. The job involves stealing a horse sculpture made by Leonardo Da Vinci and this gets the Hawk involved in a conspiracy to destroy the world's economies by using a machine created by Da Vinci to turn lead into gold. At the time of its release, "Hudson Hawk" flopped severely, and even now, it still has a reputation for being one of the biggest turkeys of all time. However, at the risk of losing any credibility I might have as a reviewer, I actually like the film and when I saw this film for the first time at age 14, as far as I was concerned, this film was a classic.

I admit that "Hudson Hawk" is completely far-fetched and as an adult, I can now see the gaping plot holes. Among other things, this film features: a group of CIA agents who are all named after candy bars; a cat-burglar who sings old songs while pulling jobs; and Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhardt hamming it up as the villains. Yet, there are also a lot of things going in its favour. It is directed by Michael Lehmann and co-written by Daniel Waters, the team who gave the world "Heathers"; it features Bruce Willis before he started to lose his hair, when he was still young and sarcastic; and the far-fetched nature of the story does make it a lot of fun. Plus, the scene at the start of the film where Willis and Danny Aiello rob an auction house while singing "Swinging on a Star" is one of the most memorable scenes in cinema history.

To those people who still insist that "Hudson Hawk" is one of the worst films ever, I will leave you with this anecdote. On one occasion, when this film was shown on Australian television, the next day I passed several people at work and in the streets, all whistling "Swinging on a Star". How many films can you name that have that sort of effect on people? Switch off your brain and give this film a chance. You might actually enjoy it.

This film is just about perfect. You either "get it", or you don't. I never write reviews for these films, but I noticed people dissing the film, and I had to comment. "Hudson Hawk" is brilliant. It is, dare I say it, the "Buckaroo Banzai" of the 1990s. Catch the Hawk!

As for the actual movie, Hudson Hawk is one of the most hated and debated movies this decade (the 90s). Critics never forgive big-budget box-office bombs (like Waterworld and Godzilla), but in this case they made a fatal error. They condemned a movie that was actually one of the most brilliant, entertaining, nonsensical pieces of art brought to the big screen. This movie is the utter definition of quirky. It brings the audience action, locales, twisted plots, and lots of humor (weird and unmistakable). Willis plays Eddie "Hudson Hawk", a catburglar released from prison after ten years, who attempts (briefly) to walk the straight and narrow. Along with his friend Tommy Fivetone (Danny Aiello), Hawk gets involved in a complicated scheme to recover objects to make a gold machine. The key players in this conspiracy include (take notes!) the mafia, crooked cops, the CIA, the Vatican, and billionare eccentrics out for WORLD (pause) DOMINATION!

Naturally, this is not everyone's cup of cappucino. If you lack the ability to let go of "movie reality" (where you expect the movie to follow certain, predefined rules seen countless places elsewhere), then you might really come out of this experience with a partial lobotomy. But for those of us looking for the new, unusual, and fun, Hudson Hawk is one of the freshest movies out there.

I was walking with two friends, one of whom really enjoyed this film (as I did) and one of whom disliked it intensely. The friend who disliked the film said to the two of us, "I'm sorry, but you can't build a whole movie on Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello wisecracking with each other." We looked at him in disbelief and said, in unison, "YES you can!!!"

That pretty well sums up the Hudson Hawk experience. If you go into it expecting a typical Bruce Willis film, you'll be disappointed. It's a fast-paced film full of bizarre humor and great lines and scenes. The closest comparison I can draw would be if you were to mix up the "Taming of the Shrew" episode of Moonlighting and a 60s action film. The dialog is quick-paced, and there's *nothing* in the film which isn't a joke. If you're looking for a serious or sane film, look elsewhere. But one way or the other, if you've ever wanted to really laugh at Bruce Willis, this is the film to do it in. ;)

I recently met a couple of friends for dinner and somehow we all found ourselves discussing movies. Best movie of all times, worst movie of all times and so on and so forth. Then I said: "here's the most misunderstood movie of all times: Hudson Hawk". One of the other guys immediately replied with: "Yeah! You definitely misunderstood it if you still call it a movie" and then continued to mention that it was, in his opinion, one of the worst movies ever made.

Well, I think it is a great movie. It is one of the best action-adventure spoofs ever made, parodying and messing up virtually every convention ever established in this genre... or story telling in general. The relatively insignificant mess of a plot is only a place-holder for the incredibly witty script and slapstic comedy. If you look at it for what it is, there's really not a lot to dislike about Hudson Hawk. It's a very funny, superbly directed and very well acted piece of... well... nonsense.

The DVD contains a very nice, tounge in cheek, commentary track by director Michael Lehman who seems to have handled all the criticism and bad publicitly rather well. He definitely acknowledges the fact that this movie was a badly marketed and grossly misunderstood joke... yet "it was very successful in Europe" (what can I say, the Europeans obviously know better).

The bottom line is this: if you like action scenes, witty dialogs and cool special effects all wrapped up in a completely non-sensical plot, this movie is definitely for you!