Nighthawks (1981)

Director:

Bruce Malmuth

Writers:

David Shaber (screenplay)
David Shaber (story) ...

Release Date:

4 April 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Wulfgar, an international terrorist holds the City of New York hostage, but Deke DaSilva, the most dangerous cop known to man, can take him down.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Anti Terrorism | Decoy | Bomb | United Nations | Cross Dresser

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	Det. Sgt. Deke DaSilva
Billy Dee Williams	...	Det. Sgt. Matthew Fox
Lindsay Wagner	...	Irene
Persis Khambatta	...	Shakka Holland
Nigel Davenport	...	Peter Hartman
Rutger Hauer	...	Wulfgar
Hilary Thompson	...	Pam (as Hilarie Thompson)
Joe Spinell	...	Lt. Munafo
Walter Mathews	...	Commissioner
E. Brian Dean	...	Sergeant
Caesar Cordova	...	Puerto Rican Proprietor
Charles Duval	...	Dr. Ghiselin
Tony Munafo	...	Big Mike
Howard Stein	...	Disco Manager
Tawn Christian	...	Disco Hostess

Also Known As:

Night Hawks (USA)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

French | German | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | USA:R (certificate #26087) | Iceland:16 | Ireland:15 | West Germany:16 | Australia:R | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-18 | Norway:16 (1981) | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

174th Street IRT Subway Station, 900 East 174th Street, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Dutchman Rutger Hauer's first American feature film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Deke is firing a revolver at the police target range, the paper target's holes face towards him as if a small explosion went off behind them (squibs). Also the wires that held and were used to detonate the squibs are seen hanging out of the holes. Real police bullets leave small holes in paper targets.

Quotes:

Det. Sgt. Deke DaSilva: Why'd you kill the woman?
Reinhardt Heymar Wulfgar: I wanted to.
Det. Sgt. Deke DaSilva: So why don't you kill me?
Reinhardt Heymar Wulfgar: In due time.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Shooting the Police: Cops on Film (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Brown Sugar

Surprisingly interesting...

Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer) is an international terrorist not to be taken lightly… He is wanted by half the countries in Europe… He is currently financed by no one... He becomes trapped as 'Persona Non Grata'…

Wulfgar manages to succeed where others have failed… His pattern is the instilling of fear… He makes female contacts to establish safe housing for his armory… He always covers a woman who is clean... He loses one, he finds another... He has a liking for fancy food, expensive clothes and the most varied nightlife…

Wulfgar doesn't think like a criminal… He wants to be a hero… Since the London incidents, he wants to prove himself as invincible as he ever was… So he decides to change his look, and strikes without warning... Wulfgar's associate is Shakka Holland (Persis Khambatta), a pretty cool woman, with no maternal instincts, who murders without apparent provocation…

DaSilva (Sylvester Stallone) wants to treat Wulfgar like 'some mugger' on the streets… He makes a mistake when he finds himself unexpectedly facing the malevolent killer... He refuses to act in the same ruthlessness Wulfgar does, and to use deadly force in defense of the lives of innocent hostages… He hesitates to shoot and kill… DaSilva rejected to pay attention to the impact of the terrorist's actions on his thinking and beliefs… This mistake enables the best policeman to meet the dangerous terrorist on equal terms…

'Nighthawks' turns out to be surprisingly interesting… Rutger Hauer easily holds our attention throughout the film… He is a disciplined terrorist indifferent to his victims, cold and calculating… His mission to harm the enemy transcends any concern about his victims… For Wulfgar, the end justifies the means...

Stallone and Billy Dee Williams make good partners… Stallone doesn't play his usual character, the ruthless policeman who combats violence with greater violence… He seems to be more human desperately trying to do the right thing at the right time…