{"id":13147,"date":"2016-10-17T10:09:15","date_gmt":"2016-10-17T17:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=13147"},"modified":"2016-10-17T10:09:45","modified_gmt":"2016-10-17T17:09:45","slug":"review-nighthawks-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2016\/10\/review-nighthawks-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Nighthawks – Collector’s Edition BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Nighthawks<\/em><\/strong> has elements that is quintessential for the time and features a Stallone performance that I doubt anyone would remember while Rutger Hauer basically stole the show in spite of Stallone cutting down that role and beefing his up during the edit process.<\/p>\n

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Nighthawks
\n— Collector’s Edition —<\/span><\/span>
\n(1981)<\/span>
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Suspense\/Thriller
\nShout Factory | R \u2013 99 min. \u2013 $27.99 | October 18, 2016<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 10\/17\/2016 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n

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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Bruce Malmuth
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>David Shaber and Paul Sylbert (story), David Shaber (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner, Persis Khambatta, Nigel Davenport, Rutger Hauer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Featurettes, Gallery, Trailer, TV Spot
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 1.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>42.2 GB
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>When Europe\u2019s most feared terrorist (RUTGER HAUER) explosively announces his presence in Manhattan, two elite undercover cops (SYLVESTER STALLONE, BILLY DEE WILLIAMS) are assigned to stop him before he strikes again. But the ruthless terrorist has other plans for the city \u2013 and the detectives.<\/p>\n

Quick Hit Review: <\/strong>I think I actually saw Nighthawks<\/em><\/strong> at one point decades ago but re-watching it again after so much time, although it\u2019s hardly a great thriller the film had all the hallmarks of the 1970s\/1980s cinema from the style, costumes and music that made it both cheesy in some respects and nostalgic in others. This by no means will make the highlight reel for Stallone\u2019s career and instead the show stealer was Rutger Hauer as a terrorist who is a far more interesting character versus Stallone and Williams who are pretty much the generic tough cops.<\/p>\n

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Under the direction of Bruce Malmuth (Hard to Kill<\/em>), Nighthawks<\/em><\/strong> is well shot utilizing the gritty streets of New York City, especially in one of the lengthy chase scenes between Stallone and Hauer, seeing some great locales such as a construction site. So, it is particularly good? Not so much but the film did manage to hold my interest and at least didn\u2019t overstay its welcome.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3.25\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Lights, Camera, Action! (16:10; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is an interview with Producer Herb Nanas as he answer questions about working on the project (phone interview).<\/p>\n

We Gotta Shoot This (24:37; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Director of Photographer James A. Contner looks back on his work on the movie.<\/p>\n

A Sign of the Times (10:29; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is an interview with actress Lindsay Wagner and how she got the role.<\/p>\n

Not the Other Girls (4:24; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Actress Catherine Mary Stewart, who had a small role early on speaking to Hauer\u2019s Wulfgar terrorist character, talks about the part.<\/p>\n

Nighthawks<\/u><\/em><\/strong>: The First Draft (9:49; HD)<\/u><\/strong> has writer Paul Sylbert discussing his script and how he came to be hired to write the script surrounding terrorism and the bad guy being Carlos the Jackal (which was ultimately changed due to fears of retaliation from the real Jackal).<\/p>\n

It Was Hell (10:50; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Technical Advisor Randy Jurgensen talks about his involvement on the project and how Stallone never actually consulted him and his ultimate dismissal.<\/p>\n

Last up is the Theatrical Trailer (1:43; HD)<\/u><\/strong>, some Radio Spots (1:35; HD)<\/u><\/strong> and a Still Gallery (6:42; HD)<\/u><\/strong>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Shout Factory releases Nighthawks<\/em><\/strong> onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. Presumably no major restoration work was done but based on what I saw, it\u2019s impressive. Colors are of course drab in keeping with the gritty style of the story but detail was sharp, there were no noticeable flaws and a nice evenly spread of noise was present but not overly distracting. For a 30+ year old movie, it\u2019s a great transfer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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The disc comes with a basic but efficient DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track. Although there are some action sequences, this is a rather talky film, dialogue levels sounded clean enough, I did notice some pops and white noise in a couple of scenes, it\u2019s certainly an upgrade over what presumably was a mono DD track on DVD.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Overall, Nighthawks<\/em><\/strong> has elements that is quintessential for the time and features a Stallone performance that I doubt anyone would remember while Rutger Hauer basically stole the show in spite of Stallone cutting down that role and beefing his up during the edit process (ironically the studio would come in and edit his part). As far as the Blu-ray from Shout\u2019s new Shout Select line, the video and audio transfers are both well and there\u2019s a nice selection of bonus material.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n