Bruce Willis (Die Hard), Danny Aiello (Do the Right Thing) and Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day) star in the funniest action/adventure/comedy ever! Willis is Eddie “the Hawk” Hawkins, the world’s most famous cat burglar, who, after 10 years in prison, is ready to go straight. But it’s not going to be easy for the Hawk. The mob and the CIA have conspired to blackmail Eddie and his partner (Aiello) into stealing three da Vinci masterpieces from the most heavily-guarded museums in the world. Sounds simple, right? WRONG! While trying to steal the goods, Hawk falls in love with a beautiful but schizophrenic nun (MacDowell) and is relentlessly pursued by the greedy and powerful Minerva (Sandra Bernhard, The King of Comedy) and Darwin Mayflower (Richard E. Grant, Withnail & I), who want the masterpieces as part of their twisted plot to ruin the world’s economy. It’s wall-to-wall action as the wise-cracking Hawk attempts to save the world, win the girl and have the last laugh! Directed by Michael Lehmann (Heathers) and featuring James Coburn (The President’s Analyst), David Caruso (Jade) and Frank Stallone (Ten Little Indians).
For thoughts on Hudson Hawk, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Hudson Hawk comes to Blu-Ray with a 1080p transfer in its original 1.85:1 that is pleasing enough from Kino Classics. This film previously made its debut on the format a couple of years ago from Mill Creek. While I have never seen that particular disc, history would have us believe that it is likely derived from the same older master, only presented with a better encode with less compression artifacts. This transfer will not be winning any awards, but it holds up as a solid representation of the film which shows minimal signs of damage or digital tinkering. The slight speckling of nicks and scratches is so mild that it is unlikely to ruin anyone’s experience.
The transfer looks fairly clear and detailed for much of the runtime with only a couple of moments exhibiting density fluctuations in the grain field. Image quality is overall stable with some nifty detail in the production design and texture of clothing. Colors never really struggle in terms of saturations, and they mostly look natural to boot. Black levels are acceptable in their depth, even if a few moments struggle with delineation. You will not be left gazing at unsightly instances of compression artifacts or other digital anomalies in the transfer. The presentation is one that holds up fairly well in comparison to its reputation.
Audio Quality
Kino Classics brings us this new Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that handily gets the job done. This movie has a creative spirit that is rooted in music, and it only makes sense that the sultry soundtrack would sound great within the mix. You will not hear any weakness in the upper registers or anywhere else when it comes to fidelity. Dialogue holds up very nicely, coming through clearly without being stepped on by the music or sound effects. The environmental effects are not boundary-pushing but are delineated nicely within the speakers. The sounds of certain kinetic moments and other exaggerated sounds bring some heft to the mix. Kino Classics has delivered a capable track here. There are optional English subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Michael Lehmann provides a really jovial and informative commentary track in which he discusses the background the film, basic facts about pretty much everyone who appears on screen and how they became involved with the project, the shooting locations, how they purposefully broke certain conventions which did not go over well with certain critics, the unique tone of the film and more.
- The Story of Hudson Hawk: A 30-minute featurette recorded in 2005 in which star Bruce Willis and Executive Producer Robert Kraft come together to discuss the film, their friendship and more. They discuss their mutual interest in the music scene, the song that they developed into the film, the development of the film, the reaction and reception to the film, how they feel about the film and more. This is a really fun, relaxed piece which truly does make you stop and reconsider what the team wanted out of the film and why they made certain decisions.
- My Journey to Minerva: An 11-minute featurette with Actress Sandra Bernhard who makes a meal out of this piece as she playfully discusses her role in the film and where she was at this point in her career. A true legend.
- Music Video – “Hudson Hawk Theme” by Dr. John: A four-minute video is provided here.
- Deleted Scenes: A nearly six-minute collection of unused scenes are provided here which gives some backstory to a ditched storyline in which Hawk learns that his pet monkey was gunned down and other moments that were cut for pacing issues.
- Trailers: The disc provides Trailer #1 (2:05) and Trailer #2 (1:08) for Hudson Hawk. There are also trailers provided for Color Of Night, Green Card, Blind Fury, Bird On A Wire and The Hard Way.
Final Thoughts
Hudson Hawk is quite unlike anything you would expect from it simply judging it from the outside. The film was labeled a certified stinker when it was first released, but in retrospect that would seem to be in no small part due to the weirdness of the feature. The film does not take itself, or much of anything else, too seriously. There are constant gags, non-sequiturs and other moments of play that make this feel more like a carnival ride than a film. Yet, it is not a terrible film; in fact, you will find it can bring a consistent smirk to your face if you give into the world that has been created. Kino Classics has brought this film to Blu-Ray with a good A/V presentation and an informative audio commentary. If you are open to seeing past its reputation, it is worth giving a shot with an open mind.
Hudson Hawk is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.