Nighthawks (1981)

Nighthawks is a 1981 American neo-noir action crime thriller film directed by Bruce Malmuth and starring Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner, Persis Khambatta, Nigel Davenport, and Rutger Hauer. Its score was composed by Keith Emerson. The film was noted for production problems. It’s also noted as Stallone’s first action film in the main role.

Plot.

Three armed assailants attack a woman who turns out to be NYCPD Detective Sergeant Deke DaSilva of the Street Crimes Unit in disguise. His partner, Detective Sergeant Matthew Fox, immobilizes two of the assailants; Deke chases the third upstairs to a subway-station platform, taunts him and incapacitates him with a scarf. That day in London, terrorist Heymar Reinhardt (alias Wulfgar) bombs a department store. In New York City, DaSilva and Fox serve a high-risk warrant in the Bronx. They raid a drug-distribution spot, where they discover corrupt police officers among the dealers. After the arrests DaSilva meets his estranged wife, Irene, and tells her he loves her; although she initially rebuffs his advances, they eventually reconcile. Wulfgar meets a member of his network at a party to receive travel documents and money. Suspicious of the delivery man, Wulfgar kills him and three Metropolitan Police Service officers sent to arrest him. He escapes, and the police superintendent berates lead investigator Inspector Hartman. In Paris, Wulfgar meets his partner, Shakka, and learns that his handlers are ostracizing him because the bombing killed a number of children.

Wulfgar undergoes facial surgery to alter his appearance and decides to move his terrorist campaign to New York City. Lt. Munafo transfers DaSilva and Fox to the newly formed ATAC (Anti-Terrorist Action Command) squad, where they meet Hartman. Hartman and DaSilva clash, since Hartman believes that American police are not ruthless enough to deal with a terrorist such as Wulfgar. Although he hesitates to condone killing Wulfgar, DaSilva absorbs his new training and begins to understand the terrorist. In New York City, Wulfgar moves in with a flight attendant named Pam and kills her when she discovers his arsenal. Acting on a tip, Munafo orders DaSilva and Fox to search every nightclub the flight attendant had visited. They find Wulfgar in a nightclub and, after a shootout and foot chase through the subway, Wulfgar first takes a woman hostage and uses her as a human shield, preventing DaSilva from shooting. Wulfgar then escapes by slashing Fox’s face with a knife, enraging DaSilva, who vows to kill Wulfgar. At the hospital, Fox admonishes DaSilva for not shooting.

Development and writing.

The story was originally planned as The French Connection III by screenwriter David Shaber at Twentieth Century Fox, with Gene Hackman’s Popeye Doyle teamed up with a wisecracking cop (possibly played by Richard Pryor). When Hackman was reluctant to make a third film as Doyle, the idea was scrapped; Universal acquired the rights to the storyline, which Shaber reworked into Nighthawks. The film had two working titles: Attack and Hawks, and pre-production began in 1979. Principal photography began January 1980 (when the final draft of the script was completed), and production ended in April 1980. Because of problems with Stallone’s and the studio’s interference in post-production, the film was heavily re-edited and was released a year after it was finished. The original director was Gary Nelson—who had directed the Disney films Freaky Friday (1976) and The Black Hole (1979)—but he was dismissed from the project after a week of production and was not credited.

His replacement, Bruce Malmuth, had only one previous film to his credit: a segment of the 1975 portmanteau comedy, Fore Play. Malmuth, en route from Los Angeles to New York City, was unable to make the first day of shooting after Nelson’s removal and Stallone shot a scene for one day (the chase in the subway). According to the Directors Guild of America, “Anyone signed to work on a movie before the director was engaged cannot replace a fired director, except in an emergency”; arbitration resulted in a fine. In preparation for their roles as New York City police officers, Billy Dee Williams and Sylvester Stallone spent several weeks working at night with the New York Street Crimes Unit.

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Pre-production, Box office.

Nighthawks marked the American debut of Dutch actor Rutger Hauer. To accept the role of Wulfgar, Hauer turned down a better-paying role in Sphinx, a 1981 adventure film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.[6] His mother and his best friend died during the film’s production, and he returned to the Netherlands for their funerals. The first scene which Hauer filmed was his death scene, in which he was injured twice. A squib meant to simulate a gunshot exploded on the wrong side, severely burning him; a cable which yanked him (simulating the force of being shot) was pulled too hard, straining his back. Hauer later learned that the cable was pulled forcefully according to Stallone’s order, and their relationship was then marked by disagreements. Although stories about their on-set arguments are still told by fans of the film and the actors, Hauer has said in interviews that he did not take the disagreements personally and the greatest problem during filming was the film’s difficulty. In a 1993 interview Stallone praised Hauer’s performance. The film recovered its $5-million budget worldwide, grossing $14.9 million in North America and $5 million abroad.

Cast:

Sylvester Stalloneas Sergeant Deke DaSilva
Billy Dee Williamsas Sergeant Matthew Fox
Lindsay Wagneras Irene DaSilva
Persis Khambatta as Shakka Holland
Nigel Davenport as Peter Hartman
Rutger Hauer as Heymar
Hilary Thompsonas Pam
Joe Spinellas Lieutenant Munafo
Walter Mathewsas Police Commissioner
Caesar Cordova as Puerto Rican
Charles Duval as Dr. Ghiselin
Robert Pughas Kenna
Brian Osborneas Inspector Orchard
Frederick Treves as Inspector
Tony Munafo as Mike “Big Mike”
Catherine Mary as Sales Girl In London
Sue Vanner as Girl At Party
Jamie Gillisas Designer
Obaka Adedunyo as Mr. Ntembwe
Yvette Hawkinsas Mrs. Ntembwe

Nighthawks (1981) Biography, Plot, Development, Writing, Box office, Scene.