Search - Nighthawks on DVD

Content Advisory: Violence, Graphic Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity Movie Release: 1981 DVD Release: 05/15/2001 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 39 mins Studio: GT Media Total Copies: 2 Genres: Action, Action Thriller, Crime Thriller See Also: Nighthawks

Deke DaSilva (Sylvester Stallone) and Matthew Fox (Billy Dee Williams) are New York police officers specially assigned to a special multi-national team dedicated to tracking down terrorist Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer). Wulfgar planted a bomb in a London department store, killing several children and he is now an outcast, hunted by both the police and his fellow gang members. He has extensive plastic surgery and resumes his activities aided by Shakka (Persis Khambutta), a completely psychotic fellow outcast. Soon DaSilva and Wulfgar are engaged in a violent battle of wits as Wulfgar resumes his terrorist activities and threatens New York . This very effective thriller features a chilling performance by Rutger Hauer as the handsome, ruthless cold-blooded killer who charms women into helping him and then kills them. Sylvester Stallone gives an unusually understated emotionally vulnerable performance as a man trying to save lives while he saves his own marriage. The film makes excellent use of New York locales, particularly during a terrifying hijacking of a cable car where Wulfgar coolly decides which of the hostages will live or die. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Sylvester Stallone - Deke DaSilva
Billy Dee Williams - Matthew Fox
Rutger Hauer - Wulfgar
Nigel Davenport - Peter Hartman
Persis Khambatta - Shakka

Goodtimes misses the boat on a title like Nighthawks. They actually have an interesting movie and they've done an inferior job overall. One can only expect so much for a title that retails this low, but even those expectations can be dashed when the quality simply isn't there. The picture on this disc is the main culprit -- it simply isn't that good. First of all viewers are given a full-frame version (even though the final credits are in the proper 1.85:1 aspect ratio), which might be acceptable if it weren't for all the annoying grain in the picture. Darks don't hold up very well either and the added grain only exacerbates an already obvious problem. Sound fares a bit better with a Dolby Digital 2.0 (a split mono track) track, which sounds pretty good; there is no real separation on the front right and left speakers, but the dialogue is clear and always understandable. Goodtimes, never known for adding extras on their discs, offers only a trailer and two pages of production notes. Considering this is actually more than the majority of their discs, viewers should be pleased. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide