Back in 1981 I happened to be walking past a music store as they were playing the soundtrack to the motion picture "Night Hawks," starring Sylvester Stallone. The music captured me instantly and I bought the soundtrack on the spot. Didn't much care about seeing the movie - and didn't.

Years passed and the cassette "died." I still remembered the music... but life moves on.

For some reason it came back to me and I decided to order it, an LP, via Amazon. Got it and it was excellent... which finally aroused my curiosity about the movie itself.

So I ordered it and watched it. Not bad... a nice timepiece from the era. The plot seems a bit contrived, but I must say too, with the passage of time, that the "villains" of that day are infinitely preferable to the ones we face now.

I thought the score "dark" at the time (1981)... but it's amazing how much darker things have become, including music. It can't compare with "Road to Perdition" - which has an excellent soundtrack, but - unlike with Night Hawks - there's no real resolution. And the music in Road to Perdition is utterly unilluminated, completely dark... as is the fashion in this apparently unredeemable age in which we live. The music of "Nine Inch Nails" comes to mind...

I liked it. Stallone is convincing enough. What really made it was Emerson's soundtrack, which I regard as an absolute masterpiece.

Sly Stallone & Billy Dee Williams are decoy cops,
recuited to hunt and stop terrorist. Ruger Hauer,
is an outcast terrorist looking to make a point and
get back into the good graces of head terrorists.
This is a well paced, action-packed film I really
enjoyed when it came out . . . now for the down-side
I got this not only because I enjoyed the movie but
also Keith Emerson's riveting soundtrack, that added
to the overall pace of the film. Getting this version
of the movie on DVD, I find that several key moments
in the film the music had been changed from the
orginal soundtrack to a much lesser intense tone.
Including the key moment when Stallone ID's Hauer
in the midst of a disco hall.
I was considering sending the movie back because
of this, but I still like the film overall.
But this is the kind of thing that people should
be made aware of before buying a film.
It would be like the classic Jaws music being replaced
with the Tchailkovsky's " Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy."

The aspect ratio is fake.
The top and bottom of the regular full screen version has been cropped out of the picture to give the illusion your getting a widescreen - what your getting is less picture!
It appears to be the studio who released this DVD used their old VHS film transfer copy, instead of re-transfering from the film.
The studios should label the DVD's as they did when they cropped VHS video picture " this film has been modified to fit you tv screen" as in modified to fit a 16x9 tv in this case.
You have already lost one third of the picture when it was modified to full screen, now you loose an additional one third to one fourth of the movies image!
The reason leterbox and widescreen has a demand, is that the audience or consumer wants to view the Movie as it was filmed and framed by the filmaker, and not loose out on portions of the movie that the director intended.
In other words the idea to release in widescreen was for the intention of showing MORE not LESS of the movies image.
The studios believe they can get away with this, since the average buyer does not have a full screen video version to compare with, or the consumer is just unaware.
I compare DVD's to a full screen VHS versions, and in many cases where some DVD's come with both Full & Wide Screen on a flip disc, compare them before watching, many of the widesreen sides are just chopped versions of the full screen.
On this film you can compare and see for yourself by watching the trailer.
The picture quality is great on this and most DVD's, it is unfortunate though that it has to be a conciliation for cropped picture.

This is a Stallone movie! I have some Amazon Bros that have been
talking about Stallone the past week and it made me remember
this precious gem. In this Stallone is a cop in New York
and his partner is Billy-Dee Williams. At first nothing all that
great for action we get Stallone and Williams shooting at the
bad guys that Bronson or Eastwood(had to mention them)would kill.
Switch scene in England where we are introduced a sick twisted
f$%k by the name of Wolfgar(played brilliantly by Rutger Hauer)he
leaves Her Majesty and comes to the U.S.A. where he starts again
his TERROR! If you have not seen this? WHAT! This is right
up there with First Blood and dare I say it(Dare Clint Dare)
Rocky!!! This has action,suspense and drama all rolled up in one
and Stallone and Hauer give some of their best performances.
Also stars Lindsay(Bionic Woman)Wagner and Joe(MANIAC)Spinell
This movie has it all with VERY EVIL terrorist Stallone's famous
yelling and a great shock ending....YOU MUST SEE THIS!

STALLONE: IF I TOOK SOME OF HIS NOSE(speaking of plastic surgery)
off here and raised his cheeks up(drawing on paper)he'd look something
like this right?
WILLIAMS: YEAH? YEAH I GUESS SO WHY?
STALLONE:WELL THIS(points at paper)IS STANDING OVER THERE!

SPINELL: YOU GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU GOT THAT SUCKER!


HAUER:THAT PERFUME IS LOVELY OH! JUST WRAP THAT UP THANK YOU
(kicks bag under girls desk)YOUR VERY PRETTY(leaves Galleria
Mall to go to a pay phone the Mall blows up in a big explosion)
HELLO,HELLO UNITED PRESS THIS IS WOLFGAR CALLING

HAUER: I LIKE YOUR HAT.....

The Amazon review is fairer than usual, though it still paints too glowing a picture of this film. I turned it off last night about a third of the way through. Listening to the sergeant brief them on Rutgar or Wolfgar the terrorist (longest "brief" I ever heard!) was putting me to sleep. And the strain of melodrama running through it had me less than intrigued.

After reading all these great reviews, I've put it back on again this morning (I'm taking care of my pictures on-line at the same time). I'm a little more awake now and can appreciate some of the stylistic vibes of this film (notably Sly's cool get-up - i dig the beard - remind's me of Pacino some ten years later in Carlito's Way - THAT'S a 5 star movie!) and the early eighties NYC. Also, I have a much higher tolerance for cheese in the morning so I'm enjoying it a little more now.

Yes, but only a little more. In fact, it's still too much. The killer is a goof-ball (granted one I wouldn't want to meet) and Sly's a drama queen. And come to think of it, the 3 stars I originally gave it is too much! I must have been influenced by all the 5 star reviewers here! This movie is no 5 star movie. There's some nostalgia here, and Stallone has a cool haircut, but not much else.