History Film / Ladyhawke

* ActionSurvivor: Phillipe
* TheAlcatraz: The prison Phillepe was sent to.

* AnimalStereotypes: The guy who turns into [[BigBadassWolf a wolf]] is a fierce, loyal {{badass}} who can be absolutely vicious when riled up, and the guy called "the Mouse" is a cowardly ActionSurvivor thief who prefers to hide and be sneaky whenever possible. Isabeau is fairly fierce and graceful herself. It's also observed in TheMovie that hawks and wolves mate for life ([[IThoughtItMeant though not]] [[{{Squick}} with each other]], of course) signifying the couple's enduring faithfulness.
* AnnoyingArrows: Played with. Arrow injuries are taken with deadly when [[spoiler:Isabeau is shot in hawk form and still injured in human]] but Navarre just shrugs off one arrow. Of course, it could be his armor stopped most of it.

* BadassPreacher: Imperius.

* BigBadassWolf: Navarre's wolf form, though somewhat subverted in that it's more of a hindrance than Isabeau's hawk form.

* CassandraTruth: Nobody believes Phillipe. With reason, admittedly.

* CelestialDeadline: A couple is cursed so that she's a hawk by day and human by night, and he is human by day and a wolf by night. They only get to see each other in the moments of sunrise and sunset, until saved by Rules Lawyering.

* {{Curse}}: On the two StarCrossedLovers.

* DeadpanSnarker: Phillipe, ''and how''.

** Navarre and Isabeau, ''and how''. Cursed for two years but neither has yet to give up hope.

* TheDragon: The Captain of the Guard, Marquet.
* EvilSorcerer: The Bishop.

* FiveManBand:
** TheHero: Navarre
** TheLancer: Philippe
** TheBigGuy: Imperius.
** TheChick: Isabeu.
** TeamPet: Navarre Wolf and Isabeau Hawk.
*** In a more permanent sense, Goliath.
* GreenEyedMonster: The Bishop.

** Marquet, who pushed one of his own men onto Navarre's sword for referring to Navarre as 'Captain', ultimately dies by falling on Navarre's sword.
* HumiliationConga: The ending, for the BigBad.

* IfICantHaveYou: "...then no man shall!"

* KnightInShiningArmor: Navarre

* LightIsNotGood[=/=]DarkIsNotEvil: Not a perfect example, but the Bishop and the Captain of the Guard wear [[GoodColorsEvilColors white and gold]], and Navarre is TheHero and wears [[GoodColorsEvilColors black and red]], rides a black horse and becomes a black wolf.

* MagicPants: There seems to be little consistency as to whether or not clothes transform. Both are naked on resuming human form so it could be argued that there is just no need to see an empty dress falling off a little hawk.

* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted.]]
* TheMiddleAges: The location.

* NonHumanSidekick: Both Navarre and Isabeau are this to each other.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Matthew Broderick does an alright job for the first 15 minutes, then we're basically just watching Ferris Bueller swanning about Medieval France.

* SinisterMinister: the Bishop.
* SlowMotionFall: [[spoiler:Isabeau from the tower at Imperius' home. She falls just slow enough for the sun to rise and turn her into a hawk to save from certain death.]]

* SwordFight: Surprisingly realistic ones, at that.

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: If you're Navarre.

* CorruptChurch: In the movie it shows that the entire region of Aquila in the Middle Ages is ruled by this trope. Unusually, the movie averts the trope's implicit TakeThat qualities in that the protagonists are all depicted as genuinely faithful and God-fearing.

* SlowMotionFall: [[spoiler:Isabeau from the tower at Imperius' home. She falls just slow enough for the sun to rise and turn her into a hawk to save from certain death.

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer

* TheAlcatraz
* AncestralWeapon: Navarre's sword.

* AnnoyingArrows: Averted.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: A minor one that just requires a HandWave to fix -- Imperius is described as a monk. A monk has not taken Holy Orders and thus cannot take confessions -- he would need to be a priest to be able to hear confession and give absolution. (It is possible to be both a monk and a priest but you would be more likely to refer to yourself as a priest in the same way that someone with credentials as both a paralegal and a lawyer would probably not mention the paralegal part). The handwave: Imperius may have been a priest in the backstory then renounced his priestly vows after his crime of betraying secrets of the confessional.

-->'''Imperius:''' Thank you for trying, and for standing up for the truth.
-->'''Phillipe:''' I should have known better. Every moment of happiness in my life has come from lying.
** Also:

--->'''Guard''': Where's the woman?
--->'''Phillipe''': She flew away.
--->'''Guard''': WHERE IS SHE?
--->'''Phillipe''': God's truth, she flew away!
--->'''Guard''': YOU L-AAAGH!!! (Guard is shot by Navarre and falls.)
--->'''Phillipe''': (beat)... It pays to tell the truth, Lord. Thank you. I see that now.

** Navarre, ''and how''.

* GreenEyedMonster

-->'''Phillipe''': I believe he was heading south, toward Aquila.
-->'''Guard''': Then we ride north, sir!
-->'''Phillipe''': It's impolite to assume someone is a liar when you've only just met them!
-->'''Guard Leader''': And yet you knew we would... we ride south.

* KarmicDeath: The Bishop is killed in the process of trying to stab Isabeau in the back.

* LightIsNotGood[=/=]DarkIsNotEvil: Not a perfect example, but the Bishop and the Captain of the Guard wear [[GoodColorsEvilColors white and gold]], and Navarre is TheHero and wears [[GoodColorsEvilColors black and red]].

-->'''Imperius:''' Remember-
--->'''''SPLASH!'''''
-->'''Imperius:''' Walk on the ''left'' side.

* TheMiddleAges

* SceneryPorn

* SlowMotionFall

The story takes place in a fantasy medieval setting and starts with a young thief named Phillippe the Mouse escaping from an inescapable prison through its sewers. Said prison and the lands around it are controlled by a CorruptChurch led by a Bishop who is none too pleased to hear of Phillipe's escape (the prison is supposed to be inescapable, after all). The Bishop sends his soldiers out to kill Phillipe, but just as they catch up with him Phillippe is rescued by the mysterious Navarre, who is accompanied everywhere by his CoolHorse and hawk.

* SoundtrackDissonance: Medieval setting with [[Music/TheAlanParsonsProject Alan Parsons]] ProgressiveRock music. Kind of a BaseBreaker.
** WordOfGod is that they thought it was a cool idea. Unfortunately, the music aged badly. The more conventional orchestral stuff is thus proven to work better in the long run.

** Notably averted for Philippe. When he steals a pair of shoes at one point a background character remarks that he's doing it.

* ChewToy: Mouse.
** Literally, when he saves Wolf!Navarre from drowning in a frozen lake and gets mauled for his trouble.
---> '''Navarre''': (Stares at Phillipe's wounds.) What is ''that''?
---> '''Imperius''': He got ''that'' saving ''your'' life!

* CoolHelmet: So cool, [[Manga/Berserk Guts had to get one for himself]]!

The story takes place in a fantasy medieval setting and starts with a young thief named Phillippe the Mouse escaping from an inescapable prison through its sewers. Said prison and the lands around it are controlled by a CorruptChurch led by a Bishop who is none too pleased to hear of Phillipe's escape, since the prison is supposed to be inescapable, after all. The Bishop sends his soldiers out to kill Phillipe, but just as they catch up with him Phillippe is rescued by the mysterious Navarre, who is accompanied everywhere by his CoolHorse and hawk.

* ShapeShifter: Navarre and Isabeau.

* TitleDrop

The film contains a number of both veteran actors (such as John Wood, [[RutgerHauer Rutger Hauer]], and Leo [=McKern=]) and young actors who would go on to become household names (Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer) so despite the times that it veers into camp it is often well acted.

** Marquet, who pushed one of his own men onto Navarre's sword for referring to Navarre as 'Captain', ultimately died by falling on Navarre's sword.

* TheQueensLatin: If we infer from the names we can guess the film is set in France, yet everyone speaks with received pronunciation, or ...[[OohMeAccentsSlipping tries to]].

** Marquet, who pushed one of his own men onto Navarre's sword for referring to Navarre as 'Captain', ultimately died by falling on Nevarre's sword.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: A minor one that just requires a HandWave to fix -- Imperious is described as a monk. A monk has not taken Holy Orders and thus cannot take confessions -- he would need to be a priest to be able to hear confession and give absolution. (It is possible to be both a monk and a priest but you would be more likely to refer to yourself as a priest in the same way that someone with credentials as both a paralegal and a lawyer would probably not mention the paralegal part). The handwave: Imperious may have been a priest in the backstory then renounced his priestly vows after his crime of betraying secrets of the confessional.

* AnimalStereotypes: The guy who turns into [[BigBadassWolf a wolf]] is a fierce, loyal {{badass}} who can be absolutely vicious when riled up, and the guy called "the Mouse" is a cowardly ActionSurvivor thief who prefers to hide and be sneaky whenever possible. Isabeau is fairly feirce and graceful herself. It's also observed in TheMovie that hawks and wolves mate for life ([[IThoughtItMeant though not]] [[{{Squick}} with each other]]) signifying the couple's enduring faithfulness.

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy: There is a scene under a full moon. Two days later, there is what seems to be a solar eclipse

* BadassInDistress: Navarre is surprisingly vulnerable in wolf form, having nearly fallen pray to a hunter, nearly drowned in an icy lake after falling through thin ice, and was nearly stabbed by a random guard for fun.

* {{BFS}} Navarre's sword is a Zweihander.

* CelestialDeadline: A couple is cursed so that she's a hawk by day and human by night, and he is human by day and a wolf by night. They only get to see each other in the moments of sunrise and sunset then were saved by Rules Lawyering.

** Literally, when he saves Wolf!Nevarre from drowning in a frozen lake and gets mauled for his trouble.

** Marquet, who pushed one of his own men onto Nevarre's sword for referring to Nevarre as 'Captain', ultimately died by falling on Nevarre's sword.

The film contains a number of both veteran actors (such as John Wood, Rutger Hauer, and Leo [=McKern=]) and young actors who would go on to become household names (Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer) so despite the times that it veers into camp it is often well acted.

** Then inverted with Phillipe's and Isabeau's rescue at the monastery:

-->'''Phillip''': I believe he was heading south, toward Aquila.

'''Phillip''': I believe he was heading south, toward Aquila.
'''Guard''': Then we ride north, sir!
'''Phillipe''': It's impolite to asssume someone is a liar when you've only just met them!
'''Guard Leader''': And yet you knew we would... we ride south.