Last modified: 2009-10-02 by marc pasquin
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The movie Ladyhawke, directed by Richard Donner, with Rutger Hauer and
Michelle Pfeiffer, tells the story of a french couple in love, Captain Etienne
Navarre and Isabeau Dante, subject to a terrible curse set upon them by the
jealous Bishop, also in love with Isabeau: they only live in human form for
half the day, he during the day, and she during the night. The rest of the
time, he is a wolf, she is a hawk, and they only meet for brief instants
during the metamorphosis, at dawn and in the sunset.
Jorge Candeias, 12 March 2002
by Jorge Candeias, 12 February 2007
In the movie, there's a long battle sequence, in the end, that takes
place inside an abbey or a church, which is decorated with 10 or more
identical flags hanging from poles mounted on the columns, with an
inclination of some 30º or so. The flags are black and white, horizontally
divided, in a pattern similar to rays, or flames. Unfortunately, since the
display is interior, all the flags are folded in a similar fashion and
never unfold, so that they are never seen clearly enough to count the
number of rays, check their dimensions, or accurately determine what
percentage of the flag is black and what percentage of it is white. the movie is a nice love
story, and this flag is very adequate to represent the whole of it, even if
it only appears in one sequence.
Jorge Candeias, 12 March 2002
I came to the conclusion that I made a couple of errors. First and
least, the number of identical flags visible in the sequence is far
greater than 10. There's a whole and rather big atrium separated by two
rows of columns from lateral cloisters, each row containing maybe more
than 10 columns, and one flag being flown from each column. Last, but
not least, the flag's division doesn't seem to be wavy after all. Most
flags *look* wavy because they are folded, but one or two of them are
seen with enough detail to see what looks like a simple black and white
zigzag. I still couldn't count the number of "zigs", so I used the same
as before (4), which is also the one that seems more likely considering
the aspect of the flags.
Jorge Candeias, 12 February 2007
I have the impression the points are narrower. Also, I would have guessed five black points. Well, that would go together, I guess. Two other points:
Regarding the red bits, I think these may be streamers or cravattes.
Eugene Ipavec, 9 May 2009
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In addition to the other flags, I now noticed a triangular vertical flag being held by
an acolyte of the evil bishop close to the throne, hanging from a
crossbar. Also black and white, the black occupies the left part and the
white the right one, and the overall proportion seems to be something
like 2:1.
Jorge Candeias, 12 February 2007
I actually though it was whiter dexter.
I wonder whether there were matching banners on both sides, or whether
it just went by to fast.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 4 January 2008
I did not make a note of this, sorry. However, early in the film, as
the Captain of the Guards rides into the fortress of Aquila to deliver
an urgent message to the evil Bishop, a series of tracking shots
follow him through the defenses; at the third gatehouse, there are
several banners like number 2 above over the
portcullis, vertically divided B/W with a crenelated(?) bottom. A few
seconds later, an inner passageway in the fortress is seen to be
decorated on both sides with ~3:4 flags on horizontal poles,
vertically divided and mirrored on either side, with white at the wall
sides like number 3 above
Eugene Ipavec, 9 May 2009
