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One year after The Empire Strikes Back premiered with Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, the actor co-starred in a film with Sylvester Stallone, who had already portrayed Rocky Balboa in two films. No, they didn’t reprise their noted iconic roles, but they became a part of an outstanding film that some will still say is overlooked today.
Of course, I’m talking about the 1981 film Nighthawks. The movie has since become noteworthy for Rutger Hauer’s performance, the script, and the shot-on-location spots around New York City.
Stallone and Williams play a pair of New York City cops — Da Silva and Fox, respectively —who begin the film by fighting crime on the subway undercover, but when an international terrorist named Wulfgar is believed to have recently relocated to NYC, then the duo become part of a small task force that’s looking for him.
Originally, the movie was intended to be the third French Connection film, but Gene Hackman chose to move on from the Popeye Doyle role and 20th Century Fox chose not to recast it. Instead, they sold David Shaber’s script to Universal who made it a Sly Stallone feature, thanks to Shaber’s slight reworking of the story.
Filming the movie proved problematic, with director Gary Nelson being fired a week into filming and Stallone briefly taking over the director’s role until the Directors Guild of America had something to say about it. Enter Bruce Malmuth, who flew in to direct and help create what I can only describe as a mini-masterpiece. Stallone was rumored to direct portions as well, though uncredited, at least according to some of the actors.
Rutger Hauer, playing Wulfgar, often argued with Sylvester Stallone on set, though both later clarified they had tremendous respect for the other.
Filming was challenging in New York City, and Hauer left twice to return to Europe to attend multiple funerals, including his mother’s.
The film also went through heavy edits in post-production, thanks to the movie being considered too violent in spots by the studio. Stallone has often stated that the uncut version is far superior but the edited version released in theaters is exceptional nonetheless. Even the ending scene was heavily cut though it doesn’t feel like it. Unfortunately, however, it’s believed that the uncut version is lost.
Billy Dee Williams, playing the perfect partner to Stallone, also had his role cut significantly, but still manages to stand out by being the practical cop who understands Da Silva more than anyone, and being the one true reliable friend to him. Williams’ role being limited does help the film focus on what becomes a one-on-one game being played by Da Silva and Wulfgar. The intensity of the film builds through their budding rivalry. Even Wulfgar’s trusty ally Shakka, played by Persis Khambatta, has a limited role yet — just like Williams — she manages to make the most of it.
The most intriguing aspect of the film is that Da Silva is a cop and not like the exaggerated violent cop that he played in Cobra. Why is Stallone playing a cop intriguing then? Well, he’s neither FBI nor CIA and he is not schooled in anti-terrorism, though the task force tries to quickly teach him. He’s just a New York City cop going head on against a major international terrorist. The developing plot that slowly pulls them together is what helps the film sustain its drama.
There are numerous unforgettable scenes in the film that I won’t entirely spoil here, but I will say that the nightclub-to-the-subway chase scene is excellent. The end of that scene was shot in the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn, though it represents the 42nd street station in the film.
Another memorable scene involves Wulfgar taking hostages in the Roosevelt Island Tram, which was indeed filmed there. Numerous other locations are used throughout the movie, though none as memorable as those two scenes.
The film did well at the box office, grossing nearly $20 million on a $5 million budget, yet after departing theaters it became something of a cult classic. The movie wasn’t celebrated thereafter but it was respected. With the plot evolving around a terrorist planning to blow up bombs in New York City while threatening political assassinations — and in 1981 when terrorism was far from American minds — it was almost as if it was before its time. In fact, Stallone referred to it as such for those very reasons.
The star actor once told Entertainment Weekly, “It was a little bit ahead of its time in that I was dealing with urban terrorism. Now, with the World Trade Center, it’s happening. At the time, people couldn’t relate to it, and the studio didn’t believe in it.”
The movie is truly a bright spot in Stallone’s acting career partly because it’s less of an action film and more of a thriller. He embraces the role, sporting glasses and a rare Sly beard. The film features both the protagonist and the antagonist as the leads. Hauer’s performance, praised by Stallone, led him to be cast in Blade Runner.
Nighthawks doesn’t disappoint and leads to an excellent ending. It’s astonishing that a film that was so heavily re-edited still flows perfectly and never comes across as missing something, especially if you pay close attention to the script’s details and, considering how the film pulls you in, it’s not that difficult to appreciate such details.