A return to the Rutger Hauer completism. This is a very 1980s kids movie. Matthew Broderick (in between Wargames (1983) and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)) led as a thief who escapes the dungeon of a medieval town that appears to be run by Bishop John Wood (Wargames (1983), Chocolat (2000)). Hauer assists him in evading the guards and Michelle Pfeiffer's raw beauty convinces him to help them in turn. (Pfeiffer's beauty is the cause of and solution to every problem in this movie.) Leo McKern is tasked with explaining it all to us. Alfred Molina also as something-or-other.
Directed by Richard Donner (Superman (1978), The Goonies (1985), Lethal Weapon (1989)) from a screenplay by Edward Khmara, Michael Thomas (The Hunger (1983), Burke & Wills (1985), Welcome to Woop Woop (1997)) and Tom Mankiewicz (several James Bonds). Andrew Powell and Alan Parsons served up a clunky, insistent and overtly synth-y soundtrack; he failed to do for medieval Italy what Vangelis did for twenty-first century L.A. in Bladerunner (1982). The editing is very sliced up, clearly showing that the animals were insufficiently cooperative. Broderick is often in a one-sided dialogue with God which is sometimes amusing. Over two sittings as it mostly failed to grip.
Vincent Canby. Shot by Vittorio Storaro. All the ingredients, ruined by the script. Wikipedia. IMDB trivia: "Three of the castles used for this movie were owned by Italian movie director Luchino Visconti and his family."
