©1981 Universal City Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.
Catalog Number |
12-021 |
Format |
Extended Play CLV |
MPAA Rating |
|
|
Running Time |
99 minutes |
Mono |
Pressing Location |
Universal Pioneer Japan |
Label Color |
Red |
Retail Price |
$29.95 |
Year Issued |
1981 |
|
Side |
Chapter |
Running Time |
1 |
3 |
48 min |
2 |
5 |
51 min |
|
8 |
99 minutes |
|
Ratings |
Video Transfer |
|
Audio Transfer |
|
Replication |
|
|
Packaging |
Printed Jacket |
|
|
Pressing Notes
Pioneer Japan pressed this disc late in 1981 for MCA DiscoVision and was kept in the Pioneer catalog well into
1985. The disc includes the standard MCA Videodisc "shrinking numbers" bumpers. The video transfer is typical
of the late DiscoVision craze to keep things too dark. The daylight shots are not overly bright, a pleasant
surprise, the night scenes are too dark and details are hard to see. The audio transfer is well done however,
with clean, clear sound. The frequency response is a bit flat in the high-end, but is otherwise very good.
Using a theatrical print for the transfer, it does not suffer from the changes in music that are present in
the new version from MCA/Universal Home Video.
The chapter stops for side 2 are incorrectly documented on the jacket. There is an additional chapter between
2 and 3 as listed on the jacket which is placed at the beginning of the assault on the Roosevelt Island tram as it
is suspended over the river.
Don't ask me why Lindsay Wagner got 3rd billing in this film. She appears
on-screen for maybe 5 whole minutes total. One feels as though she had a much bigger part in the film, but her
role was reduced to bring the running time down. The truly dreadful Persis Khambatta has more screen time.
I think William Shatner best summed up her abilities and performance in his book
Star Trek®Movie Memories when he said: "Khambatta, a stunningly
beautiful model, was also a stunningly bad actress, once proving that assertion by requiring a whopping nineteen
takes of a single line, 'No.'"
Beyond this, the story seems too far fetched. Could all of the police in Europe be so bad that they can't catch
the same man that Stallone manages to track down and kill in just under a week? I personally don't think
he can draw that well.
Release History
Nighthawks was finally reissued on MCA/Universal Home Video (Catalog #: 12021) in December 1992 after a
lengthy absence. It contains some music changes, including the removal of The Rolling Stones hit
Brown Sugar.
MCA DiscoVision Home Page
Star Trek® Movie Memories ©1994 by William Shatner and Chris Kreski. All
rights reserved. Published by HarperCollinsPublishers.
Updated: November 24, 2015
Copyright ©2000 Blam Entertainment Group