Film
Nighthawks
1981
UK Quad / (30″ x 40″) / Single Sided / Printed in England by W.E.Berry Ltd. Bradford
UK / British
Very fine / originally folded (as issued)
Bruce Malmuth
Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner, Nigel Davenport, Persis Khambatta, Rutger Hauer, Sylvester Stallone
It’s sometimes difficult to see actors in anything other than their signature roles and for Sylvester Stallone that is Rocky & Rambo, but he also starred in some pretty good thrillers often playing a hard bitten, gritty and uncompromising cop. Which just happens to be the character he played (for the first time) in Bruce Malmuth’s “Nighthawks”. Stallone’s cinematic career is well documented with more highs than lows & this watchable terrorist actioner is one of his ‘forgotten’ gems with a superb supporting cast; notably Rutger Hauer as the villain ‘Wulfgar’. Offered here is an original UK quad film poster from first year of release 1981 that presents to excellent effect. This originally folded (as issued) example has minimal handling wear with deep, unfaded dark colours with great Stallone imagery and represents a very collectable piece of original movie memorabilia.
…more detailVintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria... read more +
“Nighthawks“ is set in New York where Detective Sergeant Deke DaSilva (Sylvester Stallone) & his partner Matthew Fox (Billy Dee Williams) are transfered from decoy operations to an anti terrorist unit set up by depol & the FBI, headed up by Peter Hartman (Nigel Davenport) their number one target is the notorious international German born terrorist for hire Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer) who is wanted across Europe for several bombings & murders. Hartman has reason to believe that Wulfgar is now in New York planning a bit hit, DaSilva & Fox follow up a lead & stumble across Wolfgar but he manages to escape after a chase. Suddenly the cat & mouse hunt between terrorist & cop has become personal & with a large delegation of UN diplomats arriving in New York for a conference Hartman is planning something big…
Originally to have been directed by Gary Nelson who either left the production or was fired Bruce Malmuth steeped in & took over although apparently couldn’t make the first day of filming so star Stallone directed the train chase sequence himself, whoever directed what & why Nighthawks is a good solid action thriller that I must admit I hadn’t heard of before & only bothered watching it because the television guide made it sound quite good. The script is fairly gritty & tough, the action set-pieces although smaller in scale than some action films are believable& have a certain intensity. The character’s are alright, while the film starts off with a fair bit of character development it soon goes out of the window once the chase between DaSilva & Wulfghar gets going & there are a few points that could have been explained better or elaborated on. It’s never made clear why Wulfgar is in New York or how he got there or even the purpose behind his latest act of terrorism, there’s something about wanting press coverage but that sounds rather flimsy motivation to me. Made during a time when maybe terrorism wasn’t in the headlines as much as it is now the character of Wolfgar has this speech about being a liberator in order to justify his actions, on the other hand all the innocent people he kills or puts in danger leaves his excuses as meaningless rubbish. At almost an hour & forty minutes long Nighthawks takes a while to get going but it uses it’s duration to build the tension & the situation up so once it does kick off it has an impact.
The title Nighthawks apparently refers to the cops of New York who patrol at night, the working titles Attack & Hawks were both used during production. The action scenes are good, from shoot-outs to a subway chase through a speeding train to a cable car hostage situation to a runaway bus (although there’s no explanation of how Wolfgar survived the crash). Nighthawks is the type of film you couldn’t make today, New York just doesn’t look like this anymore, from the grimy dirt filled streets to the graffiti strewn walls to the general sleaziness of the locations used. Nighthawks has a gritty & tough visual appearance. The original story was apparently planned originally as The French Connection III but Gene Hackman didn’t want to do a third film & the script was then tweaked & turned into Nighthawks and Stallone’s first chance to play as a tough uncompromising cop.
Nighthawks is a tough action thriller with some good action scenes & an early appearance by Sylvester Stallone in one of his ‘forgotten’ films. I wouldn’t call it a classic but it’s an honest & watchable enough cop thriller that has that gritty early 80’s look about it.
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Mint
A poster that has never been used or displayed and may show the most minor signs of age and wear. The poster should have no holes or tears.
Near Mint
A generally unused poster with fresh, saturated colors. May have minimal tears at folds. Has no significant holes, no paper loss, may have minor tears along edges, may have fine pin holes.
Very Fine
A poster with bright colour and crisp overall appearance. It may have very general signs of use including slight fold separation and fold wear. It may have pin holes or very minor tears. This is the highest grade allowed for a poster that has been restored either on linen or on paper.
Fine
A poster with good colors and overall clean appearance. It may have minor tears small paper loss and minor stains. It may have some fold seperation.
Good
An average poster with overall fresh color. May have tears, minor paper loss, minor hazing. Paper may be brittle due to age, may have minor stains. May have a small amount of writing in an unobtrusive place. May have medium or major restoration.
Fair
A poster with faded colors and brittle paper, showing significant signs of use. May have tears and paper loss. May have tape, writing, stains in image area. In need of restoration or had major restoration.
Poor
A poster that is worn, torn, and/or damaged. May have staining, cracking, dry rot, and/or large tears. May be heavily soiled, may have pieces missing. In need of major restoration.
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LOBBY CARD
11 x 14″ printed on heavy stock paper. Used as display in theatre lobbies. Originally made in sets of eight. Some sets have a title card, which contains credits and artwork, essentially a mini-poster. The remaining seven cards are coloured photographic credits and poster artwork showing different scenes from the movie.
WINDOW CARD
14 x 22″ printed on heavy stock paper with the top 4-6 inches usually left blank for the local cinema owner to fill in the cinema and the date it was due to play. Largely discontinued during the 1970’s.
HALF SHEET
22 x 28″ printed on heavy stock paper. The image displayed is normally a smaller version of the main poster, although some do have different artworks and sometimes come in two versions.
INSERT
14 x 36″ printed on heavy stock paper. Inserts usually have the same artwork as a one sheet. Popular with collectors since they are smaller and easier to frame. Normally come tri folded or rolled.
STYLE Y/FORTY BY SIXTY
40 x 60″ printed on heavy stock paper. Rare since they were primarily used for major motion pictures only. Designed to be used outside the theatre, on an easel, normally at a drive-in movie theatre.
ONE-SHEET
27 x 41″ printed on paper. This is the most common size of poster, intended to be displayed in a glass “marquee” case. It is the most sought after size by collectors. Since the 1980’s most posters are sent to the theatre rolled and maybe slightly smaller measuring 27″ by 40″ and with the advent of backlit light boxes a growing number of modern movie posters are available double-sided and the more traditional single-sided.
THREE-SHEET
41 x 81″ printed on paper. These were printed on two or three separate sheets designed to overlap, few survive. Used for larger advertising spaces, normally posted on walls, perfect for huge movie theatres the drive-in, where people could see them from a distance. From the 1970’s on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as “international” versions to be used abroad.
BRITISH QUAD
30 x 40″ Most common poster size used in the UK. British Quads are horizontal and may have different artwork to the US one sheet. Like a US one sheet they normally come in two versions. Like a US one sheet they are usually supplied single-sided or more commonly now as a double sided poster.
BRITISH ONE-SHEET
27 X 40″, printed on paper. Very rarely used size.
ITALIAN LOCANDINA
13 x 28″ six inches shorter than the US insert, very nice size to frame. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.
ITALIAN PHOTOBUSTA
18 x 26″ Glossy, high quality, used as lobby cards in Italy. Size may vary, either vertical or horizontal format. There are also double Photobusta or mini Photobusta.
2-FOGLIO (DUE)
(DUE): 39 x 55″ This is the standard poster size used in Italy. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.
4-FOGLIO
(QUATTRO) 55 x 79″ Very large Italian poster printed in two pieces, often contains very beautiful artwork.
FRENCH
47 x 63″ (GRANDE) or 24 x 33″ (PETITE) French movie posters normally come with different artwork to either the US or the UK. Like the Italian’s some of the artwork is extrememly beautiful.
