The Hudson Hawk is now out on DVD (you can buy it through Amazon.com)!
Not only is this great film offered in both full- and widescreen format (!), but the DVD includes a commentary by Director Michael Lehmann. (click to read my notes on his commentary)
Here are the nuts and bolts of the package:
Release Information: Studio: Columbia/Tristar Studios
Theatrical Release Date: 1991
DVD Release Date: January 26, 1999
Run Time: 100 minutes
Package Type: Keep Case
Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: Region 1
Layers: Dual
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Available subtitles: English, French
Edition Details: Region 1 encoding (for use in US and Canada only)
Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen, Surround Sound
Commentary by Director Michael Lehmann
Theatrical trailer
Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
Number of discs: 1
The opening narration is by William Conrad, who is most famous for doing the voice of Bullwinkle.
In the opening sequence, when the donkey approaches the DiVinci castle, you see a large foot in the foreground. That was a prop taken from a 50's Italian gladiator movie.
The DiVinci castle (exteriors) is Castle San Lae in north Italy
Hudson Hawk was one of the first movies to use digital editing to erase wires from hanging objects (such as the glider)
The movie's humor was largely influenced by the Three Stooges, and also some of James Coburn's 60s comedies
The filmmakers broke continuity rules in HH on purpose -- such as when Hawk and Five-Tone are driving to New Jersey. As the camera goes back and forth between them, you'll notice that the NYC skyline is on BOTH sides of the car!
Back in the early 90s, few people knew what a cappucino was, and the filmmakers almost changed the drink to something more recognizable
One of the Mario Brothers is Frank Stallone, Sylvester Stallone's brother
The filmmakers chose a low-tech theme for Hudson Hawk. He uses songs to time robberies, lockpicks, never wields a gun, uses skateboards, etc.
The first burglary takes place at 57th street in NYC, where they had to shoot late at night.
The actor who played "Big Stan" used to be a real-life warden
In one of the original scripts, the butler Alfred was instead a seven foot-tall Zulu warrior with a spear (they talked to Wilt Chamberlan about the part)
Notice that in the auction house, a pegasus (the logo of TriStar) hits Bruce in the face
The gurney chase was shot on Brooklyn bridge over five nights, which did not endear the movie makers to the inhabitants (they were shot at from Brooklyn)
The gurney was motorized
There is no actual toll plaza on the Brooklyn bridge; the toll was shot elsewhere in NYC
Kit Kat has "FROG" and "HATE" tattoed on his hands
The Mayflower's building is what used to be Musillini's administrative HQ during WWII, and is decorated with an appropriate fascist interior
When Darwin slaps Alfred, it was impromptu (and you can see the actor who plays Alfred struggling to stay in character)
Nobody is allowed to film in the Vatican, so they used a villa that is used by most movies locations set in the Vatican (it was, for instance, used in the Godfather Part 3)
An actual priest blessed the Codex room set before shooting
The postal subway was in London
If you dial a 555 number, you'll get a studio in LA where they'll tell you it is no longer in service
One draft had the final scene take place in a spinning safe in the Kremlin
Kit Kat does not have a tongue, and there was a scene shot to explain this -- it was cut
When Kaplan is thrown onto the hood of the limo, you can see a photo of a monkey pasted on his forehead. This is from an entire subplot that was cut out of the film. Hudson Hawk used to have a monkey accomplice named Little Eddie, who was killed by Kaplan in the same robbery that sent Hawk to jail. Before Hawk threw Kaplan off the tower, he originally pasted the photo onto Kaplan's forehead and yelled, "This is for Little Eddie!"
Not only is this great film offered in both full- and widescreen format (!), but the DVD includes a commentary by Director Michael Lehmann. (click to read my notes on his commentary)