The Corner Penthouse

Hudson Hawk arrives on Blu-ray as part of Mill Creek Entertainment's Retro VHS Style series, with packaging designed to look like the VHS videocassettes of the 1980s and 1990s. Several other titles in the series have already been reviewed on The Corner Penthouse, and I'm always excited when Mill Creek announces more. It's fun to see if it's a title I used to own on VHS, or one whose trailer I remember seeing at the start of some other VHS tape, or even some obscure movie I've never heard of before.


Hudson Hawk (1991) is the story of Eddie "The Hawk" Hawkins (Bruce Willis), the world's most famous cat burglar, who, after 10 years in prison, is ready to go straight. It's not going to be easy for The Hawk. The mob and the CIA have conspired to blackmail Eddie and his partner (Danny Aiello) into stealing three da Vinci masterpieces from the most heavily-guarded museums in the world. Sounds simple, right? WRONG! While trying to steal the goods, Hawk falls in love with a beautiful but schizophrenic nun (Andie MacDowell) and is relentlessly pursued by the greedy and powerful Minerva (Sandra Bernard) and Darwin Mayflower (Richard E. Grant), who want the masterpieces as part of their twisted plot to ruin the world's economy. It's wall-to-wall action as the wise-cracking Hawk attempts to save the world, win the girl, and have the last laugh!


What to say about the infamous Hudson Hawk? A movie whose reputation precedes it as both a "box office box" and a "vanity project" for star and writer, Bruce Willis. Well, after finally seeing this film, I don't think its reputation is deserved. Clearly, the reason the movie bombed so badly back in 1991 is because the film was marketed incorrectly. Audiences were expecting to see an action film, but what they got was an over-the-top screwball comedy that plays like an action movie version of The Naked Gun - with the emphasis more on the comedy than the action. Of course the audiences hated it. If you were lead to believe you were sitting down to watch a horror movie, and instead you were shown a romantic comedy, you'd be pissed off, too.


While I would never call Hudson Hawk one of my favorites, I found it to be fantastically funny. Honestly, I haven't laughed this much from a comedy in quite some time. The plot is plain nonsense, and things generally don't make a whole lotta sense, but that's the point. Nothing in this film is to be taken seriously. It's like one big live-action cartoon. If you go into it with that mindset, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. After all, how can you hate a movie that names all of the henchpeople after candy bars? This is a movie I'd love to be remade as a "female reboot", because it would self-lampoon itself and the abused "female empowerment" movie genre. Let's call it Hudson Hawk 2: The Reboot - Now With Women!


Hudson Hawk is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:39:55. On the audio side, there is only an English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Subtitles are available in English only. As is the case with most Mill Creek Entertainment releases, there are no special features - just like the original videocassette! Unfortunately, that means that all of the special features from the Special Edition DVD are not included here. You're missing out on a director commentary, a trivia track, five minutes of deleted scenes, two featurettes (totaling 40 minutes), and a Dr. John music video of the movie's theme song.


The only "bonus feature" here is the vintage-looking VHS-inspired slipsleeve, with faux wear and tear, and fake "rental stickers" on it, while giving the appearance of a videocassette being pulled out from the right side (though the original VHS may have been in a bottom-loading box), complete with tape label side on the right spine. Here's a complete look at this special slipsleeve. Click on it to get a better look.


The front artwork is based on the original U.S. VHS box art, as seen below. The back of the slipsleeve bears a similarity to the original VHS box art, kinda, sorta.


The case artwork underneath is of a modern style, which means that the VHS-style slipsleeve may only be available for a limited time. In the photo below, the slipsleeve cover is on the left and the case artwork underneath is on the right.


If you're not already aware of Mill Creek Entertainment, they are a budget company, which results in their products having a lower cost than the big studios. Right now, Hudson Hawk is listed on Amazon for less than $10. If you want all of the special features, pick up a copy of the Special Edition DVD.


The "Retro VHS Style" series includes the following Blu-ray releases, which are being listed in chronological movie order, and not the order they are being released onto Blu-ray. Some titles below may not have been released yet.



Images used come from the Internet Movie Database gallery of the film. The Blu-ray has been provided by Mill Creek Entertainment for review on this site.