Remembering “Nighthawks” and that scene in the disco

From left are Sylvesor Stallone and Billy Dee Williams in the 1981 movie "Nighthawks.".

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The scene is unforgettable . A disco with the strobe lights pulsating and the driving music. Two police officers, played by Sylvestor Stallone and Billy Dee Williams have joined an anti-terrorist unit. They are pursuing an international terrorist named Wulfgar, played by a very young Rutger Hauer.

Stallone catches Wulfgar’s eye. He yells his name and all hell broke loose.

It is a scene from 1981’s “Nighthawks”. For more than 40 years it was the only scene I saw from that movie, in a commercial on pay TV. I saw the ad several times when I used to go over to my friend Mike Hartman’s place back in junior high.

I always wanted to see that movie. I even met Billy Dee Williams and talked to him about that scene. However, it wasn’t until a few days ago that I finally sat down and watched “Nighthawks”, which had been sitting on my PVR almost a year.

It was an interesting experience.

Pay TV
When I was growing up, one of the things greeted with great fanfare was the arrival of Pay TV in Canada. Three new channels had come – “First Choice” and “Super Channel”, which were both commercial-free movie channels, and “C”, which stood for culture, featuring the arts such as opera, ballet and more.

They were advertised heavily on cable TV. Every time I went to visit my friend Mike Hartman in Coaldale, we would pass by the Pay TV channels on the dial. Because he did not have Pay TV, all that played was a stream of movie trailers for shows that were coming soon.

I recall seeing “On Golden Pond”, “Chariots of Fire” and – “Nighthawks”.

That scene in the disco always stands out, because I saw it fairly often, and it is so striking.

I think Mike’s family ended up getting Pay TV for a trial period, because he did see “Nighthawks” and told me about it at school one day.

I would have one chance to see it, when “Nighthawks” appeared on Channel 7 on the peasant vision dial. I had read about it in “TV Guide” but something else was on at the same time, and I didn’t want to see it cut up by commercials, which was always the case back then. In a commercial break, of whatever I was watching, I do recall flipping to Channel 7. There I saw Stallone and Williams chasing someone, and Williams was wearing a shirt with the Superman symbol on his chest.

It would be almost 40 years before I finally did see it – ironically recorded from one of the grandchildren of Pay TV.

The cast
“Nighthawks” came out in 1981 and, looking back, it had a formidable cast. Sylvestor Stallone had gained a lot of attention for his portrayal of Rocky Balboa in “Rocky” in 1976 and “Rocky II” in 1979. Williams had turned in a touching and stirring performance in “Brian’s Song” as Gale Sayers, and appeared in a lot of movies such as “Lady Sings the Blues”, “Mahogany”, and “The Empire Strikes Back” just a year earlier. Interestingly, “Nighthawks” was Hauer’s Hollywood film debut.

The movie
“Nighthawks” is one of my favourite kinds of movies. A terrorist is wreaking havoc and a team of misfits is assembled to stop him.

In this case, Hauer plays the mythical terrorist known as “Wulfgar”, who is moving his operation to New York City. His handlers in Europe have grown cold after his recent bombing of a department store also killed some children.

Meanwhile, Detectives Sergeants Deke DaSilva, played by Stallone, and Matthew Fox, played by Williams, are reassigned to an anti-terrorist unit, tasked with tracking down Wulfgar. DaSilva clashes with their trainer who said police have to learn to be more ruthless in dealing with terrorists.

Information eventually leads DaSilva and Fox to Wulfgar, who they chase through a nightclub. In order to escape, Wulfgar slashes Fox in the face. It was kind of unnerving. During the chase, DaSilva had a shot at Wulfgar but didn’t pull the trigger. Later, in the hospital, Fox tells him he should have taken the shot.

DaSilva, now shorn of the veneer of the police man, plans to take the shot the next time. In a chilling scene, DaSilva is in the shooting range, unleashing a round into the target. When he pulls the target close to look at his results, all the bullets went through the head of the target.

In the end, Wulfgar tracks DaSilva’s wife, played by Lindasy Wagner, to her home intending to kill her. Instead, DaSilva, who opened the movie undercover dressed as a woman, has donned the wig again, and is waiting. They struggle and DaSilva kills Wulfgar, sending him outside rolling down the front stairs.

Exhausted, and a changed man, DaSilva just sits beside Wulfgar’s lifeless body.

Roll credits.

Parting thoughts
“Nighthawks” was a long time in the seeing, more than 40 years, but I am glad I saw it and grateful for the PVR technology to make that possible.

Because of its age, everyone looked so young, especially Sylvestor Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, and Rutger Hauer. It was also neat to see Stallone wearing a beard.

It was sad seeing Billy Dee Williams so young and vibrant. When I met him at Calgary Expo, and got his autograph, he just seemed out of it, like age had caught up with him.

Although, I did tell him I liked what I saw in “Nighthawks”, which then was just a couple scenes. I pointed out how powerful that scene in the disco was too. His son was with him, and he engaged in conversation, agreeing that scene was wild. I also had my choice of photos for Billy Dee to sign and almost took a black and white print of him as Matthew Fox in “Nighthawks”. However, in the end had to go with Lando Calrissian from the “Star Wars” movies.

The interesting thing is, I am trying to write some espionage thrillers. Every time I envision an action scene, my mind goes back to that disco, because it is exactly the effect I want to achieve.

It is a scene that has been burned in my memory for decades.

Now, I have the rest of the movie to go with it.