Behind The Scenes of Nighthawks Movie.

Go behind the scenes and learn what went on during the making of the 1981 Action / Adventure movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner et al.

When the original director, Gary Nelson, left the project, Bruce Malmuth took over production. When he couldn't make it on his first day to shoot the train chase, Stallone directed the chase himself, so as to not miss a day of shooting. This caused trouble with the Director's Guild.

Contributed by: Kenneth Sutton

Stallone reportedly ate junk food and gained weight during filming to approximate the look of a street cop.

Rutger Hauer turned down a role in "The Spinnix" to appear in this film. Some say he wasn't too happy working on the film not only because of a low salary but also his working relationship with Stallone.

The Wulfgar character (Rutger Hauer) was based on the infamous terrorist known as "Carlos."

Both Stallone and Williams underwent two months of police training prior to the start of production.

Know some good info about the making of Nighthawks?
Use our simple iRewind system to add it to this page in just a few clicks.

Click here to start...

Deleted Scenes

When movies are made, scenes are often left on the cutting room floor.

Know any scenes cut from Nighthawks?
Use our simple iRewind system to add them to this page in just a few clicks.

Click here to start...

Alternate Versions

Sometimes, there will be several versions of a movie floating about on cable, tv or video etc. Other times, a Director may release a special cut of the movie.

The TV version has different background music in the disco scene just before the chase begins.

The British TV & DVD version is cut to a version with a bowdlerised ending in which Da Silva is seen to shoot Wulfgar only twice (instead of six times). No doubt cut by censors to reduce the amount of violent content, this alteration (a) looks ridiculous (Wolfgar is seen to have two bullet wounds after the first shot, and six after the second); (b) interferes with the discharge of tension (since Wolfgar now dies too easily and too quickly); and (c) obscures the dramatic connection with an earlier scene in which Da Silva pointedly practises shooting at a human-shaped target in such a way as would cause the maximum injury before the final, fatal shot.

Know of any different versions of Nighthawks?
Use our simple iRewind system to add them to this page in just a few clicks.

Click here to start...

Next Page: Nighthawks Movie Locations

Or Skip To: Review, Music, Trivia, Goofs, How To Buy

Nighthawks Behind The Scenes