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Bruce Willis, Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, Sandra Bernhard, Richard E. Grant ... see more see more... , James Coburn , Donald Burton , Don Harvey , David Caruso , Andrew Bryniarski , Lorraine Toussaint , P. Randall Bowers , Leo Cimino , Massimo Ciprari , Giangiacomo Colli , Burtt Harris , Michael Klastorin , John Lucantonio , Douglas Brian Martin , Stefano Molinari , Frank Page , Lisa Reich , Remo Remotti , John Savident , Courtenay Semel , Bob Vazquez , Enrico Lo Verso , Giselda Volodi , Arthur M. Wolpinsky , Carmine Zozzora , William Conrad , Scott Eddo , Frank Stallone , Frank Welker , Steven M. Martin

Michael Lehmann directed this post-modernist hash of To Catch a Thief and The Naked Gun starring Bruce Willis as Hudson Hawk, a cat burglar who wants to go straight, but the circumstances won't allow ... read more read more...it. The story begins in a pre-credit sequence that takes place in the renaissance. Leonardo Da Vinci (Stefano Molinari) is rushing through his Mona Lisa painting to work on his latest invention -- a machine to turn lead into bronze. But Da Vinci makes a mistake and, instead of bronze, the machine turns the lead into gold. Realizing the danger of his invention if the contraption gets into the wrong hands, he hides three parts of the apparatus inside three of his other works. Four hundred years later, Hudson Hawk, the world's greatest cat burglar, is being released from jail after pulling a ten-year stretch. He wants to retire from the profession of cat burglary and drink some cappuccino, but two screwball billionaires -- Darwin and Minerva Mayflower (Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard) -- won't let him. Their nefarious plot is to steal the three Da Vinci works, restore Da Vinci's gold-making machine, and destroy the world's monetary system. They blackmail Hawks into working with them to steal the Da Vincis by threatening the life of Hawks's pal Tommy Five-Tone (Danny Aiello). Along with the power-mad billionaires, Hawks has to deal with the CIA, in the person of George Kaplan (James Coburn), breathing down his neck. He also has Vatican art restorer Anna Baragli (Andie MacDowell) falling for his smirk. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Flixster Users

54% liked it

42,907 ratings

Critics

22% liked it

32 critics

DVD Release Date: March 16, 1999

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Stats: 1,783 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,783)


  • November 7, 2009
    The hate this movie gets is insane, just a circle-jerk of critics mostly. Is dumb but has plenty of fun moments. Sandra Bernhard and Richard Grant as villians? That alone makes this work, bad jokes and Bruce Willis singing included.
  • September 24, 2009
    It?s really not that bad! Bit stupid sure, but good clean fun!
  • September 14, 2009
    This isn't a guilty pleasure of mine, cause I have no shame in saying that this is an awesome, underrated, overlooked, and in my book, classic Bruce Willis film. Definitely one of the more underrated films I know of, period, and have seen in awhile. The critics and most people ar... read moree stupid for downing this one. I find it very funny and fun to watch, with plenty of classic scenes and team action.
  • August 9, 2009
    It wasn't all my cup of tea, but Bruce singing out show tunes was pretty freakin' hilarious.
  • October 14, 2008
    Most people shit on this movie, but I think it's pretty entertaining. Bruce Willis and Danny Aeillo are a pretty good team and usually I think Andie McDowell is just a pretty face, but here it seems like she actually has a personality. There is a lot to hate, even loathe, but the... read morere is also enough to love, like James fucking Coburn (how can you not love this guy?). Looking back recently on all the shit movies that Willis has to smug his way through, it's really nice to see him have a good time and everyone forgets that he can really do comedy well. It made me remember the days of sitting around the TV and waiting for Moonlighting which is still one of my favorite shows of all time and made me a Bruce Willis fan forever. I know I'll get shit for this review, but I don't care anymore.
  • January 24, 2007
    i wanted to like it but it was way too silly
  • December 28, 2006
    Funny and a little silly.
  • December 14, 2006
    Bruce Willis makes himself funny acting as a cat burglar in this action-comedy film. And I'm sick of a twisted billionaire couple characters played by Richard E.Grant and Sandra Bernhard.
  • November 30, 2006
    I was expecting much from Michael Lehmann after the wonderful Heathers, and this is what I got. Witless, mindless bilge. Some of the "jokes" made me physically cringe, and Richard E Grant & Sandra Bernhardt manage to be even more unwatchably irritating than Andie MacDowell. Far t... read moreoo many things wrong with it for me to list here. Awful in every department.
  • September 26, 2006
    A completely over-the-top Bruce Willis action movie, that I enjoy watching because, well, I like Willis' charismatic attitude towards every ludicrous situation that he gets himself into.

Critic Reviews


Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

This unspeakably awful can make an audience a little crazy. You want to throw things, yell at the actors, beg them to stop.

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

To say this megamillion Bruce Willis vehicle doesn't fly is understatement in the extreme. Full Review

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

A crafty satire, but with a swashbuckling soul. Full Review

Brian Orndorf
May 24, 2011
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

There was a brief time when a new Michael Lehmann film meant something positive. I know, hard to believe. Full Review

Brian Orndorf
November 13, 2007
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com

A delightfully outlandish vanity film, capable of eliciting giggles, groans, guffaws, and gagging frequently in the same fanciful instant. Full Review

James Brundage
May 23, 2006
James Brundage, Filmcritic.com

so implausible and so over the top that it lets inconsistency roll off like water on a duck's back Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
February 16, 2006
Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com

Vanity projects don't get much worse than this.

Clint Morris
March 11, 2005
Clint Morris, Moviehole

Go back to Moonlighting Bruno

Steve Crum
October 24, 2004
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

Double-barreled misfire

Fred Topel
July 14, 2003
Fred Topel, About.com

A fantastic action-comedy. Great heist scenes, fun slapstick tone and musical action scenes! A true original that should be more appreciated.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Hudson Hawk Trivia


  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) Leatherface is played by Andrew Bryniarski. He also played Zangief in Streetfighter. What other character did he play?   Answer »
  • What was Bruce Willis trying to do from the beginning of the movie "Hudson Hawk" and wasn't able until the very last scene ;  Answer »
  • What actress stared long side Bruce Willis in HUDSON HAWK?  Answer »
  • Who is in Hudson Hawk, The Last Boy Scout, Pulp Fiction, and Over the Hedge.  Answer »

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