Nightwing (1979)

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Last updated: March 7, 2023


Adventure, Supernatural Horror; based upon the novel by Martin Cruz Smith. A colony of vampire bats threaten a Native American community. Starring Nick Mancuso, David Warner, Kathryn Harrold, and Strother Martin. Filming locations: Albuquerque, Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch, Laguna Pueblo.


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Notes on Individual Scenes
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Buttes

Grand Canyon

Horses

Cliff Dwellings

Looks like....Rio Puerco area

I had previously determined that the ranch used in the opening sequence (with vampire-bat-stricken horse corpses) is off Highway 6 on Laguna Pueblo lands (Old Sedillo Unit: 34.937524°, -107.120868°).  So, here is the gate to the ranch.  There is a sign saying "No Trespassing."  So, I have to decide if I have enough time to walk to the ranch and maybe get jailed if the area is being patrolled today.  About 1 kilometer away (0.7 miles). Tempting, but maybe not enough time today....

This is frustrating.  I can see the ranch buildings, about a quarter mile away.

This hill is visible in ranch scenes.

Stone House

Like other Pueblo communities, photography and sketching are strictly forbidden in the community - anything that can capture human likenesses - without permits and consultation with authorities.  The reason is religious.  Other tribal groups (Navajos, Apaches) don't have bans like this.  I don't know how they square their religion with moviemaking - money helps, of course - but it sure crimps tourism.  So, my challenge was to surreptitiously take just a few photos without incorporating any people in them or otherwise stepping on people's sensibilities.

Other movies have been filmed at Laguna Pueblo: "Ace in the Hole" (1962), starring Kirk Douglas; "Sicario" (2015), which used the soccer field at Laguna Pueblo; and "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" (2018).  I believe there was a War-on-Terror kind-of movie that was filmed here too.

Cecil's, in Laguna.

In "Nightwing," the Pueblo community buildings look fantastically fragile.  Forty-five years later, many of the buildings have been replaced.  Here are two pictures of the hill on which Old Laguna is built.  Many of these buildings are held in families, and are probably inhabited by the elderly, or used on celebration days, when families come into Laguna from outlying communities.

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View of mountain

Spring

Sheep

Stone House

Selwyn's Trading Post

Stone House

Burial

Location in ABQ - Just outside Sandia base on Wyoming????

Vista - Enchanted Mesa - exact location uncertain

Burning Stone House

Near Placitas

Buzzards

Laguna?

Kiva. Acoma?

'Holy Ground'

Singalong

Fishing - likely somewhere along Rio Puerco

Plaza at Laguna - White church top visible - Is there a kiva there?

I took some pictures of the Catholic Church, because I figured they might care a little less about photos there.  The church is only fleetingly visible in "Nightwing," but the whitewashed walls surrounding the church are quite noticeable.  According to Wikipedia, the church dates to the year 1699, immediately following the Pueblo Revolt, but the community itself is truly ancient. (I notice Wikipedia says 6,500 B.C., but an exact date is unknown.)

The only place I visited that is assuredly in "Nightwing" is the view from the top of the hill immediately north of town (35.039363°, -107.382978°).  In the movie, the helicopter raid is filmed from here.  Steep hill.  Lots of cactus too, which I learned about the hard way.

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Suggestions of a ring of rocks are present on the hill summit.

The view below.

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I wish I had been more successful at getting "Nightwing" photos, but with time and photo limitations, it was hard to get more.

Graves - Nice-looking country - where is this?

Driving offroad - Overheating

Sand Dunes

ABQ Again

Back Country

Hole in Ceiling - Bats

Some scenes filmed in Nevada - I'm thinking towards the end of the film.