He fought his first battle on the Scottish Highlands in 1536...
He will fight his greatest battle on the streets of New York City in 1986.
His name is Connor MacLeod.
He is Immortal....
From the dawn of time we came... Moving silently down through the centuries. Struggling to reach the time of the Gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you... Until now...
Note: See Miscellaneous page for extra info on this movie
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Plot
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OK, most of you already know this, but it's here for those of you who want to learn.
Highlander is the story of a man named Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). He is a Scottish Highlander born in 1518 in the village of Glenfinnan on the shores of Loch Schiel. During his first battle, he is killed by a black knight called the Kurgan (Clancy Brown). One day later, he awakens to find that his mortal wound has completely healed and that he is alive again. He is labeled as a Satanist by his clan and banished.
Five years later, when he has started over in Glencoe and has married a blacksmith's daughter named Heather, MacLeod meets a man named Ramirez (Sean Connery), who seems to have gone through a similar experience. Connor comes to realize that he is a member of a race of Immortals. They can be killed if their head comes from their body, and once an Immortal kills another Immortal, he gains all the strength and knowledge of the deceased. The only code these Immortals know is: "In the end, there can be only one." But Ramirez trains Connor so that there may be a chance of defeating the Kurgan, the strongest of the Immortals. Connor learns that all Immortals will fight until only one remains, and that Immortals will never do battle on Holy Ground. The last Immortal alive wins the Prize, and will have the power to rule the entire world. According to Ramirez: If one like the Kurgan wins the Prize, "...Mortal man will suffer an eternity of darkness."
You all know the rest. If you don't; get off your ass and rent the movie! Just make sure you pick up the 10th Anniversary Director's Cut; which is pretty much everywhere.
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Comments
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Highlander is a movie that really didn't need a sequel, but it definitely needed a follow up. The hundreds of years that were not explored in Connor MacLeod's lifetime could have easily made countless numbers of movies of his adventures. Christopher Lambert is excellent as Connor MacLeod. He was trained by a dialogue coach to speak with an accent that sounded nonspecifically foreign, but there is a slight French accent that's not so prominent in the later sequels. Clancy Brown is, without a doubt, the best villain in any Highlander production. Sean Connery's portrayal of Ramirez is easily one of the most memorable in the Highlander saga. Beatie Edney is just too cute as Heather, and she makes it easy to see why Connor fell in love with her. The relationship between Connor and Brenda doesn't seem quite as convincing, but it works. The story would be a little hard to understand if the viewer has never seen anything Highlander before, but it is a great story. The flashback scenes to sixteenth century Scotland are done excellently (and are much more convincing than in Highlander: Endgame). The soundtrack by Queen is just classic, and the score is done well. The swordplay is not as good as the other movies or the Series, but it's easy to get over.
Overall, this is the best Highlander production so far. It's unfortunate that most of the follow-ups are in alternate realities, because this story could have easily been expanded upon.
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Film
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DVD
Review
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Letterbox |
1: USA, Canada |
NTSC |  |
English, Spanish |
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5.1 |
2.0 |
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| This DVD is very cheap looking. While it does have a lot of extra features, the whole thing has a rushed feel to it. There is no custom menu, just a generic Republic Pictures thing. The picture quality suffered from major compression artifacts, and the sound is terrible. On the plus side, there is an interesting full length audio commentary by Russell Mulcahy, Peter Davis, and Bill Panzer. There is also a slide show with pictures of deleted scenes, and other assorted artifacts. This DVD is really inexpensive right now, but I do hope a better version of this movie is released on DVD in the future. | |||||||
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Anamorphic |
1: USA, Canada |
NTSC |  |
English, Spanish |
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5.1  6.1 EX |
2.0 |
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Supplements
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| This DVD has a much better layout and presentation than the previous version, but it doesn't offer much more as far as extra features are concerned. There is an additional theatrical trailer, and three Queen music videos (of which Princes of the Universe is the only one that's worthwhile). The commentary is the same one that was on the 10th Anniversary edition. The still gallery is also much smaller than on the previous DVD. There is also a CD in the package with three Queen songs, including an extended version of Just One Year of Love that is different than the version on the album, A Kind of Magic. The enhancement that makes this DVD worth the money is the enhanced picture quality and the excellent DTS track. | |||||||
*Note: DVD reviews are of region 1 DVDs.
Note: Gregory Widen's original screenplay was much darker. Connor (Conor) is much more resistant to Brenda (called Brenna in this version). Immortals can have children as well, and rumor has it that Connor actually kills Brenda in the end in a very early version (but I have never seen it).
Here is a link to the entire original script. A much darker version of the story by Gregory Widen.
116 minutes
