Customer Reviews

Highlander

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The music is still great (Queen et al) - some of the scenes are well done, but this director's cut does not have the same flow as the original movie, it feels "forced" and flat - no energy. The picture image is TERRIBLE. It looks like someone copied over a VHS tape onto DVD. The picture colour is distorted and very grainy and the DVD is in very low resolution. This significantly affected how I rated the DVD.

This has always been one of my all time favorites,though I can't see why they made sequels. I first saw it because Queen made the soundtrack, and I am a fan. I had never seen the director's cut and it answered an important question. Towards the end, as Connor leaves his assistant in his office, he tells her "Hey, it's a kind of magic" (which is the title to the corresponding Queen album.) I never understood why he said that. A scene in this version answers the question. I'll say no more on this. The only thing that surprised me, though it affected my kids more than me, is that the Blu-ray only comes with an English audio track. It's not like they do not have enough room on a Blu-ray. They could dub it in 50 languages. I bought this in Canada (amazon.ca), so I expected a French track.

This a excellent addition to anyones updated collection(blu-ray)of Highlander, I can't wait to buy the next one of this collection(the first two were the best).

The only one of the series worth watching. It is simply a good, enjoyable action film to watch.
Again it seems Amazon likes long winded reviews, and mine was less than twenty words.
I think that the first two sentences said it, despite being only 18 words long.
Oh well!

I really like this movie. I think it is a very beautifully shot, non-pretentious, interesting, and entertaining movie. So why do the powers that be insist on splicing in a scene that looks and is acted so badly it stands out like a sore thumb? It even has a jarring awful transition into the scene in a movie otherwise full of beautiful transitions.

If you don't know the story of this scene, here it is in brief. The Director and Producers decided not to shoot the scene where Conner meets Rachael, to save some money. During editing they changed their minds, and paid, out-of-pocket to set up and shoot that scene. They called back Christopher Lambert and got some child actor and quickly slapped the scene together. With the scene shot they went back to editing and spliced the footage in and decided it looked really bad and took it out again.

Fast forward to the release of the Directors-Cut and the only way to justify a Directors-Cut--by inserting this terrible footage. Now I can't get a DVD version without this awful scene.

If this scene had been done properly (as in budgeted for, and done when Lamberts regular make-up person was there (I keep asking myself if this is what a person looks like on film with no make-up, or just with really really bad make-up), and if Lambert had felt like acting that day ) this could have been a very beneficial scene for the movie--but as it stands it's not.

I give the original release of Highlander 5 stars. The current versions with all its "improvements" I can only give 2 stars.

All I wanted was a decent DVD transfer of the original movie.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, yet another bigger, more expensive edition of Highlander is on DVD. Highlander: That ridiculous over-the-top blending of sword and sorcerer fantasy and science fiction with a modern day action film that featured Christopher Lambert and rub-your-doubting-eyes-all-you-want-it's-really-Connery, Sean Connery. Connery is only a supporting player in the film, but the fun he seems to be having is not only utterly infectious it also injects the film with the needed charisma and energy it needs to make the goofy thing worth watching.

Highlander makes little logical sense, but tries to pretend it does with various conflicting explanations that never cover plot holes or explain why competitors would be so helpful and friendly with one another if they knew they might have to face each other in a duel to the death.... But never mind logic.. this is action packed pick out the continuity errors-fun isn't it?

UCLA student Gregory Widen (who went on to write and direct Prophecy and was one of the writers of Backdraft) wrote Highlander, as his senior thesis and attempted to create a fantastical legend about a chosen group of immortals who walk the earth for centuries, preparing for duel to the death sword battles with each other. Mostly set in 1986, it offers the impressive spectacle of swashbuckling sword fights taking place in parking garages, modern streets and rooftops all cut like music videos. There's a couple of flashbacks to merry old England and the Scottish Highlands that are done quite well (yes, that's the same castle used here that's used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail).

My favorite sequence is still the wild ride Kurgan (Clancy Brown) takes Roxane Hart on toward the end of the film. Crazed, evil Clancy is immortal and enjoys terrorizing mortals, driving fast, and causing mayhem. He grabs the film's ingénue and takes her on a wild ride right over poor Mr. Toad that is a pure visceral shot of cinematic adrenalin.

What keeps Highlander enjoyable and explains it's popular loyal cult following is it's matter of fact, somehow this makes sense, don't try to figure out, we're not completely serious tone. It winds up being a very silly, violent, action packed ride. It's not outwardly campy and tongue-in-cheek (except when Brown or Connery are on screen). It's directed and edited like a music video which wasn't the case with every other movie back when this was made by Rusell Mulcahy (who had directed many music videos). The normally dull and wooden Lambert comes across much better than say a heavily accented Chuck Norris, Van Damme type action hero usually does, simply because the film doesn't linger on him a moment longer than it has to. Just when the film starts sagging big time, Sean Connery arrives on the scene playing the kind of high energy Errol Flynn you've always wanted him to play. Things get down-right cartoonish with the proper introduction of an over-the-top bad attitude, bad guy Kurgan (Brown). Suddenly the film feels like a WWF extravaganza with swords instead of folding chairs. And so it goes.

Yes, Highlander is a guilty pleasure film. It's fun, if you let it be. It's got exciting visuals. The sequels are awful, the t.v. series better than you'd think, but the first movie
is well... the One.

Highlander also features three mediocre Queen Songs that are so incongruent and wrong for the film... they fit perfectly.

IMAGE AND SOUND

Highlander was originally thrown onto the marketplace in a Republic DVD release that was one of the worst DVDs ever released. A restored director's cut version was later produced which added about ten minutes of footage to the film, and then came an improved re-mastered version. Previous (to 2002) Anchor Bay releases have been discontinued. This new edition features an Anamorphic widescreen presentation which is superior to former editions. The film was not made on a huge budget and has a slightly softer focus than the crisp images newer films have, but there were all these filters and smoke and various lighting effects going on and then effects were added via computer 1980's style. You won't find much artifacting and the black levels are stronger, but details in the shadows are still lost and some of the darker scenes look pretty muddy.

The audio is where Anchor Bay has gone crazy making a new DD EX mix AND a six-channel DTS mix. Lots of use of the various channels during action sequences. For all the noise and flash the dialogue remains clear and easy to hear. When the film isn't being bombastic and over the top, it's way too quiet and the sudden jumps might be annoying and sound very shrill to the uninitiated. More sensitive viewers will want to have the remote nearby to monitor the volume control. To those knowing it's a cheesy, campy film, this loud re-mix is perfect for the film.

Extra Features:

Well the extras for the ...IMMORTAL package consist of the metal slipcase, a 24 page booklet of production notes and an additional disc that has three Queen songs (Princes of the Universe, One Year of Love and Friends will be Friends). Oh you also get three Queen videos and a couple of mediocre still galleries as well.

If you're a Highlander film fanatic AND a big fan of Queen, it might be worth getting this special collectors package. Otherwise the other Highlander DVD will satisfy you just fine.

Incidentally the interesting Queen version of New York, New York (form the film) remains the only known unreleased Queen song. It is not on the bonus C.D. of this package.<P

HIGHLANDER was undoubtedly among the best of the medieval/fantasy/Dungeons and Dragons sort of movies that proliferated in the 1980s. The choice of the brooding Christopher Lambert was perfect for the part of the Highlander, Conner MacLeod. There is a quiet intensity to his acting, and it works well here. Sean Connery, as his mentor and fellow-immortal, Ramirez strikes just the right balance of swashbuckling and seriousness. His acting is perfect. (So what else is new?)

For me, however, Clancy Brown's Kurgan steals the film. His physical features and bug-eyed grin are dead perfect! And his way over-the-top performance, at times, makes you a little afraid of his character, but he makes you laugh, as well. The confrontation between Kurgan and Conner in a church is a great balance of wit and tension.

The battles in Scotland, at the beginning of the film, and the mayhem in the streets of New York City at the end are priceless. My favorite moment: Kurgan steals a car and takes Conner's love interest for a ride. As he careens through the potholes and traffic, he quietly sings "New York, New York". Now I know where all our cabdrivers take their lessons from. HIGHLANDER is a great piece of quality mind candy that actually tackles some deep issues.

First, I must confess that I rented the movie because my favorite music group, Queen, was doing the soundtrack. But, unlike Flash Gordon, this movie actually has Queen songs right in it! But, as I watched this movie, I began to get really involved in the story. Christopher Lambert(who, in my opinion, is really hot in this movie!) plays Conner Macleod, a Scottish warrior who has been alive for over 300 years. He has come to NYC to battle the last remaining immortals, for there can be only one! The guy who plays Kurgan freaked the sh*t out of me! He was generally scary! I think one of the reasons I loved this movie was because of the underlying love story. I almost cried when Nash lit the candle in the church! Anyway, if you love Queen as much as I do, you'll love to hear their music throughout the movie. Even if you don't like Queen (I can't imagine why you wouldn't, but...), you'll love this winding tale of horror, love, and a kind of magic!

This film may not accomplish much in the long run, but the phenomenon is spawned is outstanding. We meet Russel Nash (Christopher Lambert) at a wrestling match where he leaves to the parking garage and gets into a swordfight with a strange man in a business suit. Soon after, we're thrust 500 years ago into the highlands of Scotland, where we learn that Nash is really Connor MacLeod, an immortal being who is banished from his native land and accused of using satanic magic. He then encounters Ramirez (Sean Connery), who teaches him the ways and rules of immortals. From there, the story unfolds into an epic so different from anything else Hollywood has to offer. The overall story itself is a moderate romantic adventure, but the swordfights and camera work as well as original music by legendary band Queen make this film a rollicking good time. A must-see for all action and fantasy fans.

This is easily the best film of all the Highlander sequals. An excellent story and well put together with flash backs of Scotland in the fifteenth century. None of the sequals to this film were really of the same intensity and deepness. In fact all the follow ups were very lame.