Highlander | | Cast : | Christopher Lambert, Clancy Brown, Sean Connery | | Director : | Russell Mulcahy | | Studio : | Anchor Bay Entertain | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Box set, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound | | Released Date : | March 07, 1986 | | DVD Released Date : | April 16, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 23, 2005 | | Summary | Favorite movie by far | Content
 | Everyone has there favorite movie and this one is mine. This is a cult classic that some love and others hate. It has everything one could want; sex, romance, martial arts, swordplay, history (well not quite), mystery, and beheadings. Christopher Lambert is at his best in this film. Sean Connery's limited appearance is a great asset as well.
The basic storyline is there are immortals that take other immortals power and lives by cutting off their heads. Eventually there can be only one and that one will have the prize.
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| Rating | | | Date | August 03, 2005 | | Summary | THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE | Content
| (Really, 4 and 1/2 stars)
This continues to be one of my favorite films of all time. Amazingly, it originally flopped at the box office in it's early 1986 release (almost 20 years), but found new life in the video rental industry.
Jonahtan Nash (Christopher Lambert) is an antique dealer in New York. He has a strange secret habit of having sword fights with other people and chopping their heads off.
However, we learn his true name is Connor McLeod--a Scotsman born in 1513. He is immortal and cannot die unless his head his chopped off. At first, he does not know this--until a series of events in the 1500's shed some light on his identity.
He he hunted by Kruger (Clancy Brown), another immortal who also fights for some sort of prize.
Explaining this to Connor is Rameriz (Sean Connery) another immortal who trains Connor for battle.
Connor never tells his wife, Heather, of his gift (curse). Once he loses her, he becomes a loner who is afraid to get close to anyone.
However, a forensics expert somehow discovers his identity. Moreover, Kruger is alive and well and seeks the final battle with his old nemisis.
The beauty of this movie first is in the way its presented. It altenates between the present and the past. The audience gets clues to keep it interested, but the package is slowly revealed like grandmother opening her Christmas Presents.
Another good quality of this film is the photography and the unique changes from the past to the present.
Highlander also explores the double-edged sword of immortality. As Connor outlives all he loves, he becomes a loner. Usually an outcast, his battles are in secret with no fanfare. He is a reluctant immortal.
There are a few problems with the movie that keep me from giving it a full five stars. Probably the biggest one for me is Clancy Brown's over-the-top bad buy routine. Most of his performance is good, but a few times he goes a little overboard.
The only other problem I had with this movie (which was really the producers fault) were the three lame sequels, and a television series. I consider them all bastards of the original Highlander--that Hollywood could not just leave a buried treasure alone.
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| Rating | | | Date | June 18, 2005 | | Summary | 3.5 Stars | Content
| Since there are plenty of reviews, I will keep this short and review the transfer to DVD. I just purchased the immortal version at a local discount store for under ten bucks. Thirty five dollars on line is grossly overpriced - I expected more from this video at such an original high price.
The video transfer is good, not superior. On a 50 inch widescreen TV, grain in the video is apparent (My LCD TV up-converts, and most DVD transfers are near HDTV). The audio is good, not superior. The center channel is on the quiet side. The last 40 minutes of the movie is where the best sound effects kick in for surround sound and deep bass. My Yamaha 1400 amp automatically picks up the 6.1 sound. While the back speakers do have sound, I could not detect much difference in effects from the 5.1 sound.
The Queen music CD and videos are excellent, but limited to three songs each.
If you can find this locally at a bargain price, it is a worthy purchase, but not at Thirty Five dollars.
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| Rating | | | Date | June 06, 2005 | | Summary | Essential Action Fantasy Viewing | Content
| Highlander is a classic. I just popped this in the dvd player today and it still looks magnificent after 20 years. More importantly, the sound quality is great - the sound designers on this movie did an excellent job, and putting this movie on DVD adds power to the viewing experience. Not to mention Queen's unique killer rock soundtrack which was tailored for the film (a rarity in any movie these days)
In spite of the TV series, animation and sequels - Highlander the movie really stands alone. Russell Mulcahy did such a fantastic job on the visual storytelling - that Highlander still ranks high in my books as an action film and should be watched by fans and students of the genre. Forget the overblown effects of movies like Matrix - this has real swordplay, great scenarios, personality and humour. All this makes the movie inspiring to watch.
Highlander also captures the peak of Christopher Lambert and bad guy Clancy Brown, who defines badness as the immortal villain Kurgen. Sean Connery cuts a dashing figure as well. All are perfectly cast.
How and why Russell's epic vision faltered in the sequel to this great film is anyone's guess. But the original Highlander will remain a classic for years to come. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 24, 2005 | | Summary | "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE"....B movie that's this much fun | Content
| They have lived secretly among us for millenniums; near immortals who can only be killed if their heads are severed from their bodies. They move through time discovering each other - sometimes making alliances, and other times chopping off each other's heads, and waiting for the time of the Gathering, when those few who remain will be inexplicably drawn to New York City for a final struggle over a nebulous prize with only one victor left standing.
When you write out the plot of `Highlander' like that, it is hard to avoid seeing just how silly it all sounds. There is no explanation for what set this game of immortals in motion, or why any one person in any given time is born an immortal. The prize the immortals seek - described at one point as having knowledge of what everyone is thinking, and being able to advise presidents and scientist while you have children and grow old, sounds more like the career track of a successful but harried think tank consultant than something that one would struggle and kill for down through the ages. It is best not to think too deeply on these things while watching the movie.
The holes in the plot are well matched by the single-note acting on display. Christopher Lambert, in the title role of Macleod the immortal highlander, broods. Sean Connery playing the foppish but wise Ramirez, Macleod's immortal mentor, hams it up. And Clancy Brown plays the film's villian, the Kurgan - part demon warrior incarnate and part anti-social bad boy, so far over the top that he is a hilarious treat to watch. The rest of the performances are mostly forgettable, excepting Beatie Edney as Heather, the bonnie love of Macleod's youth - she is much too enticing to be forgotten.
The magic of `Highlander' is that despite all of this, it works, and it works well. When the paper thin plot and clichéd acting combine with the movie's lively action scenes, flashbacks through time, and driving Queen Soundtrack, it all gels together as a thrillingly unique action adventure fantasy that draws you into its internal logic and makes you forget all of its flaws while you revel in its hammy performances. I have watched it many times over the years and it has manages to capture my imagination each time. Like the origin of the immortals and their quest, there is no good explanation for this - it just is.
Make no mistakes - `Highlander' is a silly B movie, but one that is as exciting and as much fun as any B movie that has ever been made. Watch it and enjoy it as such, and you can't go wrong.
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