100% how I was introduced to Clancy Brown. For many years after Highlander I didn't know his name, and to me any time I saw him in something else I'd just think "Hey, it's the guy from Highlander!"
Queen was contracted to do one song for the movie, then Freddie saw an early rough cut of the movie and basically decided to write a whole new Queen ablum for it. That's gotta say something.
Two of my favorite movie details are in Highlander: The Kurgan has Ramirez's pearl earring dangling from his jacket in modern day NYC. Then later in the church scene, you can see that The Kurgan has gotten a tattoo on the side of his head of his old battle helmet, including using a lock of his own hair as its plumage.
Aaron: "Are they aliens?" Rick and Calvin: *The groan.......* lol... (I have the same reaction) Personally I consider Highlander II, and to some extend, most of the other movie, *NEVER HAPPENED.* I think the series was great, it focus on the history, the lore, and the lack of understanding of the lore. The lore was so scattered because it's mostly myth and hearsay even to the Immortals themselves. They going into the rules, extensively in the series.
This movie has one of my favorite background/extra character moments. The hot dog vendor trolling the detectives while reading the paper. "What does 'incompetent' mean?" "What does 'baffled' mean?"
Right ? There's absolutely no narrative reason for it to be in there, it's just a sprinkling of magic world-building dust that adds nothing _and_ everything :).
34:07 Holy ground is basically any consecrated land. In my younger days I was a huge fan of Highlander (with exception to the 2nd, 4th and 5th movies). In the series they once mentioned that there's only 1 reported incident of an immortals head being taken by another immortal on holy ground. It was in 79 A.D at Pompeii. Hinting that was the reason for the volcano erupting.
The TV series did expand on a lot of the lore like the Holy Ground stuff. It's pretty much burial places and active places of worship. So no fighting in cemeteries or churches/temples. In one flashback they had to walk away from an area to fight because it was considered holy by the local Native tribe. I do not remember how it dealt with old defunct places of worship. There was apparently one attempt to ignore the rule. It happened in 79 AD in Pompeii. A few seconds after the swords clashed, the volcano erupted.
iirc there was a human character in the show who killed immortals by doing it from a distance with a sniper rifle, ensuring that no one would get their Quickening
@@Patrick-jd1ku I remember that... is that where the monk friend was killed and it pissed Duncan off because he believed that the was the best of them and should have been that last? Granted, he would need some more sword training to survive that last fight.
Answers to some of your questions: 1: The Prize: Is part of a legend that all the Imortals have been told, they don't actually know what the prize is. The legend is that there can be only one and that one will gain the ultimate unlimited power. Which is kind of true because, each time you kill an immortal you gain their power. In truth, and this was a suprise to everyone, the prize was that while you keep your power, you become mortal and gain the ability to have children, which none of the immortals are able to do. The Kurgan would have also become mortal and gained the ability to have kids, which i don't think he would have appreciated. But again, they didn't know that was the prize 2: Damage and Injuries: The truth is they were a little inconsistent regarding this. One movie might want to show off how scared an immortal was due to countless battles, but another movie might have the wounds heal entirely. This is a pretty big continuity issue. I believe cannonically they do scar, but again its selective. 3: Breathing Underwater: This is also logically inconsistnet with how they normally heal and revive, but it is cannon, Immortals can breath underwater, or rather, don't drown, there-for they can stay underwater for an unlimited amount of time. They also do not get sick or suffer illness and can feel the conciousnes of the life forms around them. It is just one of the many powers they have that don't directly relate to their ability to heal and revive. 4: Super Strength: Immortals are often depicted at peak human strength, with some stepping into the super human spectrum, due to killing other immortals and gaining their power. Hence the castle wall being knocked down In that scene where he cuts Ramirez's chest, part of that is just 80's jank, but i believe the intention was, Kurgan placed his sword on Ramirez's chest and sliced it by running his sword along his chest, it to inflict pain, it wasn't a swing with the intention of hitting him hard. He was just trying to torcher the old man. 5: Becomming Immortal: All the "immortals" were born with the inate ability to become Immortal, specifcally the Quickening, but the power is only activated if they die a premature death by unnatural means, like in battle. They call it the Final Death and they become immune to death unless their head is removed or destroyed. In theory, had Mcloud never fought in battle and grew old and died a natural death, he never would have become immortal. 6: Why did No one attach Connor in the Opening Battle: The Kurgan was a wandering warrior, he became aware of Connor i guess because of proximity with another immortal, at that point and he made a pact with a rival clan to help them fight against the Mcloud's, but the deal was, only he could kill Connor. Hence why none of the enemy clansmen would fight Connor 7: Why did Ramirez Find Connor: All Immortals can sense other Immortals in their proximity, some are better at it than other and the more powerful the immortal, the easier they are to detect. Immortals can also hide their Aura from other immortals making themselves harder to detect, but not all Immortals know how to use this ability. Kurgan for example does not know how to hide his Aura, and Connor didn't when the Kurgan tracked him down and fought him in that battle. Ramirez is also way more skilled at detecting this Aura than Kurgan. In cannon Ramirez was actually tracking the Kurgan, not Connor, and the Kurgan led Ramirez to Connor, Ramirez then taught Connor how to hide his Aura, thats why it took the Kurgan some time to track him down after he was banished from the village. Ramirez told Kurgan that Heather was his woman, so he would't use her as bate to trap Connor, also If the Kurgan knew Heather was Connors woman, than he would know that Connar will return. By saying she was his, it helps sell the lie that Connor has already left this place and moved on. 8: Why didn't they gang up: Hard to say exactly, partly because they are all kind of solitary figures, but also because they can never fully trust eachother, and also because these are the most powerful Immortals, the last ones left, and he who kills the Kurgan will be the most powerfull and next to unbeatable by the other remaining immortals Plus its kind of dishonourable and taboo, among the Immortals, not necissarily a rule, but an expectation that they will face eachother mono-ar-mono 9: Holy Ground: Again this is something passed down from Immortal to Immortal, many of whom were born in an era where they trully believed in the gods, and they had no idea what would happen to them if they broke that rule. Especially when the fact that they are Immortal, to many, might be considered a sign that the gods trully do exist. Would you risk it and attack another on holy ground? even the Kurgan was not game enough to do that. The truth is, holy ground doesn't mean anything in the cannon, but they don't know that, so if we are immortals fighting and i run into a buddist temple, even if we are not buddist, would you risk it. When you've been told its not allowed and you could be stricken down? 10: The rules: Kind of touched on this already, but they have been passed down among Immortals for thousands of years, they don't know what is try and what isn't, there is simply what they believe and what they don't Even the rule there can be only one, they interpret it as they must kill eachother untill only one remains, but in truth, it means only one can inherrit the prize, the source. 11: Continuity Highlander 1 is the original End. the TV series takes place after Connor Mccloud became immortal and ended sometime before the events of the first movie. Highlander 2 is set in the far future, and is not cannon. The film itself was plagued by issues, specifically studio interference, lose of funding, delays, new funding, new producers, new interference, new director, more delays, etc, etc, etc. Highlander 3 is a sequal to Highlander 1, and retcons out highlander 2, as if it never happened, it also kind of retcons the very end of Highlander 1, in the same way that the matrix 2 retcons out the very end of Matrix 1. Just like how Neo beat the matrix in the first movie, an announces it to the world at the very end and the matrix 2 pretends he didn't. Highlander 3 immplies like Connor thought it was over, but it turned out that it wasn't Highlander 4 was a direct sequal to Highlander 3 and sees Duncan Mccloud, the main character from the TV series and Connors old protege, take his place as the strongest Immortal. Highlander 5 is an Anime movie set in the far future, it can be taken as a stand along movie, or considered an alternate timeline, it stars a Colin Mccloud, who didn't feature in any of the live actions. Its actually really good and is made by the same team that made the original Ninja Scrolls movie, it even uses some of the same character models. Highlander 6: Is the end and is a direct sequal to Highlander 4, it stars Duncan Mccould and answers alot of the as yet un answered questions, specifically regarding the Prize, aka the Source, and the legen of there can be only one. 12: Final Thoughts: I'll leave it there, but yes i have watched and actually own all of these on DVD, including the TV Series, which is actually pretty good, considering most of the above mentioned films are trash, to be honest, but i love the concept so much and am a massive fan, if you couldn't tell. The franchice is a desperate need of a reboot, yes i said it, a reboot, there is no fixing what we have, it really needs to be redone from the start. Retell Connors story, then tell Duncans, but do it right and really correct all the bad continuity and timeline issue. I am actually super excisted because Henry Cavil has signed on to do a reboot of highlander, but its still early days and might never happen. He is a stickler for lore and really loyal to the fandom of the franchises he steps into. But only hope would be that they do it right and capture all the cool elements of highlander that make it so compelling.
@@sunsoar1822 it was put out 2006 2008 so you might have to find trade paperbacks for some of them. It’s set right after the first Highlander film. Connor is dealing with the quickening he got from Kurgan and some of the Kurgans followers. this first series was a 12 issue series that dynamite also published us three trade paperback books. There was a second four issue miniseries called “Highlander way the sword” that occurs just before the first Highlander movie and centers around Connor MacLeod's search for the sword of his mentor Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, after losing it in the ocean to The Kurgan by accident. This story might be harder to find as I don’t think they made it into a trade paperback. In general, the reception of the comics has been a little bit better than the sequel films. One of the writers was the showrunner for the TV series.
Very good post! And yes, movies, beside the first one, are not that great, or pretty bad... ^^ The TV Show is way much better than any other movies. The spin-off is just ok-tier.
28:10 - Who Wants To Live Forever? - Yes, Calvin. I , too, get emotional over Heather's passing, every time. The accompanying song helps release my tears.
Rick, have you seen Ladyhawke? Speaking of great/fun fantasy movies that went way under the radar, Ladyhawk needs more attention. Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Broderick...
Even Connery found it funny he was a Scottsman playing a Spaniard/Egyptian or whatever his charcter was with a Scottish accent. Because everyone knows that Connery never changes his voice
Doesnt matter if he is Ramirez, James Bond, Henry Jones sr, Draco in Dragon heart, king Richard lionheart in Robin Hood or a russian submarine Captain in hunt for red October, still got the same accent
Rick is spot on about Highlander II representing the biggest ever drop in quality between a first movie and its sequel. Nothing else in the history of cinema even comes close!
Her desperation to have him burned is a combination of saving face over her grieving when he wasnt dead and also self preservation - and to remove herself from suspicion because of her public affection for him. Think of it like the witch trials \.
This was so popular back in the day, I remember playing Highlander at school with my friends in elementary school. We'd pick up branches and sneak them into school to mimic swords. Sometimes we'd play with long rulers we needed for math and geometry.
According to Russell Mulcahy (though Clancy Brown swears it never happened), when they first shot the scene of The Kurgan bursting through a door to cut the table in half, Brown instead ran in, cut through the candelabra and nearly decapitated Connery. Connery was fuming and stomped off the set. Later, Connery returned and Brown apologized, saying he was very nervous.
Omg you need to watch Highlander series because it was AWESOME. They expanded the lore, the universe, added a lot of complex characters, and the holy Trinity of Duncan, Amanda, and Methos were the best!
@@sethheasley9538 Yeah, I think season 2 was around the time they made an effort to get better swords people. Season 1 you could tell a lot of times they kept the blade work very basic and sped up the frame rate.
This movie has the greatest soundtrack in cinema history. It's Queen! It has some of Brian May's fieriest guitar work on it. I used to play along with the album all the way through back in the late 80's.
This movie is my whole childhood 😭 I wore out our VHS tape of the film and never missed an episode of the TV show. I told my mom I was gonna marry Adrian Paul when I grew up. 😂
The TV Series was actually a really good exploration of this world.... IF you can get past the fact it is a very decent, for the time, but still VERY 90's Canadian Production value show. It's a personal fave as I watched it as a kid on TV.
The sword sparks were so cool, im fairly sure they used a power source with one sword connected to positive and the other negative so when they touch they spark, such a badass practical effect
Two more Star Wars connections...Heather was the Naboo pilot in the end battle of Phantom Menace and the guy in the alley with the uzi was Rogue Two in Empire, the guy who finds Luke & Han on Hoth.
as a teen in the 80's all of my friends had this movie on VHS and we quoted it endlessly. it also spawned many a 'sword' fight in the neighborhood with any object that could pass as a weapon, broom handles, brass poles(that were great for the ringing effect when they clashed). great memories...
The original script for the first film was much Darker and Edgier than the film that got made. Connor was born in 1408 instead of 1518. He lived with his mother and father. In the draft, Heather (Connor's beloved wife in the film) does not exist; Connor was promised to a young girl named Mara whom he loved with all his heart, but who later rejects him after he becomes immortal. Connor leaves his village instead of being banished. His alias in the draft was Richard Tupin and he used an assortment of swords rather than the katana he took after Ramirez's death in the film. Ramirez was a Spaniard rather than an ancient Egyptian born more than two thousand years earlier. The Kurgan was known as the Knight using the alias Carl Smith. He was not a savage, but a steely killer who only played The Game because it was the only thing he had left after thousands of years. Brenda was known as Brenna Cartwright. Other major aspects were later changed during rewrites. Initially, Immortals could have children; in the draft Connor is said to have had 37. The film was originally set in Washington DC and Pennsylvania in the present day rather than New York City. The final showdown took place in a museum. In a bitterly ironic note (or an hilariously ironic one, depending on one's perspective on the franchise's reputation for inferior sequels), the film was originally intended to end with Connor soberly reflecting that the Game would go on, and this was just another chapter in his immortal life, rather than with a final conclusion of Connor earning the Prize.
You know what? I think the original sounds a bit more compelling than the finished product. Don't get me wrong I love Highlander, but I would have loved to have seen this story.
I have a feeling the remake might use the "the Game will go on.. forever" as that would make it easier for sequels or TV shows (since everything is about sequels nowadays)
I used to have the official novelisation & found it pretty disappointing. There were only a few hints at the Kurgan’s backstory and it made out that there were very few immortals, roaming the world. My biggest bugbear was that the author insisted on referring to Connor’s sword as a wakizashi! Points for cultural recognition, but it’s definitely a katana.
@@PenguinDust1969I hope they go for a darker yet mature or realistic (not edgy for the sake of edgy) take on the story. The whole movie is cheesy and bombastic for the right reasons and it’s time, but the reboot could potentially work if it delved more into the emotional and psychological toll, as well as the darker aspects of history through the eyes of those who lived through it.
I’m pretty sure in one of the TV shows they explained the “no fighting on holy ground” rule. At least as much as what happens if they break the rule, I believe it’s said “the last time two immortals fought on holy ground was Pompei and it caused the volcanic eruption.”
1) I was 15-16 when this came out, and it was IMO the greatest movie i'd ever seen. Was in my top 10 for the next 20 years. 2) Those of my generation immediately think of The Kurgan any time we see Clancy Brown, even now when he pops up in Generation V or Invincible. 3) My wife (Heather) wants "Who wants to live forever" played at her funeral.
My favourite line from this movie is a Connor McLeod throw away line "its a kind of magic" it's a reference to Queen who also released their album 'its a kind of magic' in 1986
Pretty sure the movie line came first. Queen were shown a rough cut of the film & each (allegedly) wrote a song about their favourite line of dialogue/scene. Freddy picked that one & his bandmates wrote gimme the prize, who wants to live forever and don’t lose your head.
@@LanIaFortroSha Freddie Mercury wrote Princes Of The Universe, Brian May wrote Gimme The Prize, Roger Taylor wrote A Kin d Of Magic and Don't Lose Your Head and lastly Freddie and John Deacon wrote On e Year Of Love together.
I've always loved how romantic Connery's saying "an irresistible pull to a far away land" sounds, but then you realise most the movie taking place somewhere around 42nd street in 80s New York
The biggest cost factor in Highlander Movies was the shattering of windows....you have to watch the show with Adrian Paul playing a relative of Connor MacLeod named Duncan. It expands widely on the myth of Highlander.
The show was pretty great at the start. They expanded the lore so much and introduced tons of very old characters etc. But at the end they were scraping the barrel and suddenly everyone was turning into an immortal somehow.
Always have to give kudos to Christopher Lambert. This dude is almost blind. (in the pilot episode of the TV series he appears and has a sword fight on a bridge. It’s VERY clear he can’t see, years after the film was made.)
I only seen the first movie and the TV show following Connor's kinsman Duncan McCloud, and according to the show the quickening is whenever an immortal beheads another all the powers, strength, and knowledge goes into the winner. Show does do alot better lore-wise
Indeed. It's kinda like Stargate movie vs SG1. They got the over arching bits and then fleshed it out. Personally I don't think the other movies should have happened, and Duncan, as much I love him, should have died. But they red-conned so much with those movies.
I watched Highlander 2 when I was about 10 years old and absolutely loved it. 😂 haven't watched it since. But from what people saying I'm guessing it aged poorly
@@billdoor3140Nah, it's not so much that it aged badly, more that it wasn't exactly great at the time either (with the greatest respect to your 10 year old self :). Fans will head-canon away plenty of movies, TV episodes etc. but when the franchise _itself_ pretends one entry simply doesn't exist, you know it was a misstep.
Clancy Brown played the shop teacher on the TV show " The Golbergs". The show is set in the 80's In one episode, there were two competing fan clubs for the movie. Clancy gave a great reading on the line "There can be only one!", followed by "Highlander club" in a normal voice.
Clancy Brown isn't particularly religious, but he was raised to believe people's faiths deserve respect. The "holy ground" scene was shot in a real church in England, St. Augustine's, Kilburn, in North London. The Kurgan blasphemes loudly in the scene, which made Brown uncomfortable and he apologized to each of the real priests and laypeople after every take.
Regarding the question about fighting on holy ground, the TV show gets into that a little bit more. There's only one known immortal fight on holy ground. Pompeii, 79AD
Adrian Paul is such an amazing actor for Highlander. Highlander: Endgame is such an amazing movie, I'm sorry. I know many people won't agree with me but Connor and Duncan together in a movie. amazing.
Craziest thing about Highlander is they got a Frenchman to play a Scot... and the most legendary Scots actor in history... to play an Egyptian with a Spanish name.
Oh man I'd love to see Rick's first time reaction, but it's awesome that Maggie was the one to show him Highlander first, they seem like a wholesome family
For the U.S. release, 20th Century Fox cut five minutes out of the film (which included some valuble character moments), and used a grainy, black-and-white close-up of Christopher Lambert's face for the poster. Naturally the movie bombed there, but did better overseas thanks to a less half-assed marketing campaign.
Yeah, been a fan since release but only actually found out in the last year or two that the Rachel backstory (among other things) wasn't in the US cut. Bit nuts IMO, it's not that long and a major relationship in the movie makes basically zero sense without it.
The U.S. release also moved all the flashbacks to the start of the movie and placed them in chronological order, on the assumption that an American audience wouldn't be able to understand the movie if it kept jumping back and forth in time.
@@moreau1755 In NZ, we had both versions. The huge rejection of the US cut was gigantic here. To the point US ambassadors got heckled when they were at any functions for a few years afterwards.
This movie looks f*cking amazing on Amazon Prime. So colorful, so crisp. It was the first time I saw it too, earlier this year. I really love this movie. My dad used to refer to our old dog as a highlander, and knowing what it meant after watching this was so cool.
Clancy Brown was in the sci-fi comedy Buckaroo Banzai, which came out a few years before this (that film has a crazy cast, even a young Jonathan Banks shows up in it).
The TV show had an explanation for some of the questions presented and had a pretty good origin story. The character development and the rules of the holy ground were explained and there was also a human group that protected the immortals.
Another connection for you, after you finally realised who Kastagir was...🙂 MacLeod's girlfriend before the first battle (Kate) who turned on him after, was played by a young Celia Imrie who you will recognise from Doctor Who... she played the woman working for the Great Intelligence who reverts back to her childhood after the Doctor defeats them
The holy ground rule boils down to all churches, cemeteries, and monasteries (regardless of religion). Basically, any place that's on consecrated ground. Also, to Aaron's point, they could team up, but they are "men" of honor (Kurgen included), meaning all duels are fought one-on-one.
Regardless of culture too. There was one time in the show, where a fight took place on a long abandoned indian burial ground, and both fighters swords blew apart.
The opening shot was done with a camera suspended on 4 cables, one going to each corner of the arena. By winding each of the cables in or out you can move the camera to any 3D point in the arena. It's often used in sporting events such as football games to follow the action.
The Highlander series had time to explore things a movie could not. For example, there's a rumour that that an immortal *did* take a head on holy ground. Pompeii.
Not only that, but it is mentioned that at least one full fight to finish happened on Holy Ground once, at Pompeii. After that, they knew for sure not to do it. I think Methos mentioned it, and he is ancient, so he would remember it.
As a freshman in high school who was into cinema and waking up to music, this was insanely great. There was nothing like it in terms of style and the melodramatic, exaggerated vibes of it. For all its faults I still love this movie.
49:59 The second movie is the way it is because the insurance company wanted to make a movie they thought would make a lot of money due to the inflation in Argentina had gotten so bad during filming. After it bombed at the box office they decided the rest of the films would stay true to the lore and not go crazy on some weird story. The director of the second one was locked out of the production and tried to get his name changed on the credits but the company said if he did it would be considered an attack and they would sue him. Apparently the British version is 10 minutes longer and closer to the original script because the British distributor allowed him and producers to make changes. Highlander: Endgame is pretty good. I like how they combined the tv show and movie together. Highlander: The Source seems to explain the whole story of the immortals. What’s interesting about the second one is Sean Connery is back in it cause he and Christopher Lambert became great friends on the set of the first one and Lambert wanted Connery to come back. After seeing the script Lambert wanted to quit but was contractually obligated to do it. 59:12 they probably don’t see the newer religions as “holy” ground. It’s probably only what was holy when they “began”. What are your thoughts on the remake they are doing with Henry Cavill? I’m hoping that they choose a different “Highlander” and not use Connor or Duncan (from the TV series). I haven’t watched the animated ones.
Current Egyptians are not the Egyptians that built the Pyramids. Old Egyptians looked more like Europeans. So yes, an Egyptian that looks like a Scotsman would be about right. Especially considering Ramirez's age.
I managed to buy a (not the best) replica of the Ramirez/MacLeod katana at a comic con. My understanding is that holy ground extends to cemeteries; also, it doesn't matter if the ground hasn't been used for millenia, if it was consecrated in whatever religion the "Holy ground" extends forever.
My sister and I absolutely loved Highlander! And we watched the VHS of it so many times. And the music is the best and fits so perfectly! The Kurgan is so crazy and a massive presence in the movie! Clancy Brown is so good at playing the baddies😃
The new movie (remake) is set to start filming next year with Henry Cavill swt to play the lead (Highlander). Also there is more than one Highlander. Its not just one for a location. The series is Connor McCloud. And Duncan McCloud from the first movie is a character who shows up a few times in the series.
This was on tv one day and upon seeing Clancy Brown, I sat down and watched the whole thing, loved it. I need these guys to watch Buckaroo Banzai, I set up my movie recs on the site for this purpose haha
Me and my sister had two movies on VHS when we were kids. Highlander and a great Danish feature film cartoon named Valhalla. We saw those two movies on loop and knew all the lines in both. Ah… the 80’s…
Many parts of this film was filmed round my local areas in the highlands . I worked on the film as a roadie , carrying gear from the road to the beach scene with the stag . The film crew had the stag running across the beach and us roadies were supposed to wait for the cut out of scene then chase the stag back to the vets to be tranquilised and transported back somewhere . Well the stag put its head down and charged across the beach as needed only myself and the rest of the roadies facing this huge stag charging straight at us head down and really pissed at everything decided the standing in its way and chasing it back was not such a good plan and didnt stop it lol. The stag swam out to see and never came back And all the roadies lived to fight another day lol
just so you know, in the 80's, the legend in Europe was : "the U.S. were so stupid they thought the cuts meant McLeod had the past in his ceiling". If you're curious about this I'd be happy to elaborate.
5:53, the director of this film is Russell Mulcahy. Mulcahy came to prominence in the early 1980s directing many of the early music videos for the rock group Duran Duran. Working with the band, they produced several visually groundbreaking videos that helped to expand idea of how music can be visually marketed. By the time this Highlander movie was made, he definitely had a knack for odd stuff on film.
The greatest movie ever made about a Scotsman played by a Frenchman trained by a Scotsman playing an Egyptian disguised as a Spaniard.
The absolute dogs abuse this film would get now
True
I laughed so hard and out loud at this comment. It's brilliant. LMBO
He's a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude !
... carrying a Japanese sword
This is how many of us were introduced to Clancy Brown. He became an instant cult movie star... and we all watched as he got bigger and better roles.
100% how I was introduced to Clancy Brown. For many years after Highlander I didn't know his name, and to me any time I saw him in something else I'd just think "Hey, it's the guy from Highlander!"
The man who would become Mister Crabs.
He practically did the movie for free, not sure if he got a percentage but he did it primarily because he wanted the part :) Such a great performance.
True story bro.
He would have been the perfect actor to play Raoh in a live action movie adaptation of FIST OF THE NORTH STAR filmed in the 1980's.
Queen was contracted to do one song for the movie, then Freddie saw an early rough cut of the movie and basically decided to write a whole new Queen ablum for it. That's gotta say something.
also helps freddie was a good friend of lambert too
@@Jimusmchuh? I never knew about that.
@kinslayermds Lambert and Freddie were in the prince's of the universe music video together sword fighting with mic stands if I remember correctly
@@billdoor3140 that I knew. I just never made the connection.
That video rules. It's easily the best Highlander spin off
Don't forget that there are some tracks they made for the film that have never been released.
Two of my favorite movie details are in Highlander: The Kurgan has Ramirez's pearl earring dangling from his jacket in modern day NYC. Then later in the church scene, you can see that The Kurgan has gotten a tattoo on the side of his head of his old battle helmet, including using a lock of his own hair as its plumage.
Hearing "Here we areeeee!" immediately hypes me up and makes me think of the Highlander.
Aaron: "Are they aliens?"
Rick and Calvin: *The groan.......* lol... (I have the same reaction)
Personally I consider Highlander II, and to some extend, most of the other movie, *NEVER HAPPENED.* I think the series was great, it focus on the history, the lore, and the lack of understanding of the lore. The lore was so scattered because it's mostly myth and hearsay even to the Immortals themselves. They going into the rules, extensively in the series.
This movie has one of my favorite background/extra character moments. The hot dog vendor trolling the detectives while reading the paper. "What does 'incompetent' mean?" "What does 'baffled' mean?"
Right ? There's absolutely no narrative reason for it to be in there, it's just a sprinkling of magic world-building dust that adds nothing _and_ everything :).
I use the incompetent line all the time. Such a good bit.
I STILL quote these two lines to this day.
@@riculfriculfson7243 same!
"That mayor..."
calvin teary eyed when heather passes 😢 a great scene with more queen score "who wants to live forever"
'Who daaaares
to luuuuv
forEVAHHHHH" 😢
That is where it started, but I see Duncan McCloud when I hear the song now. It will never be not sad.
@jhoymeade ya Duncan MacLeod from the show is awesome too, with Connor in episode 1
Gets me every time too😢
34:07 Holy ground is basically any consecrated land. In my younger days I was a huge fan of Highlander (with exception to the 2nd, 4th and 5th movies). In the series they once mentioned that there's only 1 reported incident of an immortals head being taken by another immortal on holy ground. It was in 79 A.D at Pompeii. Hinting that was the reason for the volcano erupting.
The TV series did expand on a lot of the lore like the Holy Ground stuff. It's pretty much burial places and active places of worship. So no fighting in cemeteries or churches/temples. In one flashback they had to walk away from an area to fight because it was considered holy by the local Native tribe. I do not remember how it dealt with old defunct places of worship. There was apparently one attempt to ignore the rule. It happened in 79 AD in Pompeii. A few seconds after the swords clashed, the volcano erupted.
iirc there was a human character in the show who killed immortals by doing it from a distance with a sniper rifle, ensuring that no one would get their Quickening
@@Patrick-jd1ku I remember that... is that where the monk friend was killed and it pissed Duncan off because he believed that the was the best of them and should have been that last? Granted, he would need some more sword training to survive that last fight.
Yeah. Duncan has a cabin on some holy Indian land so get away from it all and know he won't be killed in his sleep or anything. :)
@@jhoymeade Unfortunately, Darius' death was unplanned and caused by the actor's illness and death.
Answers to some of your questions:
1: The Prize:
Is part of a legend that all the Imortals have been told, they don't actually know what the prize is. The legend is that there can be only one and that one will gain the ultimate unlimited power. Which is kind of true because, each time you kill an immortal you gain their power.
In truth, and this was a suprise to everyone, the prize was that while you keep your power, you become mortal and gain the ability to have children, which none of the immortals are able to do. The Kurgan would have also become mortal and gained the ability to have kids, which i don't think he would have appreciated.
But again, they didn't know that was the prize
2: Damage and Injuries:
The truth is they were a little inconsistent regarding this. One movie might want to show off how scared an immortal was due to countless battles, but another movie might have the wounds heal entirely. This is a pretty big continuity issue. I believe cannonically they do scar, but again its selective.
3: Breathing Underwater:
This is also logically inconsistnet with how they normally heal and revive, but it is cannon, Immortals can breath underwater, or rather, don't drown, there-for they can stay underwater for an unlimited amount of time.
They also do not get sick or suffer illness and can feel the conciousnes of the life forms around them. It is just one of the many powers they have that don't directly relate to their ability to heal and revive.
4: Super Strength:
Immortals are often depicted at peak human strength, with some stepping into the super human spectrum, due to killing other immortals and gaining their power. Hence the castle wall being knocked down
In that scene where he cuts Ramirez's chest, part of that is just 80's jank, but i believe the intention was, Kurgan placed his sword on Ramirez's chest and sliced it by running his sword along his chest, it to inflict pain, it wasn't a swing with the intention of hitting him hard. He was just trying to torcher the old man.
5: Becomming Immortal:
All the "immortals" were born with the inate ability to become Immortal, specifcally the Quickening, but the power is only activated if they die a premature death by unnatural means, like in battle. They call it the Final Death and they become immune to death unless their head is removed or destroyed.
In theory, had Mcloud never fought in battle and grew old and died a natural death, he never would have become immortal.
6: Why did No one attach Connor in the Opening Battle:
The Kurgan was a wandering warrior, he became aware of Connor i guess because of proximity with another immortal, at that point and he made a pact with a rival clan to help them fight against the Mcloud's, but the deal was, only he could kill Connor.
Hence why none of the enemy clansmen would fight Connor
7: Why did Ramirez Find Connor:
All Immortals can sense other Immortals in their proximity, some are better at it than other and the more powerful the immortal, the easier they are to detect. Immortals can also hide their Aura from other immortals making themselves harder to detect, but not all Immortals know how to use this ability.
Kurgan for example does not know how to hide his Aura, and Connor didn't when the Kurgan tracked him down and fought him in that battle. Ramirez is also way more skilled at detecting this Aura than Kurgan.
In cannon Ramirez was actually tracking the Kurgan, not Connor, and the Kurgan led Ramirez to Connor, Ramirez then taught Connor how to hide his Aura, thats why it took the Kurgan some time to track him down after he was banished from the village.
Ramirez told Kurgan that Heather was his woman, so he would't use her as bate to trap Connor, also If the Kurgan knew Heather was Connors woman, than he would know that Connar will return. By saying she was his, it helps sell the lie that Connor has already left this place and moved on.
8: Why didn't they gang up:
Hard to say exactly, partly because they are all kind of solitary figures, but also because they can never fully trust eachother, and also because these are the most powerful Immortals, the last ones left, and he who kills the Kurgan will be the most powerfull and next to unbeatable by the other remaining immortals
Plus its kind of dishonourable and taboo, among the Immortals, not necissarily a rule, but an expectation that they will face eachother mono-ar-mono
9: Holy Ground:
Again this is something passed down from Immortal to Immortal, many of whom were born in an era where they trully believed in the gods, and they had no idea what would happen to them if they broke that rule. Especially when the fact that they are Immortal, to many, might be considered a sign that the gods trully do exist.
Would you risk it and attack another on holy ground? even the Kurgan was not game enough to do that.
The truth is, holy ground doesn't mean anything in the cannon, but they don't know that, so if we are immortals fighting and i run into a buddist temple, even if we are not buddist, would you risk it. When you've been told its not allowed and you could be stricken down?
10: The rules:
Kind of touched on this already, but they have been passed down among Immortals for thousands of years, they don't know what is try and what isn't, there is simply what they believe and what they don't
Even the rule there can be only one, they interpret it as they must kill eachother untill only one remains, but in truth, it means only one can inherrit the prize, the source.
11: Continuity
Highlander 1 is the original End. the TV series takes place after Connor Mccloud became immortal and ended sometime before the events of the first movie.
Highlander 2 is set in the far future, and is not cannon. The film itself was plagued by issues, specifically studio interference, lose of funding, delays, new funding, new producers, new interference, new director, more delays, etc, etc, etc.
Highlander 3 is a sequal to Highlander 1, and retcons out highlander 2, as if it never happened, it also kind of retcons the very end of Highlander 1, in the same way that the matrix 2 retcons out the very end of Matrix 1.
Just like how Neo beat the matrix in the first movie, an announces it to the world at the very end and the matrix 2 pretends he didn't. Highlander 3 immplies like Connor thought it was over, but it turned out that it wasn't
Highlander 4 was a direct sequal to Highlander 3 and sees Duncan Mccloud, the main character from the TV series and Connors old protege, take his place as the strongest Immortal.
Highlander 5 is an Anime movie set in the far future, it can be taken as a stand along movie, or considered an alternate timeline, it stars a Colin Mccloud, who didn't feature in any of the live actions. Its actually really good and is made by the same team that made the original Ninja Scrolls movie, it even uses some of the same character models.
Highlander 6: Is the end and is a direct sequal to Highlander 4, it stars Duncan Mccould and answers alot of the as yet un answered questions, specifically regarding the Prize, aka the Source, and the legen of there can be only one.
12: Final Thoughts:
I'll leave it there, but yes i have watched and actually own all of these on DVD, including the TV Series, which is actually pretty good, considering most of the above mentioned films are trash, to be honest, but i love the concept so much and am a massive fan, if you couldn't tell.
The franchice is a desperate need of a reboot, yes i said it, a reboot, there is no fixing what we have, it really needs to be redone from the start. Retell Connors story, then tell Duncans, but do it right and really correct all the bad continuity and timeline issue.
I am actually super excisted because Henry Cavil has signed on to do a reboot of highlander, but its still early days and might never happen. He is a stickler for lore and really loyal to the fandom of the franchises he steps into.
But only hope would be that they do it right and capture all the cool elements of highlander that make it so compelling.
You also missed the comic series which started off as its own story based on Duncan and then they did a version of Highlander one and three
@@earlgendron4893 Oh really, i'll have to check it out, don't think i've ever seen it
@@sunsoar1822 it was put out 2006 2008 so you might have to find trade paperbacks for some of them. It’s set right after the first Highlander film. Connor is dealing with the quickening he got from Kurgan and some of the Kurgans followers. this first series was a 12 issue series that dynamite also published us three trade paperback books.
There was a second four issue miniseries called “Highlander way the sword” that occurs just before the first Highlander movie and centers around Connor MacLeod's search for the sword of his mentor Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, after losing it in the ocean to The Kurgan by accident. This story might be harder to find as I don’t think they made it into a trade paperback.
In general, the reception of the comics has been a little bit better than the sequel films. One of the writers was the showrunner for the TV series.
Great post! So comprehensive!
Very good post!
And yes, movies, beside the first one, are not that great, or pretty bad... ^^
The TV Show is way much better than any other movies. The spin-off is just ok-tier.
28:10 - Who Wants To Live Forever? - Yes, Calvin. I , too, get emotional over Heather's passing, every time. The accompanying song helps release my tears.
Fun fact: the backflips are explained in the novelisation (remember those?!) - it's a quick and easy way to check under the cars!
I love the fact that the opening monologue by Sean Connery is all echoey because he recorded it in his bathroom.
When you got to go, you got to
Bathrooms have great reverb.
The accoustic is amaaaazing!
Opening and closing monologues.
Yeah it was at his Spanish villa so the acoustics had to be great especially if it was an older villa.
Rick, have you seen Ladyhawke? Speaking of great/fun fantasy movies that went way under the radar, Ladyhawk needs more attention. Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Broderick...
I think they'd love watching Ladyhawke!
Though the music is...far, far, far, *far* from being as good as Queen. Or anything.
I didn't realize how many cool shots they had in this movie!
The tv series is my favorite interpretation of this franchise though.
2:10 Aaron "Are they aliens?" The reaction from Rick and Calvin, if you know, you know!
😅😅😅😅😅
Don't know what you're talking about. Sequels? What sequels? There's just this movie and the tv series.
I felt that sigh! When princes of the Universe started
@@agm5424What series?
@@agm5424 there were also some movies that came after this. Most of them went off the rails in the storyline.
I hear Highlander won the Oscar for Best Movie Ever Made.
Goddamn right.
Good thing they never made a single sequel. At all. Ever.
"There can be only one (highlandermovie)
@@HenrikAskestadI have news.....
@@Tao_Tology There is only one Highlander movie. Just as there are only two Alien movies and two Terminator movies.
Considering we're getting a Henry Cavill remake from John Wick director, Chad Stahelski, you know the swordplay will definitely be upped
SO looking forward to that.
Don't lie to me. There's no way we're getting a remake Don't you dare speak this blasphemy. I have not heard tale of this news.
@@drewwar9344 During the Argyle press tour Henry confirmed it. There are vids.
@@drewwar9344 This is real friend. This is happening. And I'm so here for it.
Stop I only get so hard!
You should also watch Highlander: (TV series) with Adrian Paul
There was also Highlander: The Raven but it lasted only 1 season.
Even Connery found it funny he was a Scottsman playing a Spaniard/Egyptian or whatever his charcter was with a Scottish accent. Because everyone knows that Connery never changes his voice
Doesnt matter if he is Ramirez, James Bond, Henry Jones sr, Draco in Dragon heart, king Richard lionheart in Robin Hood or a russian submarine Captain in hunt for red October, still got the same accent
"There can be only one......acshent"
Could be explained away by him living in Scotland for hundreds of years.
Rick just became my hero with that after reaction discussion 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Rick is spot on about Highlander II representing the biggest ever drop in quality between a first movie and its sequel. Nothing else in the history of cinema even comes close!
I saw that when it came out and my jaw dropped when they started talking about aliens. One of the biggest moments of cringe ever put on film.
I refuse to recognise the existence of Highlander 2
Does Godfather 2 to 3 count?
I literally yelled What the fuck? In the theatre, when the alien shit happened.
😂 I don't think going from a 2 to -3 is that big of a drop.
Her desperation to have him burned is a combination of saving face over her grieving when he wasnt dead and also self preservation - and to remove herself from suspicion because of her public affection for him. Think of it like the witch trials \.
This was so popular back in the day, I remember playing Highlander at school with my friends in elementary school. We'd pick up branches and sneak them into school to mimic swords. Sometimes we'd play with long rulers we needed for math and geometry.
The wrestlers were The Fabulous Freebirds, The Tonga Kid, Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell.
According to Russell Mulcahy (though Clancy Brown swears it never happened), when they first shot the scene of The Kurgan bursting through a door to cut the table in half, Brown instead ran in, cut through the candelabra and nearly decapitated Connery. Connery was fuming and stomped off the set. Later, Connery returned and Brown apologized, saying he was very nervous.
Omg you need to watch Highlander series because it was AWESOME. They expanded the lore, the universe, added a lot of complex characters, and the holy Trinity of Duncan, Amanda, and Methos were the best!
I loved the tv show.. to me Duncan is the real highlander
It starts a little rough, with Bull from Night Court as the first baddie, but gets great once they introduce the Watchers.
For me, It's Highlander, the 2 series. The rest of the movie, ESPECIALLY 2, never happened. Methos is one of the most interesting late addition.
@@sethheasley9538 Yeah, I think season 2 was around the time they made an effort to get better swords people. Season 1 you could tell a lot of times they kept the blade work very basic and sped up the frame rate.
Richie Ryan was my favorite, jack dawson and the watchers was a great extension story piece!
"lets not talk about Highlander 2 " ...words to live by.
This movie has the greatest soundtrack in cinema history. It's Queen!
It has some of Brian May's fieriest guitar work on it. I used to play along with the album all the way through back in the late 80's.
This movie is my whole childhood 😭 I wore out our VHS tape of the film and never missed an episode of the TV show. I told my mom I was gonna marry Adrian Paul when I grew up. 😂
The TV Series was actually a really good exploration of this world.... IF you can get past the fact it is a very decent, for the time, but still VERY 90's Canadian Production value show. It's a personal fave as I watched it as a kid on TV.
This film is perfection.
Clancy Brown and Sean Connery.
Queen.
Swords.
I was 9 when this film came out and it felt like it was made for me.
The sword sparks were so cool, im fairly sure they used a power source with one sword connected to positive and the other negative so when they touch they spark, such a badass practical effect
Two more Star Wars connections...Heather was the Naboo pilot in the end battle of Phantom Menace and the guy in the alley with the uzi was Rogue Two in Empire, the guy who finds Luke & Han on Hoth.
Yes, cool catch but the Naboo pilot is Kate his first lover not Heather
as a teen in the 80's all of my friends had this movie on VHS and we quoted it endlessly. it also spawned many a 'sword' fight in the neighborhood with any object that could pass as a weapon, broom handles, brass poles(that were great for the ringing effect when they clashed). great memories...
The original script for the first film was much Darker and Edgier than the film that got made. Connor was born in 1408 instead of 1518. He lived with his mother and father. In the draft, Heather (Connor's beloved wife in the film) does not exist; Connor was promised to a young girl named Mara whom he loved with all his heart, but who later rejects him after he becomes immortal. Connor leaves his village instead of being banished. His alias in the draft was Richard Tupin and he used an assortment of swords rather than the katana he took after Ramirez's death in the film. Ramirez was a Spaniard rather than an ancient Egyptian born more than two thousand years earlier. The Kurgan was known as the Knight using the alias Carl Smith. He was not a savage, but a steely killer who only played The Game because it was the only thing he had left after thousands of years. Brenda was known as Brenna Cartwright. Other major aspects were later changed during rewrites. Initially, Immortals could have children; in the draft Connor is said to have had 37. The film was originally set in Washington DC and Pennsylvania in the present day rather than New York City. The final showdown took place in a museum. In a bitterly ironic note (or an hilariously ironic one, depending on one's perspective on the franchise's reputation for inferior sequels), the film was originally intended to end with Connor soberly reflecting that the Game would go on, and this was just another chapter in his immortal life, rather than with a final conclusion of Connor earning the Prize.
You know what? I think the original sounds a bit more compelling than the finished product. Don't get me wrong I love Highlander, but I would have loved to have seen this story.
I have a feeling the remake might use the "the Game will go on.. forever" as that would make it easier for sequels or TV shows (since everything is about sequels nowadays)
I used to have the official novelisation & found it pretty disappointing. There were only a few hints at the Kurgan’s backstory and it made out that there were very few immortals, roaming the world. My biggest bugbear was that the author insisted on referring to Connor’s sword as a wakizashi! Points for cultural recognition, but it’s definitely a katana.
@@maskedking8991 Henry Cavill was talking about a remake last year so maybe we'll see this version someday.
@@PenguinDust1969I hope they go for a darker yet mature or realistic (not edgy for the sake of edgy) take on the story. The whole movie is cheesy and bombastic for the right reasons and it’s time, but the reboot could potentially work if it delved more into the emotional and psychological toll, as well as the darker aspects of history through the eyes of those who lived through it.
This was the first movie I've ever seen Clancy Brown in and always loved his character. I was introduced to Queen for the 1st time with this movie 💜💜
I’m pretty sure in one of the TV shows they explained the “no fighting on holy ground” rule. At least as much as what happens if they break the rule, I believe it’s said “the last time two immortals fought on holy ground was Pompei and it caused the volcanic eruption.”
1) I was 15-16 when this came out, and it was IMO the greatest movie i'd ever seen. Was in my top 10 for the next 20 years.
2) Those of my generation immediately think of The Kurgan any time we see Clancy Brown, even now when he pops up in Generation V or Invincible.
3) My wife (Heather) wants "Who wants to live forever" played at her funeral.
My favourite line from this movie is a Connor McLeod throw away line "its a kind of magic" it's a reference to Queen who also released their album 'its a kind of magic' in 1986
Pretty sure the movie line came first. Queen were shown a rough cut of the film & each (allegedly) wrote a song about their favourite line of dialogue/scene. Freddy picked that one & his bandmates wrote gimme the prize, who wants to live forever and don’t lose your head.
@@LanIaFortroSharoger Taylor wrote a kind of magic :)
@@LanIaFortroSha Freddie Mercury wrote Princes Of The Universe, Brian May wrote Gimme The Prize, Roger Taylor wrote A Kin d Of Magic and Don't Lose Your Head and lastly Freddie and John Deacon wrote On e Year Of Love together.
I've always loved how romantic Connery's saying "an irresistible pull to a far away land" sounds, but then you realise most the movie taking place somewhere around 42nd street in 80s New York
Saw this as a kid and I loved it. I still love it.
The biggest cost factor in Highlander Movies was the shattering of windows....you have to watch the show with Adrian Paul playing a relative of Connor MacLeod named Duncan. It expands widely on the myth of Highlander.
Yes, I really enjoyed the TV show. It's worth a a watch.
Would love to see the crew react to the show
The show was pretty great at the start. They expanded the lore so much and introduced tons of very old characters etc. But at the end they were scraping the barrel and suddenly everyone was turning into an immortal somehow.
Always have to give kudos to Christopher Lambert. This dude is almost blind. (in the pilot episode of the TV series he appears and has a sword fight on a bridge. It’s VERY clear he can’t see, years after the film was made.)
Yes and kudos to Clancy who was reportedly very allergic to the prosthetic makeup, but toughed it out thru filmng.
@@MisterPunch19, The make up line has since changed, he wore make up on the set of the Mandalorian
Highlander 2? No such thing, never heard of it.
Celia imrie who played Connors 'love interest' in the beginning of the film also played a naboo pilot (Dineé Ellberger) in the phantom menace.
I only seen the first movie and the TV show following Connor's kinsman Duncan McCloud, and according to the show the quickening is whenever an immortal beheads another all the powers, strength, and knowledge goes into the winner. Show does do alot better lore-wise
Indeed. It's kinda like Stargate movie vs SG1. They got the over arching bits and then fleshed it out. Personally I don't think the other movies should have happened, and Duncan, as much I love him, should have died. But they red-conned so much with those movies.
@@jhoymeade really? Now I have to watch those movies and see what's up haha
I was in my mid to late teens. We all loved this one... and if someone didn't, they were dead to me 😁
Instant goosebumps every time I hear Freddie Mercury belt out "Here we are, born to be kings, we're the princes of the universe..."
We don’t talk about the sequel lol. People mock the Star Wars sequels. Those fans know nothing of our pain
I watched Highlander 2 when I was about 10 years old and absolutely loved it. 😂 haven't watched it since. But from what people saying I'm guessing it aged poorly
The renegade version is the only watchable version of 2
@@billdoor3140 it has some quality moments, but not enough to rescue it
@@billdoor3140Nah, it's not so much that it aged badly, more that it wasn't exactly great at the time either (with the greatest respect to your 10 year old self :).
Fans will head-canon away plenty of movies, TV episodes etc. but when the franchise _itself_ pretends one entry simply doesn't exist, you know it was a misstep.
@@josephhoalt6824 Sort of.
Aaron: are they aliens? Hahaha if you know you know.
And if you don't, this is one of those times you're actually winning.
Clancy Brown played the shop teacher on the TV show " The Golbergs". The show is set in the 80's In one episode, there were two competing fan clubs for the movie. Clancy gave a great reading on the line "There can be only one!", followed by "Highlander club" in a normal voice.
Clancy Brown isn't particularly religious, but he was raised to believe people's faiths deserve respect. The "holy ground" scene was shot in a real church in England, St. Augustine's, Kilburn, in North London. The Kurgan blasphemes loudly in the scene, which made Brown uncomfortable and he apologized to each of the real priests and laypeople after every take.
Highlander is nuts in the way that only 80s films can be nuts. See also: The Lost Boys.
He's not Jorah Mormont, he plays Commander Mormont of the Night's Watch. Jorah's father.
And his name was not Bastir, it is Kastagir.
Eric did say Jeor Mormont as in Lord Commander...
Saw this at the movies and at one stage had my own copy on VHS and DVD…have watched it multiple times
Regarding the question about fighting on holy ground, the TV show gets into that a little bit more. There's only one known immortal fight on holy ground. Pompeii, 79AD
And we all know what happened there when the rules were broken.
the tv series dives deeper into the lore
Clancy Brown played Lex Luthor's voice in Superman series,just after Shawshank redemption.
Best lex ever
Adrian Paul is such an amazing actor for Highlander. Highlander: Endgame is such an amazing movie, I'm sorry. I know many people won't agree with me but Connor and Duncan together in a movie. amazing.
Craziest thing about Highlander is they got a Frenchman to play a Scot... and the most legendary Scots actor in history... to play an Egyptian with a Spanish name.
Oh man I'd love to see Rick's first time reaction, but it's awesome that Maggie was the one to show him Highlander first, they seem like a wholesome family
For the U.S. release, 20th Century Fox cut five minutes out of the film (which included some valuble character moments), and used a grainy, black-and-white close-up of Christopher Lambert's face for the poster. Naturally the movie bombed there, but did better overseas thanks to a less half-assed marketing campaign.
Yeah, been a fan since release but only actually found out in the last year or two that the Rachel backstory (among other things) wasn't in the US cut.
Bit nuts IMO, it's not that long and a major relationship in the movie makes basically zero sense without it.
The U.S. release also moved all the flashbacks to the start of the movie and placed them in chronological order, on the assumption that an American audience wouldn't be able to understand the movie if it kept jumping back and forth in time.
@@moreau1755 In NZ, we had both versions. The huge rejection of the US cut was gigantic here.
To the point US ambassadors got heckled when they were at any functions for a few years afterwards.
Aaron "Are they aliens?"
Calvin and Rick visibly in pain 🤣 Yea I felt that myself! The Highlander movie that must not be named...
This movie looks f*cking amazing on Amazon Prime. So colorful, so crisp. It was the first time I saw it too, earlier this year. I really love this movie. My dad used to refer to our old dog as a highlander, and knowing what it meant after watching this was so cool.
Prime?
Have some self-respect.
Fucking yes ive waited what 4 yrs now for you guy to react to one of the greatest movies ever.
Who Wants to Live Forever still makes me cry.
Clancy Brown was in the sci-fi comedy Buckaroo Banzai, which came out a few years before this (that film has a crazy cast, even a young Jonathan Banks shows up in it).
The TV show had an explanation for some of the questions presented and had a pretty good origin story. The character development and the rules of the holy ground were explained and there was also a human group that protected the immortals.
I'm old enough that I have seen in as a kid in the cinema. Love you watching the classics.
Another connection for you, after you finally realised who Kastagir was...🙂
MacLeod's girlfriend before the first battle (Kate) who turned on him after, was played by a young Celia Imrie who you will recognise from Doctor Who... she played the woman working for the Great Intelligence who reverts back to her childhood after the Doctor defeats them
That line that Kuegan about it's better to burn out than to fade away is a line from Def Leppard's song, Rock of Ages. God, I am so old.
The holy ground rule boils down to all churches, cemeteries, and monasteries (regardless of religion). Basically, any place that's on consecrated ground.
Also, to Aaron's point, they could team up, but they are "men" of honor (Kurgen included), meaning all duels are fought one-on-one.
Regardless of culture too.
There was one time in the show, where a fight took place on a long abandoned indian burial ground, and both fighters swords blew apart.
Yeah, I’m a little surprised that they had so much difficulty understanding the concepts of holy ground, single combat etc
The opening shot was done with a camera suspended on 4 cables, one going to each corner of the arena. By winding each of the cables in or out you can move the camera to any 3D point in the arena. It's often used in sporting events such as football games to follow the action.
My second favourite soundtrack from Queen
The Highlander series had time to explore things a movie could not. For example, there's a rumour that that an immortal *did* take a head on holy ground. Pompeii.
They fight on holy ground in one of the sequels and his sword explodes
Not only that, but it is mentioned that at least one full fight to finish happened on Holy Ground once, at Pompeii.
After that, they knew for sure not to do it. I think Methos mentioned it, and he is ancient, so he would remember it.
Great video guys not sure what version you watched but the new 4K Blu-ray remaster off this is the best the movie has ever looked.
So fun rewatching this classic with you guys. Hilarious!
We're the princes of the universe!
Lambert is in the music video battling Freddie with the mic stand 😂
As a freshman in high school who was into cinema and waking up to music, this was insanely great. There was nothing like it in terms of style and the melodramatic, exaggerated vibes of it. For all its faults I still love this movie.
49:59 The second movie is the way it is because the insurance company wanted to make a movie they thought would make a lot of money due to the inflation in Argentina had gotten so bad during filming. After it bombed at the box office they decided the rest of the films would stay true to the lore and not go crazy on some weird story. The director of the second one was locked out of the production and tried to get his name changed on the credits but the company said if he did it would be considered an attack and they would sue him. Apparently the British version is 10 minutes longer and closer to the original script because the British distributor allowed him and producers to make changes. Highlander: Endgame is pretty good. I like how they combined the tv show and movie together. Highlander: The Source seems to explain the whole story of the immortals. What’s interesting about the second one is Sean Connery is back in it cause he and Christopher Lambert became great friends on the set of the first one and Lambert wanted Connery to come back. After seeing the script Lambert wanted to quit but was contractually obligated to do it. 59:12 they probably don’t see the newer religions as “holy” ground. It’s probably only what was holy when they “began”.
What are your thoughts on the remake they are doing with Henry Cavill? I’m hoping that they choose a different “Highlander” and not use Connor or Duncan (from the TV series). I haven’t watched the animated ones.
Current Egyptians are not the Egyptians that built the Pyramids.
Old Egyptians looked more like Europeans. So yes, an Egyptian that looks like a Scotsman would be about right. Especially considering Ramirez's age.
I've seen at least three different versions of Highlander II. Had them when I was young, will get them again to complete my collection.
I managed to buy a (not the best) replica of the Ramirez/MacLeod katana at a comic con. My understanding is that holy ground extends to cemeteries; also, it doesn't matter if the ground hasn't been used for millenia, if it was consecrated in whatever religion the "Holy ground" extends forever.
My sister and I absolutely loved Highlander! And we watched the VHS of it so many times. And the music is the best and fits so perfectly! The Kurgan is so crazy and a massive presence in the movie! Clancy Brown is so good at playing the baddies😃
The new movie (remake) is set to start filming next year with Henry Cavill swt to play the lead (Highlander). Also there is more than one Highlander. Its not just one for a location. The series is Connor McCloud. And Duncan McCloud from the first movie is a character who shows up a few times in the series.
This is one of my favorite B-movies ever. So happy to see someone react to it fresh.
This was on tv one day and upon seeing Clancy Brown, I sat down and watched the whole thing, loved it. I need these guys to watch Buckaroo Banzai, I set up my movie recs on the site for this purpose haha
Me and my sister had two movies on VHS when we were kids. Highlander and a great Danish feature film cartoon named Valhalla. We saw those two movies on loop and knew all the lines in both.
Ah… the 80’s…
The unique flow with the editing and camera comes from the fact that the director was an Australian who only did music videos before.
Highlander 2: Ziest- Planet of Longhaired Men (ruled by Michael Ironside) ;P
Many parts of this film was filmed round my local areas in the highlands . I worked on the film as a roadie , carrying gear from the road to the beach scene with the stag . The film crew had the stag running across the beach and us roadies were supposed to wait for the cut out of scene then chase the stag back to the vets to be tranquilised and transported back somewhere . Well the stag put its head down and charged across the beach as needed only myself and the rest of the roadies facing this huge stag charging straight at us head down and really pissed at everything decided the standing in its way and chasing it back was not such a good plan and didnt stop it lol. The stag swam out to see and never came back And all the roadies lived to fight another day lol
just so you know, in the 80's, the legend in Europe was : "the U.S. were so stupid they thought the cuts meant McLeod had the past in his ceiling". If you're curious about this I'd be happy to elaborate.
Eric's line, _“I was carryin' wood… and then a rope fell on me.”_ absolutely cracked me up, and I won't even un-think it now for that scene.
It's been so long since I saw this movie, so many cool details to be found.
This is such a great film. I've lost count of the number of times I've watched it
5:53, the director of this film is Russell Mulcahy. Mulcahy came to prominence in the early 1980s directing many of the early music videos for the rock group Duran Duran. Working with the band, they produced several visually groundbreaking videos that helped to expand idea of how music can be visually marketed.
By the time this Highlander movie was made, he definitely had a knack for odd stuff on film.
the wrestler was Michael Hayes from the Fabulous Freebirds :)