Just in case nobody told you yet. All of the Queen songs in the movie were written specifically for it. They were shown a preview screening and asked to write a song for a scene. They loved the movie so much they decided to just do the entire score and soundtrack.
The only song not from the movie Highlander on the album A Kind Of Magic was the song from the movie Iron Eagles. So while it technically wasn't a movie soundtrack album as not ALL songs were from one movie, it could still be considered a soundtrack album, in a sense.
All except for one ... Hammer to Fall was on the Works album that came out in 1984. That was the song playing while Matunas was driving his car before he he shot up Kurgan. Fun fact: Matunas was played by Christopher Malcolm who Star Wars fans would recognize as Rogue Two from The Empire Strikes Back.
Highlander, the movie where a Scotsmen plays a Spaniard (Who's actually Egyptian) with a Japanese sword, which he gives to a Scotsman who's played by a French-American
The Japanese sword is the least weird thing, really. The man has lived for a long time and got around. Now why he would prefer a Japanese sword over European steel... That's probably kinda weird. As for the actors... Well, it's called acting for a reason. I agree it's weird to have a white guy play an Asian or something, but as long as they LOOK the part, I think they can play any nationality they want. And both look the part imho. It works. Egyptian is a bit of a stretch, but it doesn't look too far off.
@@ME143-c1d no one knows what he is. Wikipedia says he’s French American, other sites say he’s Swiss American. When you’ve been alive as long as he has your history can be forgotten and reconstructed.
@@brei2670 A really well-made katana _was_ kind of the king of cutting for some time, in part because of the steel folding thing. European steel made all that folding unnecessary, but the really good European longswords came a good bit after the "height" of the katanas (1100-1700 vs. 800-1200). Overall, (ignoring that the "real reason" was the katana hype) I'd simply say that they both (Ramirez and McLeod) kept it for sentimental reasons. And it's still a really good sword, certainly good "enough".
@@PastHisPrime336 I don’t think there’s anything mysterious about it, although perhaps a little confusing. Lamberts parents were both French. he was born in the United States in New York City, because his father was a diplomat, working with the United Nations. I doubt he has US citizenship as children of ambassadors or diplomats do not get citizenship because they’re born in the country Their parent is working. He would have been eligible after he turned 18 to apply for US citizenship but only if he had spent most of his life living in the country to that point, which Lambert did not. Of course it’s possible later in life he applied for naturalization. Lambert was raised in Switzerland for Most of his early life because his father took a diplomatic posting there. In his late teens early 20s the family moved back to Paris. Now due to his upbringing, Lambert might call himself Swiss or American French but legally I’m pretty sure he’s a French citizen unless, of course, he did apply for naturalization later in life, but he certainly did not get that citizenship from being born in the United States, I don’t know where Belgian came into it. Lol.
The scene where Kurgan confronts MacLeod before the final duel was shot on location in a real church, not a set, and the extras are the parish priests and nuns. The scene was extremely difficult for Clancy Brown, who had to say highly inappropriate and profane lines several times. After every take, he walked up to each priest and nun in the room and apologized... they thought he was adorable.
That's one of the great things about this film. In real life, Clancy Brown is widely regarded as just a super nice guy - the complete opposite of the Kurgan.
I read an interview with Greg Widen, who wrote the script. It was his first script that got picked up, and he expected it to be made with some B-list actors and "a styrofoam castle in Maine". Much to his surprise, it was shot in Scotland and featuring Sean Connery. Many of the Highlander fighters in the battle scene belonged to a group known as "The Clan", famous back then on the reenactment circuit to be a bit crazy. Greg Widen visited the set, and entered a pub where the extras were holed up between takes. Someone spotted him and shouted something along the lines of: "There's the guy who is responsible for us being in the cold rain and mud!" Widen felt some apprehension. The Clan raised their tankards and cheered him, as they had the time of their lives.
The "I'm Candy." "Of course you are." and "Nuns. No sense of humor." crack me up more than they should. Clancy Brown was such a despicable yet fun villain in this.
Objectively speaking, this film could have been better executed on almost every level, but it still stands as one of my absolute favorite movies. It's one of those rare films that punches way above it's weight class, inevitably falls short of its goals, and yet somehow you walk away inspired by it's vision rather than critical of it's shortcomings. Definitely a kind of magic.
They did an exceptional job with what they had at the time. The concept and story are great. Clancy Brown, as he always does, makes the movie. You just have to invest everything in the villain if you want a good movie.
I'm 50 years old in a couple of days and have seen this film so many times since the 80's. Yeah, it's not perfect but there's something about it that I still love. And the scene where Heather has grown old and Connor is still young, then speaks to Heather at her bedside when she passes away while "Who Wants To Live Forever" by Queen plays still makes me blub like a baby.
Saw this movie way back when it first came out on like HBO or something and didn't know what to make of it other than it was odd and I liked it. Re-watched it many times over the years and it's legitimately one of my favorite films ever. Personally, it has no flaws for me. It's one of those rare films with a lot of random stuff going on, yet everything kind of makes sense and it all comes together and works.
The “Who wants to live forever” scenes are just a punch in the guts. You already know about time passing for her, but it’s both a pain and nice to watch their time together, an entire life.
Some fun facts about this movie: - The lead actor worked with a dialect coach to try to come um with the accent someone who had lived everywhere over such a long time would have. Unfortunately they filmed the "medieval" .scenes after that, when he should have a scottish accent - The guy who plays the Kurgan, Clancy Brown? Voice of Mr Krabs in Spongebob - They never made a sequel sadly. But that's because there can be only one
Oh they made sequels, really bad ones. If you want to enjoy this universe try Highlander the series, it's pretty good. But skip most of the first season, the second one is where it gets better.
@@donotevenbegintocare Ah yes okay, Of course they never made any. It must have been a fever dream of mine, i am quite sick at the moment. Sorry my fault :D
Sequel with Ironside as villain , on IMDb his explanation , paycheck , was what that was all about for everyone . But its funny , they cast French to play Scott , a Scottish to play a Spanish and American to play Russian . Of course the typical error of having Scottish to wear a garment thats from 19th century , few centuries before .
The sequels are very messy, but the series is pretty okay, it expands the lore a great deal. It follows Duncan Macleod, about 2 generations younger than Conner. It shows female immortals, how they sense each other when they are nearby. It also introduces the watchers, which are mortals that know about immortals and dont interfere just act like historians. The quickening in the show, carries with it the knowledge and skill of the immortal and all they have taken through the years. There is a good episode where one is going to be killed with a guilotine and he's begging for his life because "all he has been will be lost forever" so in a way they kind of all live on in who killed them. I dont think they are so much physically stronger but their skill level goes up and up with all the knowledge they absorb. The series also explores taking in too much evil, that killing too many "evil" immortals can drive a good one to evil. The show kind of jumps the shark after 4 of 5 seasons but the first several do a really good job of explaining and expanding the lore around the immortals.
@@BassBumbass yeah, all they are is lost. There are scenes where one is going to be beheaded by a mortal, h e's tied up and he's begging them not to because all he has seen and known will be lost, so in essence he would be lost to nothingness and not become one with the others knowledge and experience inside of the other immortals
Highlander is just specifically referring to the main character since he is from the Scottish Highlands, the others (and him) are just Immortals, when he died at the beginning he actually died, for an Immortal to have their immortality triggered they have to be killed.... They're supposedly making a remake with Henry Cavill
The Highlander was Mcleod's character specifically, they are collectively refereed to as The Immortals. The series The Highlander basically covers any and all hypothetical questions eventually and even comes up with some new interest stuff to the lore. And the show is surprisingly good, like I recently went back to watch it a year or two ago and yeah there is a level of 90s corny but over all still holds up. It lasted 7 seasons if I remember and it really felt like the only reason they stopped was that they were supposed to be immortal but people in life actually age lol For my money the first movie and the first series are probably the best. The series reworks the ending of the movie, he kills Clancy Brown then they just go on. It's just not the end and we carry on just living in a world with Immortals. To explain some things, they live and age normally until they die their first time. Once they do their ageing stops. They can sense each other, sort of like Spidey-sense when they're around another Immortal. The Immortals refer to the killing of each other to be "only one" as The Game. Some play the game and some don't. Those that don't usually take of residence on holy ground so they can't be attacked. "Holy" can mean anything that is holy to any particular faith, even going so far as to say that a small island off the coast is holy to indigenous people would qualify. What happens if you do battle on holy ground? It's unknown but in the series they say that Pompeii was possibly due to two Immortals ignoring that rule. There are women Immortals, there are super ancient Immortals and yes there are even children Immortals. Those are especially tragic. Would high recommend the series.
If I’m remembering correctly, The Game was all a misunderstanding: the first 4 immortals made a bet about which one could kill more people with their sword. It was all just a cruel “game”. However, some immortals who had their first death by them misunderstood all of it as the rule to live by. There was never a prize to win. 🤦
The series is indeed outstanding. Originally the idea was it was set just before The Gathering but ultimately it morphed. It is to this day the poster child for successfully taking a movie concept and just running with it and building it out.
The Series was quite good and entertaining in my opinion…I haven’t seen it since it ended in syndication after it first aired…but was a regular watcher. I think I should revisit it soon. 👍🏻
Funny story. Worked at Disney and we had TVs everywhere. This came next to our desks and, of course, we dropped everything to watch it. Over the next 90 minutes practically everyone walking down the hall stopped and said, “oooh, Highlander”. Total geek fest. By the time we get to the last act of the movie, we easily have 35 people crowded into our desk area watching the movie. There was even supposed to be a meeting in the conference room next to us, but it canceled because over half the participants had stopped short of the meeting room to watch the movie.
@@SeanBlader Many times I've walked through my parents living room to grab a drink and spotted this movie on and just stopped dead and then when it neds realised I'm thirsty as hell
A "Highlander" is someone who lives in the highlands of Scotland. Connor McCloud is from the highlands of Scotland, so he is called 'Highlander'. As well, in olden days, foreigners usually referred to other foreigners by the region or country they were from, like in the movie Gladiator, Maximus was called the Spaniard, because he was from Spain. The immortals are just called immortals.
When I first saw this movie, I was enraptured by the whole sword-fighting, immortality, and the lore. The Highlander television series with Adrian Paul was a great follow-up, especially for expanding this universe. It followed the life of Duncan Macleod, also a Highlander and Connor MacLeod's kinsman. The film's sequels, on the other hand, are best left to the dustbin of history. Another interesting movie by the screenwriter, Gregory Widen, is The Prophecy starring Elias Koteas and Christopher Walken.
Season 2 through 6 were good. 1 was rough since they didn't really know what to do with the lore and 7 was just setting up for The Raven which really felt lacking for some reason. I'm guessing a different writer and director that didn't have a decent vision for production.
THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!! Screenwriter Gregory Widen got the idea for Highlander after his vacation from Scotland. He was in a museum of sorts, then looked a beautifully restored suit of armor and asked, "What if the guy who wore this suit was alive right now?" He write the first d adt in 1981 called Shadow Clan, then The Dark Knight, and finally HIGHLANDER. The script was a lot more darker and violent than the movie: Connor McLeod was born in 1407, rather than 1518. Knowing he is immortal, he leaves his home, rather than being banished. Ramirez was in fact a Spaniard, rather than an Egyptian. It takes Ramirez years to help train McLeod. The Kurgan goes under the name Carl William Smith and rather than a savage warrior, he was a cold blooded killer. Immortals do have children. McLeod attends the funeral of one of his sons. His other sons, all in their 50's see him as an immortal. After killing the Kurgan it's never revealed whether McLeod is still immortal or not.
I had SUCH a difficult time seeing Clancy Brown in anything else for many many years after his portrayal of the Kurgan. He is SOO formidable in this role.
@@georgeplimpton9429 I was completely shook when he appeared as a recurring character on ER. My first thought was that someone in the Cook County General HR department dropped the ball big time on that one
@@Kasino80 I never saw that show, but the next thing I saw him in was Shawshank Redemption. His voice fit THAT character too. I think the first thing I saw him in where he WASN'T the bad guy, was as a Coast Guard captain with Kevin Kostner, then in Cowyboys vs Aliens. He was great in all of them. And of course, John Wick 4!
FYI: Highlander does not refer to the immortals in this movie, it refers to members of the clans that historically inhabited the The Scottish Highlands. Therefore, only Connor MaCleod is the said Highlander in the title. All of the other immortals come from a wide range of nationalities & cultures.
Please don't watch the other movies. The series, however, is classy as f**k. Full of awesome flashbacks. Fleshes out the lore in the most respectful ways possible. Has characters that you get fully invested in.
Hard agree. The show is VERY low budget 90s, but it's still a really good time and gives us a few characters that I still love to this day (Joe, Duncan, Methos, and Amanda).
In the initial American release, in the fight in the garage, Fasil does ONE back flip off the car, and that was sorta "OK, show off boss move". But In subsequent release, when they included the back multiple flips down the length of the garage, most of us were going WTF?
Watching this as a teen in the 80's was very different than watching it now. Realism didn't necessarily make a movie better back then and some of the more ridiculous things weren't so out of place. But some of those things, like many of the sound effects, also gave it a certain feel that made it special. Add in Clancy Brown's great performance and a Queen soundtrack and you have a cult classic. It didn't make back the production cost at the theater but became huge on VHS.
This is from the perspective of *just* this movie, not from any of the other media: During the Quickening, the immortal absorbs all the memories and knowledge of the person they defeated, so, yes, in many ways they do become "stronger". As far as making friends with other immortals, if you think about it, outliving the people you love, never having children, always having to reinvent yourself and never keeping ties, can feel like a walking death, so finally being "released" wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing (especially when no one knew what the "prize" was). To me, it was inferred that after the one who won the prize died, there was the possibility of new generations of immortals being born, meaning it all happens again. We can only hope a good guy wins and not a deranged lunatic. Can you imagine The Kurgan gaining all that knowledge and power?
IMO Kurgan is one of cinema's greatest villains. In the scene where he hijacks the car, his "Mom" always cracks me up 😅Amazing that he's also the voice of Mr Krabs
Gregory Widen, the screenwriter, said he wanted to write a story about vampires but without the trappings and weaknesses of vampires. I imagine that means they have supernatural strength that gets augmented every time you take the head of another immortal. But it never approaches like Hulk or Thor levels. It’s basically superhuman but not like godlike levels of strength.
First, they are from earlier times when people were much stronger, then add to that their "supernatural" strength and abilities like the feeling the heart of the stag and running really fast and I would say that they are on par with Wolverine. They have "old" strength augmented with the Quickening.
My parents were such huge fans of this film that they named me if the main character: Connor. Whenever I meet other fans of the film they say: "there can be only one" to me. This included a personal trainer who would say that to me to get me to do one extra rep when he was spotting me. It worked.
I believe the first death is always the one that takes the longest to recover from, which is why Connor was on his deathbed for a bit and took longer to heal. They absorb all the experience of the ones they defeat, think of having centuries of combat knowledge and experience just flowing into you and you never age past your physical prime. So they'll seem almost superhuman at times. Also, I've never heard of a regular person killing an immortal and getting their power as a result. There's also an organization, only touched on in the TV show, that observes and documents the movements of the immortals.
There have been instances in the TV show of mortals chopping the heads off of immortals and not gaining any power whatsoever. And the immortal is still dead.
Great move, Simone! Cracking me up right away! "How'd they get a helicopter in here!?" ... Personally, I think it's a testament to the talent of Sean Connery that he plays an Egyptian from Spain, with a Spanish name, a Japanese sword, and a Scottish accent... and when I saw the movie originally...NO ONE CARED. THAT is the level of belief suspension he achieved. Queen was an inspired choice for the soundtrack, especially back when the movie was new. And to clarify, a "Highlander" is simply someone from the Scottish Highlands. The immortals aren't the Highlanders. But McLeod was from the highlands, and the movie is his story, hence the title. "Those With The Quickening" is apt, but awfully clumsy to say (like "Those we don't speak of" from "The Village"). Probably the best tile for them is "Immortals". You raised good questions about "What if a normal person cuts their head off?". BUT the question about getting their head cut off when they are immobilized is actually answered in the movie. Because if you think about it, some of those that DID lose their heads were, at that moment, partially helpless. So the "fairness" question isn't really a factor. kind of like in real life - it's not always fair. And yes, Clancy Brown WAS a fun, extremely bad, bad guy! Gret job, Guys! And yes, I'm already in the 40%.
In the tv show (which was set in a different continuity) there was an immortal who used fireguns to incapacitate his adversaries and then cut their heads without problems. It seems he had violated a very serious taboo, second only to not fighting on sacred ground. Even the most wicked Immortals would have "fair" duels using only swords (or other edged weapons such as axes).
That recovery time thing you talked about is tiny in reality, Conner was on his death bed as it was his "first" death, before that point he wasnt a proper immortal and would still age, after the first death does the immortality kick in
I remember watching and enjoying the Highlander TV series long before searching out the original movie. The series was well done and introduced other immortals who co-existed rather than fought for power. The series also dealt with several of your questions that the movie doesn't explain. A few items: I think that immortality could be activated by a sufficiently violent death, not just by murder or combat. Active Immortals could sense their own kind nearby, even before another's first death. The Kurgan could sense Connor's latent immortality. An immortal might discover a latent immortal and try to keep a watch in case a headhunter was around. A friendly might try to protect a novice from being an easy target. In a quickening the winner absorbs the experiences of the loser and their spiritual energy. Following a quickening the winner is temporarily incapacitated, requiring a hasty retreat if another unfriendly immortal is nearby. It is possible, when defeating an especially evil opponent, to absorb so much evil that a personality change occurs. Winners tend to be stronger and better fighters, so The Game selects for the strong. Those not gifted with size and strength must be devious or clever to take a head. One villian would poison an opponent and then take the head while his target was unconscious. Battle on consecrated ground was forbidden, and some immortals spent portions of their lives in religious orders so they would not be challenged. There were women immortals too. Since they were typically smaller and not as strong they needed to be smart and cautious to survive.
To answer the metal coffin question beyond strength: It happened basically in the series and in one of the sequels... they are trapped and might become insane.
There was also an episode where an Egyptian princess (I think?) was released from her sarcophagus. I don't remember much but I think she died at the end of the episode.
I vaguely remember a child immortal in the TV series who was normal, but inherited the quickening from an immortal who lost his head with no other immortal present.
The backstory on Rachel was initially a deleted scene. Glad to see they put it in this version because it adds something to both McCloud and that supporting character.
My friends and I, We were huge Highlander fans back in the day. But we would argue as to who Rachel really was to McLeod. Most popular opinion was she was a former lover. None of us guessed she was his adoptive daughter.
There's a few scenes in this I haven't seen before-the Nancy/WWII scene, Kurgan/McCleod/Brenda at the zoo, and a couple others. What cut is this that they're watching?
20:45 I'm glad you watched the version that shows how Rachel and Connor first met. I love the "Hey, it's a kind of magic" farewell line, and that scene gives it more depth. Also. I just really liked the character of Rachel, and it was nice to learn some of her back story.
I saw this movie a hundred times on basic cable (so I never saw any other cut of the film) and then when I finally saw that scene, I could not understand why you would cut it. It's not long. It doesn't mess up the pacing where it appears in the movie. It connects him to the world outside the immortals. Just a stupid, stupid scene to cut.
Clancy Brown did a terrific job playing the Kurgan ! He was so intense, scary and funny at the same time ! Too Bad Brown didn't get more roles like this!
@@XenaWarrior24 The Crow: Stairway to Heaven was better than it had any right to be - and Mark Dacascos looked way more like Brandon Lee than anyone should have been able to. Was honestly sad there wasn't more.
From what I understand queen were asked to do a song for the film and given an advanced screening. At the end they asked to see it again loved it so much said they'd do all the music for it. Also Clancy brown one of my favourite villains in this. Would love a solo prequel of him.
So fun fact the very opening line of the movie when Sean Connery speaks was actually recorded while he was on the toilet in the bathroom of the studio they liked the echo that it made and kept it for the movie.
He's called a highlander because he is from the highlands of Scotland. They are not strong or have super powers, but they are immortal, unless they take their heads. If a normal human takes an immortal's head, the Quickening dissipates, or if there is an immortal nearby then they receive the Quickening.
The Highlander lore was very promising. The second movie was a complete departure from the lore developed in the first movie. The third movie basically ignored the second movie completely. The series was great and in line with the original lore and the fourth movie was a fitting end to the saga.
So many memories of this film! It came out when I was in high school - for a teenage D&D geek it was the everything, not least because it had guys with jeans, trench coats, and swords. Totally bonkers, but also with some thoughtful and creative concepts. And of course a killer soundtrack, too. No wonder that for weeks my friends and I went around growling "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!"
With the exception of Hammer to Fall, all the other songs by Queen were written specifically for this movie. And that's how the author got a major payday (the producers bought the script offering a % on the total budget, but they though they'd make a low budget film. But then they pitched it to Connery, who said no to the part of McLeod, but was interested in playing Ramirez. So then they got Lambert, who agreed because Connery was on board, and they got Queen, and every time the budget went up).
Conner is The Highlander simply because he is from the Scottish Highlands. All the other immortals in the movie are not highlanders because they are from different parts of the world.
The series establishes that if an Immortal is decapitated and there's no other Immortal around to absorb their power than all that power and all their memories and experience are just lost forever.
Love this movie and watch it every chance I get. The Kurgan is my second favorite movie villian of all time. And then topped of with music from the best band ever. True classic. Just remember. Never watch any of the sequels. There can be only one! Fun fact: Clancy Brown wasn't paid a penny for this movie. He was a new young actor and agreed to do it for free when he heard he would play opposite Sean Connery.
On a meta-level the Immortals represent the differing philosophies of good vs. evil. Order vs. Chaos. Some crave only power and The Prize, while others don't care for such things beyond defending themselves and perhaps stopping the darker ones from gaining The Prize. Beyond the story and the fantastic soundtrack I really appreciate the cinematography in this movie. It really excels in the art of the transition and the setting up of a scene. Great reaction. the "Lore" is specifically vague. The movies aren't really worth it but there was a TV show that adds some to it. My best guesses to some questions...Yes, they are very strong but not super strong. They regenerate at a rapid pace. If you locked one in a box and left him he would live and probably go crazy and if never found the prize would never be claimed. Yes, there are female Immortals, they are introduced in the TV show. If a mortal killed an Immortal the power of the Quickening would be wasted.
Yeah, that question (from Simone IIRC) puzzled me - how can they be friends when "there can be only one" ? Well, they just _choose_ not to kill each other like, y'know, people who don't like killing would be inclined to do. Pretty straightforward. In theory they could all live for many thousands of years without killing anyone.
In the surprisingly good novelisations there are a lot of extra scenes explaining much. For example the reason Conner's original girlfriend that kisses him on the way to battle is so vehement later in her desire that they burn him, is because she slept with him on the eve of the battle and fears she might be pregnant with the devils spawn and burning him will cleanse the unborn child. If you can find it its worth a read.
Oh God, I still have an original copy of that lying around (buried in a box). I wonder if it was one of those with pictures from the movie in the middle 🤔
Freddie Mercury was asked to write and record one song for the movie. But after watching the rough cut of the movie, he fell in love with the film and told the Producers, that "No, I'm going to write and record the ENTIRE soundtrack." And he did, it was later released after the movie came out titled "A Kind Of Magic."
I love their choice of Queen for the soundtrack. It really adds to the movie in my opinion. They did a similar thing in Ladayhawke and A Knight's Tale, where they choose modern pop music instead of the typical score.
To answer Simone’s question about a civilian taking the quickening , the tv show had an immortal take his own life with a train, and the nearest immortal received the quickening.
Yes, but the series also established that if a mortal kills an immortal, and there are no immortals around, there is no quickening, and all the power is wasted.
It's been expanded on, my interpretation of the lore as of the original movie is that you get immortals who are friends because they're still people. You live for 500 years and the only people who can relate to a lot of that are other people who've lived for 500 years. Some of them are decent. Others are all about being the last one standing. I think if you get two of the ones who develop a real trust together and they understand that either someone will get one or the other first OR if it was them they wouldn't ambush each other. They'd pick a time and a place and the one who's best with a blade wins a fair fight.
16:57 - Why does he have a Katana? The idea is that Ramirez is one of the oldest immortals at 2,437 years. He's spent a lot of those years travelling, including to Japan where he obtained the Katana. The Kurgan is about 3,000 years old. Regarding whether the Immortals (which is the correct term) are physically stronger: no. They have normal human strength and speed. Sorta-kinda things they do have: They have better stamina, which is partially due to their healing factor. The Kurgan is a big fella, and clearly very strong, but he's no stronger than, say, a weightlifter. Arguably, this is what causes him to lose the fight to MacLeod: the Kurgan relies on his strength, tending to use that big sword as a bludgeon to overwhelm his opponents. MacLeod uses a lighter, faster style. The Kurgan is physically stronger the MacLeod, but perhaps as not refined in his swordplay. They have awareness of their environment, particularly of living things. Remember the scene with the Stag and running on the beach? The power that makes them immortal is connected to life, to nature, so (with practice) they are aware of it. This can make them seem fast, since they can kinda sense when someone is approaching or about to strike. It's not ESP or seeing the future; they're just hyper-aware of their environment. The biggest thing they _do_ have is experience. Know the claim about how it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill? The Immortals have like 100,000 hours. It's debatable how experienced you can get; there's probably a point where there's nothing more to learn. They don't necessarily need to practise to get that skill. Then an Immortal takes a Quickening, they are absorbing all of that other Immortal's knowledge and power. How much impact that has is not really explored, though it has been shown (in the TV series) that killing too many "evil" Immortals can turn a good Immortal to evil. If you want to get more into the lore, ignore the animated stuff, ignore the movie sequels, and go watch the TV series. It's very... 90's... but it's watchable.
The series is after the movie. It treats the movie as if the Kurgan were just another immortal, and not the final opponent against Connor. It's almost an alternate universe, that became adopted as the main universe due to its popularity.
In the firs episode second season ,Joe Dawson said to Duncan MacLeod that Connor Macleod did the world a favor by killing the Kurgan. The second season of the series takes place eight years after the fight between Connor and the Kurgan.
Highlander is not what all immortals are called in the movie, it is where Conner is from; the Highlands of Scotland. You should also check out the TV series. If a regular human kills an immortal, you just have a dead immortal with no quickening. Most, of not all, the sequels would be on Cinecringe
If you like this, you might like the show that serves as a kind of a continuation of the IP. It has Conor’s cousin, who turns out to be also an Immortal. Lol It’s just a shame they never made any more movies. Lol
I loved the series, well, most of it. I liked Duncan's sword more, which I have a replica of, as well as Connor's large broad sword. It was delivered so sharp, it poked through the plastic tip protector, as well as a bit of the box.
@@kevinsisler9379 It was a great series overall. Some episodes weren’t winners, but I think it was consistently engaging and fun. And I love how much lore it added. The Mythos and Four Horseman additions especially were executed well.
In the TV show they explained if a mortal took the head of an immortal they wouldn't gain the quickening. So they wouldn't get the power of the immortal. In the TV show they also explained the not fighting on holy ground rule. Back in the final days of Pompeei two immortals fought on holy ground triggering the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. That's why no immortal will ever fight on holy ground.
Fun fact: Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered the part of Kurgan. But he turned it down since he didn’t want to play another villain after Terminator. The director, also did music videos and knew Sting. Clancy Brown worked with Sting in The Bride of Frankenstein movie and told the director at a party to talk to Clancy because he was a nice guy, was big, and was cheap :)
If you think about it, the alliances make sense. There is a prize and they want to be sure someone worthy wins it, but, also, when you're immortal, who can you truly share that with, talk about it freely, and know they aren't going to leave you behind by growing old and dying? This movie is rather cheesy at moments, but put a Queen soundtrack in it, and it redeems everything, just like with Flash Gordon (you need to watch that too!! Good cheese!!). Christopher Lambert barely knew english when he filmed this, and they got him to play a scotsman, whilst the real scotsman plays an egyptian!! And Clancy Brown is the real star of the show!!
One of the main movies of my teenage years. I have watched this movie so many times it is ridiculous. But then, there were fewer of this kind of movies back then. I love the role time plays in the movie with all the flashbacks. But I especially love the swordfights. I have memories of me and a friend chopping each other to pieces with homemade swords in his backyard because of this movie. It was a miracle we didn't maim each other, but we got tons of bruises. Ah, the joy of a gen X childhood. Man, I love this movie, it is in my bones.
With deep Scottish roots, this movie amazed me, especially the scenes of 17th century Scotland. It's great that it is the extended version with Rachel's backstory and how he kept her in his life all those years. They did make two more movies, but they were really lousy. The TV series wasn't too bad, but it did explain some things from the movie. The musical score by Queen really sets a tone for the entire movie. If I remember correctly, it won several awards.
The Kurgan's break down sword seemed WAY cool in 1986, but there's no way it could work, even if you suspend disbelief for the concept of Immortals. The central ridge would have been far too thick and the blade would utterly bust on even a moderate contact strike or block. Far better would have been him packing his blade in a long electric bass case.
The biggest inspiration for the Highlander came from the writer on a tour in the Tower of London. Looking at the artifacts, he wondered how it would be to have lived in those time periods and then stood there in what was modern day London in the tour. Seeing everything again with very different circumstance and then wondering what life connected the points was the inspiration for the many incarnatioms and spinoffs from this film. The second movie has several re-edits to try and make it even passably watchable, but I'm not sure any succeeded. If you watch that one, be aware. There have been those attributing specifically the second Highlander movie to helping getting the ball rolling on the entire theory that sequels are always worse. Side note: It seems likely the death of Clancy Brown's character in the first episode of Sleepy Hollow is a massive homage to his role in the Highlander: the character was beheaded, even though he had elements of being a Ramirez-style mentor.
Highlander was my introduction to the music of Queen, and will always hold a place in my heart for that. There's a lot of lore in the universe of Highlander that you could explore, though much of it involves some significant retcons and could be considered apocryphal.
George you guessed it. Every time a Highlander kills another one, they do in fact obsorve the others powers. It's part of the immortality thing too if I remember correctly. There was a a couple of 90's tv shows after the movies.
This movie was huge in my circle of friends. The first sequel came out when I was in college. My friends and I were all going to go see it but for some reason (can't remember now... probably a late lab or something), I couldn't go with them. When they came back from the movie, I asked how it was and one of my friends to me to never, under any circumstance, watch the sequel because it was so bad that it hurt the first movie. To this day, I've never seen any of the movie sequels in this franchise, I've only seen the original.
Ok guys, this movie had a profound effect on my life. I first watched this when I was 11 or 12 and it set the course of my life for the next 20 or so years. This movie, and the subsequent franchise that follows, is why I know 5 sword forms, why I learned blacksmithing, why my home has several swords, knives, axes, and sheilds on my walls, and why I own a number of fashionable trench coats. I will try to answer some of your questions. First, they are called Immortals, not Highlanders. Connor McCleod is called "Highlander" because he hails from the Highlands of Scotland. There are, today, in real life, millions of highlanders living all over the world, they're a lovely people who can almost speak intelligible English. They are friendly and boisterous and even more so after a few glasses of whiskey. Second, the origins of the immortals is never really explored, except in the second movie where they are alien criminals or something, but the franchise and he fandom have collectively distanced themselves from this, even releasing a "Renegade" cut of the second movie cutting this storyline out completely. The best, in-universe, cannon explanation is: It's a Kind of Magic, because we're still plugging the Queen album almost 40 years later. Third, yes there are female immortals. We met several in the TV show, my favorite being Amanda, the immortal thief/acrobat who was always exactly the kind of trouble we all loved getting into. I would recommend the series but it is a little dated and villian-of-the-weekish, but it eventually gets really into the meat of the lore, and if that doesn't do it for you there's usually a cool swordfight ending with a decapitation and a lightshow. There are also children immortals, dwarf/little person immortals, REALLY magic immortals, and even mentally impaired/autism spectrum/Downs syndrome immortals (like I said, it's a bit dated) A few side notes: Queen was originally hired to do 1 song for the movie, but after watching it they wrote the entire soundtrack, the album is "It's a Kind of Magic" and I recommend it. Sean Connery was originally offered the lead role of Connor McCleod but he was more interested in Ramirez. So they got Christopher Lambert to play the role, at the time though, he barely spoke any English. To top it ff, Chris Lambert is terribly near sighted and cannot wear contacts. So, we have a Scottish actor playing a Spaniard who is really Egyptian and not bothering to adust his accent at all, and a French actor, who cannot speak English, trying to do a Scottish accent while blindly swinging a sword around, which is wh the accents are all over the place, it's kinda beautiful. Sorry for being so long-winded, I love your videos. May I recommend "Joe vs the Volcano" for a future reaction? The first Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan team up and Meg Ryan plays every single woman who matters in the movie, she's brilliant.
Queen was commissioned to do the soundtrack for this movie and really took their job seriously: Princes of the Universe: I am immortal I have inside me blood of kings I have no rival No man can be my equal Take me to the future of your world Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme): I am the one, the only one I am the god of kingdom come Give me the prize Just give me the prize Queen tells you all about the storyline in their lyrics.
I loved the first Highlander movie and the TV show with Adrian Paul. In the series, the immortals could be killed temporarily; they would just later wake up, unless they lost their heads. I think here was a cheater in one of the episodes that would kill his opponents with a gun and then take their heads.
to be fair Highlander 2 wasn't the worst one, im fairly certain Highlander 5 is legally classed as a war crime and was used to torture prisoners at Guantanamo bay
I just want to point out that scene transitions like the one from the parking lot to the highlands were really new at that time. We never saw anything like this before. It was groundbreaking at the time.
They aren't "highlanders", they are "immortals" - the movie is "The Highlander" because our hero is "Connor Mcleod of the Clan Mcleod" from the Highlands of Scotland. :)
Come on guys, stop with the dumb ass comments during serious scenes. When you make comments, it helps if you pay attention to what has already happened before you open your mouths with the first inane comment that pops into your head. Do you really think it would be enjoyable to watch the ones you love grow old and die in your arms? Really, new fetish? They did not use popular music for the soundtrack. Queen wrote and performed it for the studio, so the movie and the music came out at the same time.
Fun fact Freddie Mercury was hired for one song and after reading the script he went in to his studio and 2 weeks later came out with a whole album witch is called it's a kind of magic.
The popular joke with the film series is: "There should only have been one." The first film is a lot of fun. The second film attempts to explain it all and as a result loses the concept's luster.
If a civilian kills an immortal, the power goes to literally whichever immortal is geographically closest to the death. In the series it was sometimes used as a 'oh hell, one of us just got killed by a mortal' alarm.
I don't recall that being the case. They felt it, but the quicken was lost and there was a group of humans who went around doing this on purpose, so the the immortals did not get stronger.
He'sh a schixteenth schenturary Scphanisch nobleman, canna' ye tell by his accschent laddie? (Not to mention, a future Russchian Schubmarine Commandah)
I think the best way to summarize the lore of this comes from one of the TV intro (without spoiling too much). _He is Immortal. Born in the highlands of Scotland 400 years ago. And he is not alone. There are others like him. Some good, some evil._ _For centuries, he has battled the forces of darkness, with holy ground his only refuge. He can not die, unless you take his head, and with it, his power. In the end, there can be only one..._
I watch this series when I was a kid, and from what my understanding is whenever, a immortal kills another one they gain all the knowledge and experience of the other, including combat skills, so whoever takes the most heads is more likely to be the best fighter.
On the topic of immortality/agelessness I'd like to suggest "The Man From Earth". It is kind of a slow and talkey movie, so it might not be perfect for reactions, but it is one of the best takes on immortality I've ever seen.
Second the recommendation. But explicitly _not_ for a reaction i'd say (i.e. to me a reaction to it is an actively _bad_ idea - not only is it "not perfect", it's almost exactly the opposite in that reacting to it will likely both spoil the movie for the reactors _and_ be a bad reaction). Still a film well worth watching though.
Count how many times Simone says some variation of “quickening” lol Also I understand why people love this movie, but it definitely borders on being so bad it’s good haha
Yeah i mean.... i did like Highlander has a kid but now as an adult in my eyes this movie didn't aged to well. I do remember the tv show version of it that was cool.
Clancy Brown's "I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY! IT'S BETTER TO BURN OUT, THAN TO FADE AWAY!!" Wasn't in the script. Brown blurted it out during one of the takes, because he was bored and didn't expect them to actually use it in the movie.
Yes! been so excited for you guys to watch this amazing movie with an epic soundtrack Queen (yes its very awesome that they did the whole soundtrack Simone!😊)great reaction as always guys😄. Weapon of choice a long sword! There can be only one!
George asked about their physical strength. From what I could gather from the movies and the series, the highlanders are pretty much just (immortal) normal human beings - but their "power" (vaguely including strength and fighting techniques) are gained incrementally based on their kills - they gain the total power accumulated by each opponent they kill. Not sure if that helps. You guys rock.
![โรงเรียนห้ามรัก โดนจับได้ตาย...!! [เอิร์นไดเม่]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4u02Sbr556Q/mqdefault.jpg)
What's your weapon of choice if you were an Immortal?
Abject cowardice. :D
4 Wheel Drive Wood Chipper.
Spork. If I'm immortal, whatever.
Katana for sure
Salt.. to deter the immortal snail (also known as the snail assassin), I think about that far too much.. it's a thing, look it up!
Just in case nobody told you yet. All of the Queen songs in the movie were written specifically for it. They were shown a preview screening and asked to write a song for a scene. They loved the movie so much they decided to just do the entire score and soundtrack.
And I got the tape and it was not a soundtrack album..just called A Kind of Magic. Great album/soundtrack.
They did the whole soundtrack for Flash Gordon too.
And I love it
The only song not from the movie Highlander on the album A Kind Of Magic was the song from the movie Iron Eagles. So while it technically wasn't a movie soundtrack album as not ALL songs were from one movie, it could still be considered a soundtrack album, in a sense.
All except for one ... Hammer to Fall was on the Works album that came out in 1984. That was the song playing while Matunas was driving his car before he he shot up Kurgan. Fun fact: Matunas was played by Christopher Malcolm who Star Wars fans would recognize as Rogue Two from The Empire Strikes Back.
It’s a real shame they never made a sequel to this. A real shame.
Truly a shame. Such a missed opportunity.
Very. But as you know, there can be only one
They did make a TV series though. It's a real shame no movies or other TV shows spun off of that series. A real shame.
I mean, imagine how fine it could've been, if there had been more than one.
they did. it was terrible.
Highlander, the movie where a Scotsmen plays a Spaniard (Who's actually Egyptian) with a Japanese sword, which he gives to a Scotsman who's played by a French-American
Absolutely NOT French American! Belgian from Belgium
The Japanese sword is the least weird thing, really. The man has lived for a long time and got around.
Now why he would prefer a Japanese sword over European steel... That's probably kinda weird.
As for the actors... Well, it's called acting for a reason. I agree it's weird to have a white guy play an Asian or something, but as long as they LOOK the part, I think they can play any nationality they want. And both look the part imho. It works. Egyptian is a bit of a stretch, but it doesn't look too far off.
@@ME143-c1d no one knows what he is. Wikipedia says he’s French American, other sites say he’s Swiss American. When you’ve been alive as long as he has your history can be forgotten and reconstructed.
@@brei2670 A really well-made katana _was_ kind of the king of cutting for some time, in part because of the steel folding thing. European steel made all that folding unnecessary, but the really good European longswords came a good bit after the "height" of the katanas (1100-1700 vs. 800-1200).
Overall, (ignoring that the "real reason" was the katana hype) I'd simply say that they both (Ramirez and McLeod) kept it for sentimental reasons. And it's still a really good sword, certainly good "enough".
@@PastHisPrime336 I don’t think there’s anything mysterious about it, although perhaps a little confusing. Lamberts parents were both French. he was born in the United States in New York City, because his father was a diplomat, working with the United Nations. I doubt he has US citizenship as children of ambassadors or diplomats do not get citizenship because they’re born in the country Their parent is working. He would have been eligible after he turned 18 to apply for US citizenship but only if he had spent most of his life living in the country to that point, which Lambert did not. Of course it’s possible later in life he applied for naturalization. Lambert was raised in Switzerland for
Most of his early life because his father took a diplomatic posting there. In his late teens early 20s the family moved back to Paris. Now due to his upbringing, Lambert might call himself Swiss or American French but legally I’m pretty sure he’s a French citizen unless, of course, he did apply for naturalization later in life, but he certainly did not get that citizenship from being born in the United States, I don’t know where Belgian came into it. Lol.
The scene where Kurgan confronts MacLeod before the final duel was shot on location in a real church, not a set, and the extras are the parish priests and nuns. The scene was extremely difficult for Clancy Brown, who had to say highly inappropriate and profane lines several times. After every take, he walked up to each priest and nun in the room and apologized... they thought he was adorable.
IMO it's the best scene on the movie
That's one of the great things about this film. In real life, Clancy Brown is widely regarded as just a super nice guy - the complete opposite of the Kurgan.
I read an interview with Greg Widen, who wrote the script. It was his first script that got picked up, and he expected it to be made with some B-list actors and "a styrofoam castle in Maine". Much to his surprise, it was shot in Scotland and featuring Sean Connery. Many of the Highlander fighters in the battle scene belonged to a group known as "The Clan", famous back then on the reenactment circuit to be a bit crazy. Greg Widen visited the set, and entered a pub where the extras were holed up between takes. Someone spotted him and shouted something along the lines of: "There's the guy who is responsible for us being in the cold rain and mud!" Widen felt some apprehension. The Clan raised their tankards and cheered him, as they had the time of their lives.
To many of us, this is where we first saw Clancy Brown.
And he's never been forgotten since
The best Lex Luthor, period.
Best remember his as the Kurgan, Byron Hadley, and Mr. Krabs.
The "I'm Candy." "Of course you are." and "Nuns. No sense of humor." crack me up more than they should. Clancy Brown was such a despicable yet fun villain in this.
He enjoys his immortality the way Roman emperors enjoyed their power.
@@jculver1674 It's good to be the -King- Immortal. ;-)
Objectively speaking, this film could have been better executed on almost every level, but it still stands as one of my absolute favorite movies. It's one of those rare films that punches way above it's weight class, inevitably falls short of its goals, and yet somehow you walk away inspired by it's vision rather than critical of it's shortcomings. Definitely a kind of magic.
They did an exceptional job with what they had at the time. The concept and story are great. Clancy Brown, as he always does, makes the movie. You just have to invest everything in the villain if you want a good movie.
@@MST3Killa not to mention the cracking soundtrack.
That’s really well put, exactly why the movie lasts in our memory even as its details fade.
Time Bandits falls into that category as well for me, speaking of Sean Connery.
@@walker1812 holy hell! I am right there with you and so glad you mentioned Time Bandits. An unrecognized gem; as are many Gilliam films.
I'm 50 years old in a couple of days and have seen this film so many times since the 80's. Yeah, it's not perfect but there's something about it that I still love. And the scene where Heather has grown old and Connor is still young, then speaks to Heather at her bedside when she passes away while "Who Wants To Live Forever" by Queen plays still makes me blub like a baby.
Saw this movie way back when it first came out on like HBO or something and didn't know what to make of it other than it was odd and I liked it. Re-watched it many times over the years and it's legitimately one of my favorite films ever. Personally, it has no flaws for me. It's one of those rare films with a lot of random stuff going on, yet everything kind of makes sense and it all comes together and works.
That scene stands out and it still hits me every time.
The “Who wants to live forever” scenes are just a punch in the guts. You already know about time passing for her, but it’s both a pain and nice to watch their time together, an entire life.
Every time I see that scene, it makes the ending ever more satisfying.
Some fun facts about this movie:
- The lead actor worked with a dialect coach to try to come um with the accent someone who had lived everywhere over such a long time would have. Unfortunately they filmed the "medieval" .scenes after that, when he should have a scottish accent
- The guy who plays the Kurgan, Clancy Brown? Voice of Mr Krabs in Spongebob
- They never made a sequel sadly. But that's because there can be only one
Oh they made sequels, really bad ones. If you want to enjoy this universe try Highlander the series, it's pretty good. But skip most of the first season, the second one is where it gets better.
@@LoacVideo No, they never made any sequels. None. I can't hear you lalalalala
@@donotevenbegintocare Ah yes okay, Of course they never made any. It must have been a fever dream of mine, i am quite sick at the moment. Sorry my fault :D
@@LoacVideo There's a good lad!
Sequel with Ironside as villain , on IMDb his explanation , paycheck , was what that was all about for everyone .
But its funny , they cast French to play Scott , a Scottish to play a Spanish and American to play Russian .
Of course the typical error of having Scottish to wear a garment thats from 19th century , few centuries before .
The sequels are very messy, but the series is pretty okay, it expands the lore a great deal. It follows Duncan Macleod, about 2 generations younger than Conner. It shows female immortals, how they sense each other when they are nearby. It also introduces the watchers, which are mortals that know about immortals and dont interfere just act like historians. The quickening in the show, carries with it the knowledge and skill of the immortal and all they have taken through the years. There is a good episode where one is going to be killed with a guilotine and he's begging for his life because "all he has been will be lost forever" so in a way they kind of all live on in who killed them. I dont think they are so much physically stronger but their skill level goes up and up with all the knowledge they absorb. The series also explores taking in too much evil, that killing too many "evil" immortals can drive a good one to evil. The show kind of jumps the shark after 4 of 5 seasons but the first several do a really good job of explaining and expanding the lore around the immortals.
3rd I loved, not perfect, but fun.
Centuries of training will build up some impressive muscle memory, bone density, and fitness.
Actually season 5 is the best and it drops off at season 6
Does it ever go into: What would happen if a normal person managed to behead an immortal?
@@BassBumbass yeah, all they are is lost. There are scenes where one is going to be beheaded by a mortal, h e's tied up and he's begging them not to because all he has seen and known will be lost, so in essence he would be lost to nothingness and not become one with the others knowledge and experience inside of the other immortals
Highlander is just specifically referring to the main character since he is from the Scottish Highlands, the others (and him) are just Immortals, when he died at the beginning he actually died, for an Immortal to have their immortality triggered they have to be killed.... They're supposedly making a remake with Henry Cavill
If they were to do a reboot and actually do it well, that would be great. The core idea seems so iconic, but the movies just didn't live up to it.
Cavill bowed out. Chris Hemsworth is up for the role.
@@Madbandit77 IMDB still has him listed and Hemsworth is supposedly stepped away from acting so we'll see
The Highlander was Mcleod's character specifically, they are collectively refereed to as The Immortals.
The series The Highlander basically covers any and all hypothetical questions eventually and even comes up with some new interest stuff to the lore. And the show is surprisingly good, like I recently went back to watch it a year or two ago and yeah there is a level of 90s corny but over all still holds up. It lasted 7 seasons if I remember and it really felt like the only reason they stopped was that they were supposed to be immortal but people in life actually age lol
For my money the first movie and the first series are probably the best. The series reworks the ending of the movie, he kills Clancy Brown then they just go on. It's just not the end and we carry on just living in a world with Immortals.
To explain some things, they live and age normally until they die their first time. Once they do their ageing stops. They can sense each other, sort of like Spidey-sense when they're around another Immortal. The Immortals refer to the killing of each other to be "only one" as The Game. Some play the game and some don't. Those that don't usually take of residence on holy ground so they can't be attacked. "Holy" can mean anything that is holy to any particular faith, even going so far as to say that a small island off the coast is holy to indigenous people would qualify. What happens if you do battle on holy ground? It's unknown but in the series they say that Pompeii was possibly due to two Immortals ignoring that rule.
There are women Immortals, there are super ancient Immortals and yes there are even children Immortals. Those are especially tragic. Would high recommend the series.
If I’m remembering correctly, The Game was all a misunderstanding: the first 4 immortals made a bet about which one could kill more people with their sword. It was all just a cruel “game”.
However, some immortals who had their first death by them misunderstood all of it as the rule to live by. There was never a prize to win. 🤦
I thought the TV series was a prequel, before the Gathering.
The series is indeed outstanding. Originally the idea was it was set just before The Gathering but ultimately it morphed. It is to this day the poster child for successfully taking a movie concept and just running with it and building it out.
The Series was quite good and entertaining in my opinion…I haven’t seen it since it ended in syndication after it first aired…but was a regular watcher.
I think I should revisit it soon. 👍🏻
It's Macleod you illiterate Sassanach.
Funny story. Worked at Disney and we had TVs everywhere. This came next to our desks and, of course, we dropped everything to watch it. Over the next 90 minutes practically everyone walking down the hall stopped and said, “oooh, Highlander”. Total geek fest. By the time we get to the last act of the movie, we easily have 35 people crowded into our desk area watching the movie. There was even supposed to be a meeting in the conference room next to us, but it canceled because over half the participants had stopped short of the meeting room to watch the movie.
This is one of those movies where if you were flipping channels and saw any scene of this you'd recognize it and just have to stop flipping.
@@SeanBlader Many times I've walked through my parents living room to grab a drink and spotted this movie on and just stopped dead and then when it neds realised I'm thirsty as hell
A "Highlander" is someone who lives in the highlands of Scotland. Connor McCloud is from the highlands of Scotland, so he is called 'Highlander'. As well, in olden days, foreigners usually referred to other foreigners by the region or country they were from, like in the movie Gladiator, Maximus was called the Spaniard, because he was from Spain. The immortals are just called immortals.
When I first saw this movie, I was enraptured by the whole sword-fighting, immortality, and the lore. The Highlander television series with Adrian Paul was a great follow-up, especially for expanding this universe. It followed the life of Duncan Macleod, also a Highlander and Connor MacLeod's kinsman. The film's sequels, on the other hand, are best left to the dustbin of history. Another interesting movie by the screenwriter, Gregory Widen, is The Prophecy starring Elias Koteas and Christopher Walken.
The Prophecy starring Elias Koteas and Christopher Walken. This is worth it. Even the second. Third is..."questionable".
Season 2 through 6 were good. 1 was rough since they didn't really know what to do with the lore and 7 was just setting up for The Raven which really felt lacking for some reason. I'm guessing a different writer and director that didn't have a decent vision for production.
Love the tv show. Especially Methos and Joe Dawson.
I thought the 2nd one was funny, that's about it
Paul was a martial arts guy so it was kind if a natural role for him, just adding a sword.
THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!
Screenwriter Gregory Widen got the idea for Highlander after his vacation from Scotland. He was in a museum of sorts, then looked a beautifully restored suit of armor and asked, "What if the guy who wore this suit was alive right now?" He write the first d adt in 1981 called Shadow Clan, then The Dark Knight, and finally HIGHLANDER. The script was a lot more darker and violent than the movie:
Connor McLeod was born in 1407, rather than 1518. Knowing he is immortal, he leaves his home, rather than being banished.
Ramirez was in fact a Spaniard, rather than an Egyptian. It takes Ramirez years to help train McLeod.
The Kurgan goes under the name Carl William Smith and rather than a savage warrior, he was a cold blooded killer.
Immortals do have children. McLeod attends the funeral of one of his sons.
His other sons, all in their 50's see him as an immortal.
After killing the Kurgan it's never revealed whether McLeod is still immortal or not.
I had SUCH a difficult time seeing Clancy Brown in anything else for many many years after his portrayal of the Kurgan. He is SOO formidable in this role.
Same here. He was PERFECT for the role too. Capped off by that INCREDIBLE voice of his.
@@georgeplimpton9429 I was completely shook when he appeared as a recurring character on ER. My first thought was that someone in the Cook County General HR department dropped the ball big time on that one
@@Kasino80 I never saw that show, but the next thing I saw him in was Shawshank Redemption. His voice fit THAT character too. I think the first thing I saw him in where he WASN'T the bad guy, was as a Coast Guard captain with Kevin Kostner, then in Cowyboys vs Aliens. He was great in all of them. And of course, John Wick 4!
FYI: Highlander does not refer to the immortals in this movie, it refers to members of the clans that historically inhabited the The Scottish Highlands. Therefore, only Connor MaCleod is the said Highlander in the title. All of the other immortals come from a wide range of nationalities & cultures.
Please don't watch the other movies. The series, however, is classy as f**k. Full of awesome flashbacks. Fleshes out the lore in the most respectful ways possible. Has characters that you get fully invested in.
I always loved the TV show :)
I agree 100%, don't watch the other movies, it'll just ruin the fun of the first.
What other movies? What are you talking about? There never were any sequels made! Nope, none, don't even look into it, there aren't any. Period.
Hard agree. The show is VERY low budget 90s, but it's still a really good time and gives us a few characters that I still love to this day (Joe, Duncan, Methos, and Amanda).
Agreed!
In the initial American release, in the fight in the garage, Fasil does ONE back flip off the car, and that was sorta "OK, show off boss move". But In subsequent release, when they included the back multiple flips down the length of the garage, most of us were going WTF?
This and Flash Gordon are classic '80s rock operas with original scores by Queen.
Watching this as a teen in the 80's was very different than watching it now. Realism didn't necessarily make a movie better back then and some of the more ridiculous things weren't so out of place. But some of those things, like many of the sound effects, also gave it a certain feel that made it special. Add in Clancy Brown's great performance and a Queen soundtrack and you have a cult classic. It didn't make back the production cost at the theater but became huge on VHS.
This is from the perspective of *just* this movie, not from any of the other media: During the Quickening, the immortal absorbs all the memories and knowledge of the person they defeated, so, yes, in many ways they do become "stronger". As far as making friends with other immortals, if you think about it, outliving the people you love, never having children, always having to reinvent yourself and never keeping ties, can feel like a walking death, so finally being "released" wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing (especially when no one knew what the "prize" was). To me, it was inferred that after the one who won the prize died, there was the possibility of new generations of immortals being born, meaning it all happens again. We can only hope a good guy wins and not a deranged lunatic. Can you imagine The Kurgan gaining all that knowledge and power?
IMO Kurgan is one of cinema's greatest villains. In the scene where he hijacks the car, his "Mom" always cracks me up 😅Amazing that he's also the voice of Mr Krabs
Gregory Widen, the screenwriter, said he wanted to write a story about vampires but without the trappings and weaknesses of vampires. I imagine that means they have supernatural strength that gets augmented every time you take the head of another immortal. But it never approaches like Hulk or Thor levels. It’s basically superhuman but not like godlike levels of strength.
Yeah theyre kinda like "light" captain americas.
First, they are from earlier times when people were much stronger, then add to that their "supernatural" strength and abilities like the feeling the heart of the stag and running really fast and I would say that they are on par with Wolverine. They have "old" strength augmented with the Quickening.
My parents were such huge fans of this film that they named me if the main character: Connor. Whenever I meet other fans of the film they say: "there can be only one" to me. This included a personal trainer who would say that to me to get me to do one extra rep when he was spotting me. It worked.
I believe the first death is always the one that takes the longest to recover from, which is why Connor was on his deathbed for a bit and took longer to heal.
They absorb all the experience of the ones they defeat, think of having centuries of combat knowledge and experience just flowing into you and you never age past your physical prime. So they'll seem almost superhuman at times.
Also, I've never heard of a regular person killing an immortal and getting their power as a result.
There's also an organization, only touched on in the TV show, that observes and documents the movements of the immortals.
There have been instances in the TV show of mortals chopping the heads off of immortals and not gaining any power whatsoever. And the immortal is still dead.
Great move, Simone! Cracking me up right away! "How'd they get a helicopter in here!?" ... Personally, I think it's a testament to the talent of Sean Connery that he plays an Egyptian from Spain, with a Spanish name, a Japanese sword, and a Scottish accent... and when I saw the movie originally...NO ONE CARED. THAT is the level of belief suspension he achieved. Queen was an inspired choice for the soundtrack, especially back when the movie was new. And to clarify, a "Highlander" is simply someone from the Scottish Highlands. The immortals aren't the Highlanders. But McLeod was from the highlands, and the movie is his story, hence the title. "Those With The Quickening" is apt, but awfully clumsy to say (like "Those we don't speak of" from "The Village"). Probably the best tile for them is "Immortals". You raised good questions about "What if a normal person cuts their head off?". BUT the question about getting their head cut off when they are immobilized is actually answered in the movie. Because if you think about it, some of those that DID lose their heads were, at that moment, partially helpless. So the "fairness" question isn't really a factor. kind of like in real life - it's not always fair. And yes, Clancy Brown WAS a fun, extremely bad, bad guy! Gret job, Guys! And yes, I'm already in the 40%.
In the tv show (which was set in a different continuity) there was an immortal who used fireguns to incapacitate his adversaries and then cut their heads without problems. It seems he had violated a very serious taboo, second only to not fighting on sacred ground. Even the most wicked Immortals would have "fair" duels using only swords (or other edged weapons such as axes).
That recovery time thing you talked about is tiny in reality, Conner was on his death bed as it was his "first" death, before that point he wasnt a proper immortal and would still age, after the first death does the immortality kick in
The castle at the start is called EILEAN DONAN CASTLE.
The Kurgen is right up there with Hans Gruber for movie villains we love to hate, because they're so well acted.
I remember watching and enjoying the Highlander TV series long before searching out the original movie. The series was well done and introduced other immortals who co-existed rather than fought for power. The series also dealt with several of your questions that the movie doesn't explain. A few items:
I think that immortality could be activated by a sufficiently violent death, not just by murder or combat. Active Immortals could sense their own kind nearby, even before another's first death. The Kurgan could sense Connor's latent immortality. An immortal might discover a latent immortal and try to keep a watch in case a headhunter was around. A friendly might try to protect a novice from being an easy target. In a quickening the winner absorbs the experiences of the loser and their spiritual energy. Following a quickening the winner is temporarily incapacitated, requiring a hasty retreat if another unfriendly immortal is nearby. It is possible, when defeating an especially evil opponent, to absorb so much evil that a personality change occurs. Winners tend to be stronger and better fighters, so The Game selects for the strong. Those not gifted with size and strength must be devious or clever to take a head. One villian would poison an opponent and then take the head while his target was unconscious. Battle on consecrated ground was forbidden, and some immortals spent portions of their lives in religious orders so they would not be challenged. There were women immortals too. Since they were typically smaller and not as strong they needed to be smart and cautious to survive.
Good summation! 👍
To answer the metal coffin question beyond strength: It happened basically in the series and in one of the sequels... they are trapped and might become insane.
There was also an episode where an Egyptian princess (I think?) was released from her sarcophagus. I don't remember much but I think she died at the end of the episode.
@@BrokenNoah Wait! An interesting character new to the series but dying in the end? That HARDLY EVER happened in the series ;)
Reminds me of Gemma from Ninja Scroll.
I vaguely remember a child immortal in the TV series who was normal, but inherited the quickening from an immortal who lost his head with no other immortal present.
Yes she did, Duncan killed her.
The backstory on Rachel was initially a deleted scene. Glad to see they put it in this version because it adds something to both McCloud and that supporting character.
They could have taken out some of the pointless backflipping, though...
@@poeleaboisback flipping is never pointless
Fun (?) fact: It was only a deleted scene in the US version. It was always in the European cut.
My friends and I, We were huge Highlander fans back in the day. But we would argue as to who Rachel really was to McLeod. Most popular opinion was she was a former lover. None of us guessed she was his adoptive daughter.
There's a few scenes in this I haven't seen before-the Nancy/WWII scene, Kurgan/McCleod/Brenda at the zoo, and a couple others. What cut is this that they're watching?
20:45 I'm glad you watched the version that shows how Rachel and Connor first met. I love the "Hey, it's a kind of magic" farewell line, and that scene gives it more depth. Also. I just really liked the character of Rachel, and it was nice to learn some of her back story.
I saw this movie a hundred times on basic cable (so I never saw any other cut of the film) and then when I finally saw that scene, I could not understand why you would cut it. It's not long. It doesn't mess up the pacing where it appears in the movie. It connects him to the world outside the immortals. Just a stupid, stupid scene to cut.
they used the scene in the music video. maybe thats why they deleted this from the movie.
The original VHS back in the 80s had it. Never knew there was a version that had removed it. If it was on cable, maybe it was cut for running time?
@@williammcnirlan4820 Not unless there were multiple VHS releases. What country are you from?
@@ApesAmongUs It had a Nazi in uniform. That alone would get it cut from television.
My favourite parts of these reactions is when Simone teaches George about the romance storylines 😂😂
Clancy Brown did a terrific job playing the Kurgan ! He was so intense, scary and funny at the same time ! Too Bad Brown didn't get more roles like this!
I really liked the Highlander TV series with Adrian Paul, watched it as a teenager!
The show is superior to the movie in my opinion.
it was really stupid but fun.
first season is rough but it gets good after that
@@davidjarmuth1057 Alot of shows are like that.. Buffy, Charmed, etc... I'm also the weirdo that liked the TV show The Crow.
@@XenaWarrior24 The Crow: Stairway to Heaven was better than it had any right to be - and Mark Dacascos looked way more like Brandon Lee than anyone should have been able to. Was honestly sad there wasn't more.
Through the course of 52 years, 30 of which in Michigan, I’ve never heard the Canadian term parkade.
Thanks for teaching me something new, Simone. ;-)
Sixty years here, grew up in Tacoma, WA and live in Seattle, not that far from the border. "Parkade" is a new one for me, too.
From what I understand queen were asked to do a song for the film and given an advanced screening. At the end they asked to see it again loved it so much said they'd do all the music for it.
Also Clancy brown one of my favourite villains in this. Would love a solo prequel of him.
So fun fact the very opening line of the movie when Sean Connery speaks was actually recorded while he was on the toilet in the bathroom of the studio they liked the echo that it made and kept it for the movie.
He's called a highlander because he is from the highlands of Scotland. They are not strong or have super powers, but they are immortal, unless they take their heads. If a normal human takes an immortal's head, the Quickening dissipates, or if there is an immortal nearby then they receive the Quickening.
This won an academy award for greatest movie ever made! 😅😊😂
Didn't it win three Best Picture Oscars in the same year? I think it's some kind of record. Clancy Brown definitely won for Best Antagonist that year.
I'm trying to remember where this is from...Talladega Nights?
The Highlander lore was very promising. The second movie was a complete departure from the lore developed in the first movie. The third movie basically ignored the second movie completely. The series was great and in line with the original lore and the fourth movie was a fitting end to the saga.
And the fifth movie was written by a drunk 3rd grader who read a Wikipedia article of the series and made up the rest
@Ray which is why I didn't bother seeing it... really wish I hadn't seen the second one too
So many memories of this film! It came out when I was in high school - for a teenage D&D geek it was the everything, not least because it had guys with jeans, trench coats, and swords. Totally bonkers, but also with some thoughtful and creative concepts. And of course a killer soundtrack, too. No wonder that for weeks my friends and I went around growling "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!"
And the soundtrack. Oh lord, the soundtrack!
This movie won an Academy award...for the best movie ever made.
Same. 😁🤣
With the exception of Hammer to Fall, all the other songs by Queen were written specifically for this movie. And that's how the author got a major payday (the producers bought the script offering a % on the total budget, but they though they'd make a low budget film. But then they pitched it to Connery, who said no to the part of McLeod, but was interested in playing Ramirez. So then they got Lambert, who agreed because Connery was on board, and they got Queen, and every time the budget went up).
Conner is The Highlander simply because he is from the Scottish Highlands. All the other immortals in the movie are not highlanders because they are from different parts of the world.
The series establishes that if an Immortal is decapitated and there's no other Immortal around to absorb their power than all that power and all their memories and experience are just lost forever.
Love this movie and watch it every chance I get. The Kurgan is my second favorite movie villian of all time. And then topped of with music from the best band ever. True classic.
Just remember. Never watch any of the sequels. There can be only one!
Fun fact: Clancy Brown wasn't paid a penny for this movie. He was a new young actor and agreed to do it for free when he heard he would play opposite Sean Connery.
On a meta-level the Immortals represent the differing philosophies of good vs. evil. Order vs. Chaos. Some crave only power and The Prize, while others don't care for such things beyond defending themselves and perhaps stopping the darker ones from gaining The Prize. Beyond the story and the fantastic soundtrack I really appreciate the cinematography in this movie. It really excels in the art of the transition and the setting up of a scene. Great reaction. the "Lore" is specifically vague. The movies aren't really worth it but there was a TV show that adds some to it. My best guesses to some questions...Yes, they are very strong but not super strong. They regenerate at a rapid pace. If you locked one in a box and left him he would live and probably go crazy and if never found the prize would never be claimed. Yes, there are female Immortals, they are introduced in the TV show. If a mortal killed an Immortal the power of the Quickening would be wasted.
Yeah, that question (from Simone IIRC) puzzled me - how can they be friends when "there can be only one" ? Well, they just _choose_ not to kill each other like, y'know, people who don't like killing would be inclined to do. Pretty straightforward.
In theory they could all live for many thousands of years without killing anyone.
In the surprisingly good novelisations there are a lot of extra scenes explaining much. For example the reason Conner's original girlfriend that kisses him on the way to battle is so vehement later in her desire that they burn him, is because she slept with him on the eve of the battle and fears she might be pregnant with the devils spawn and burning him will cleanse the unborn child. If you can find it its worth a read.
Oh God, I still have an original copy of that lying around (buried in a box). I wonder if it was one of those with pictures from the movie in the middle 🤔
Freddie Mercury was asked to write and record one song for the movie. But after watching the rough cut of the movie, he fell in love with the film and told the Producers, that "No, I'm going to write and record the ENTIRE soundtrack." And he did, it was later released after the movie came out titled "A Kind Of Magic."
Egyptian or not, I bet if you spent 500 years in Scotland you'd pick up the accent. Madonna became British in like 2 weeks.
I love their choice of Queen for the soundtrack. It really adds to the movie in my opinion. They did a similar thing in Ladayhawke and A Knight's Tale, where they choose modern pop music instead of the typical score.
To answer Simone’s question about a civilian taking the quickening , the tv show had an immortal take his own life with a train, and the nearest immortal received the quickening.
Yes, but the series also established that if a mortal kills an immortal, and there are no immortals around, there is no quickening, and all the power is wasted.
It's been expanded on, my interpretation of the lore as of the original movie is that you get immortals who are friends because they're still people. You live for 500 years and the only people who can relate to a lot of that are other people who've lived for 500 years. Some of them are decent. Others are all about being the last one standing. I think if you get two of the ones who develop a real trust together and they understand that either someone will get one or the other first OR if it was them they wouldn't ambush each other. They'd pick a time and a place and the one who's best with a blade wins a fair fight.
16:57 - Why does he have a Katana? The idea is that Ramirez is one of the oldest immortals at 2,437 years. He's spent a lot of those years travelling, including to Japan where he obtained the Katana.
The Kurgan is about 3,000 years old.
Regarding whether the Immortals (which is the correct term) are physically stronger: no. They have normal human strength and speed.
Sorta-kinda things they do have:
They have better stamina, which is partially due to their healing factor. The Kurgan is a big fella, and clearly very strong, but he's no stronger than, say, a weightlifter. Arguably, this is what causes him to lose the fight to MacLeod: the Kurgan relies on his strength, tending to use that big sword as a bludgeon to overwhelm his opponents. MacLeod uses a lighter, faster style. The Kurgan is physically stronger the MacLeod, but perhaps as not refined in his swordplay.
They have awareness of their environment, particularly of living things. Remember the scene with the Stag and running on the beach? The power that makes them immortal is connected to life, to nature, so (with practice) they are aware of it. This can make them seem fast, since they can kinda sense when someone is approaching or about to strike. It's not ESP or seeing the future; they're just hyper-aware of their environment.
The biggest thing they _do_ have is experience. Know the claim about how it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill? The Immortals have like 100,000 hours. It's debatable how experienced you can get; there's probably a point where there's nothing more to learn.
They don't necessarily need to practise to get that skill. Then an Immortal takes a Quickening, they are absorbing all of that other Immortal's knowledge and power. How much impact that has is not really explored, though it has been shown (in the TV series) that killing too many "evil" Immortals can turn a good Immortal to evil.
If you want to get more into the lore, ignore the animated stuff, ignore the movie sequels, and go watch the TV series. It's very... 90's... but it's watchable.
The answers to some of your questions can be found in the tv series, it is set before the movie and Connor does appear in one ep.
The series is after the movie. It treats the movie as if the Kurgan were just another immortal, and not the final opponent against Connor. It's almost an alternate universe, that became adopted as the main universe due to its popularity.
In the firs episode second season ,Joe Dawson said to Duncan MacLeod that Connor Macleod did the world a favor by killing the Kurgan. The second season of the series takes place eight years after the fight between Connor and the Kurgan.
Highlander is not what all immortals are called in the movie, it is where Conner is from; the Highlands of Scotland. You should also check out the TV series. If a regular human kills an immortal, you just have a dead immortal with no quickening. Most, of not all, the sequels would be on Cinecringe
If you like this, you might like the show that serves as a kind of a continuation of the IP. It has Conor’s cousin, who turns out to be also an Immortal. Lol
It’s just a shame they never made any more movies. Lol
Conor is actually from Duncan's grandfather's time.
@@gomikmay i think it was about 55-60 years between both of them.
"Same clan, different vintage"
I loved the series, well, most of it. I liked Duncan's sword more, which I have a replica of, as well as Connor's large broad sword. It was delivered so sharp, it poked through the plastic tip protector, as well as a bit of the box.
@@kevinsisler9379 It was a great series overall. Some episodes weren’t winners, but I think it was consistently engaging and fun. And I love how much lore it added. The Mythos and Four Horseman additions especially were executed well.
In the TV show they explained if a mortal took the head of an immortal they wouldn't gain the quickening. So they wouldn't get the power of the immortal. In the TV show they also explained the not fighting on holy ground rule. Back in the final days of Pompeei two immortals fought on holy ground triggering the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. That's why no immortal will ever fight on holy ground.
Fun fact: Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered the part of Kurgan. But he turned it down since he didn’t want to play another villain after Terminator. The director, also did music videos and knew Sting. Clancy Brown worked with Sting in The Bride of Frankenstein movie and told the director at a party to talk to Clancy because he was a nice guy, was big, and was cheap :)
If you think about it, the alliances make sense. There is a prize and they want to be sure someone worthy wins it, but, also, when you're immortal, who can you truly share that with, talk about it freely, and know they aren't going to leave you behind by growing old and dying?
This movie is rather cheesy at moments, but put a Queen soundtrack in it, and it redeems everything, just like with Flash Gordon (you need to watch that too!! Good cheese!!). Christopher Lambert barely knew english when he filmed this, and they got him to play a scotsman, whilst the real scotsman plays an egyptian!! And Clancy Brown is the real star of the show!!
One of the main movies of my teenage years. I have watched this movie so many times it is ridiculous. But then, there were fewer of this kind of movies back then. I love the role time plays in the movie with all the flashbacks. But I especially love the swordfights. I have memories of me and a friend chopping each other to pieces with homemade swords in his backyard because of this movie. It was a miracle we didn't maim each other, but we got tons of bruises. Ah, the joy of a gen X childhood. Man, I love this movie, it is in my bones.
With deep Scottish roots, this movie amazed me, especially the scenes of 17th century Scotland. It's great that it is the extended version with Rachel's backstory and how he kept her in his life all those years. They did make two more movies, but they were really lousy. The TV series wasn't too bad, but it did explain some things from the movie. The musical score by Queen really sets a tone for the entire movie. If I remember correctly, it won several awards.
Actually, they made 3. and the last was worse than the sickining.
16th century Scotland, man.
@@juanmicazalilla3421 Couldn't remember the exact dates and was too lazy to go back to confirm. LOL Thanx for pointing it out.
The Kurgan's break down sword seemed WAY cool in 1986, but there's no way it could work, even if you suspend disbelief for the concept of Immortals. The central ridge would have been far too thick and the blade would utterly bust on even a moderate contact strike or block. Far better would have been him packing his blade in a long electric bass case.
The biggest inspiration for the Highlander came from the writer on a tour in the Tower of London. Looking at the artifacts, he wondered how it would be to have lived in those time periods and then stood there in what was modern day London in the tour. Seeing everything again with very different circumstance and then wondering what life connected the points was the inspiration for the many incarnatioms and spinoffs from this film.
The second movie has several re-edits to try and make it even passably watchable, but I'm not sure any succeeded. If you watch that one, be aware. There have been those attributing specifically the second Highlander movie to helping getting the ball rolling on the entire theory that sequels are always worse.
Side note: It seems likely the death of Clancy Brown's character in the first episode of Sleepy Hollow is a massive homage to his role in the Highlander: the character was beheaded, even though he had elements of being a Ramirez-style mentor.
Highlander was my introduction to the music of Queen, and will always hold a place in my heart for that.
There's a lot of lore in the universe of Highlander that you could explore, though much of it involves some significant retcons and could be considered apocryphal.
George you guessed it. Every time a Highlander kills another one, they do in fact obsorve the others powers. It's part of the immortality thing too if I remember correctly. There was a a couple of 90's tv shows after the movies.
This movie was huge in my circle of friends. The first sequel came out when I was in college. My friends and I were all going to go see it but for some reason (can't remember now... probably a late lab or something), I couldn't go with them. When they came back from the movie, I asked how it was and one of my friends to me to never, under any circumstance, watch the sequel because it was so bad that it hurt the first movie. To this day, I've never seen any of the movie sequels in this franchise, I've only seen the original.
Good friend there.
Ok guys, this movie had a profound effect on my life. I first watched this when I was 11 or 12 and it set the course of my life for the next 20 or so years. This movie, and the subsequent franchise that follows, is why I know 5 sword forms, why I learned blacksmithing, why my home has several swords, knives, axes, and sheilds on my walls, and why I own a number of fashionable trench coats. I will try to answer some of your questions.
First, they are called Immortals, not Highlanders. Connor McCleod is called "Highlander" because he hails from the Highlands of Scotland. There are, today, in real life, millions of highlanders living all over the world, they're a lovely people who can almost speak intelligible English. They are friendly and boisterous and even more so after a few glasses of whiskey.
Second, the origins of the immortals is never really explored, except in the second movie where they are alien criminals or something, but the franchise and he fandom have collectively distanced themselves from this, even releasing a "Renegade" cut of the second movie cutting this storyline out completely. The best, in-universe, cannon explanation is: It's a Kind of Magic, because we're still plugging the Queen album almost 40 years later.
Third, yes there are female immortals. We met several in the TV show, my favorite being Amanda, the immortal thief/acrobat who was always exactly the kind of trouble we all loved getting into. I would recommend the series but it is a little dated and villian-of-the-weekish, but it eventually gets really into the meat of the lore, and if that doesn't do it for you there's usually a cool swordfight ending with a decapitation and a lightshow. There are also children immortals, dwarf/little person immortals, REALLY magic immortals, and even mentally impaired/autism spectrum/Downs syndrome immortals (like I said, it's a bit dated)
A few side notes:
Queen was originally hired to do 1 song for the movie, but after watching it they wrote the entire soundtrack, the album is "It's a Kind of Magic" and I recommend it.
Sean Connery was originally offered the lead role of Connor McCleod but he was more interested in Ramirez. So they got Christopher Lambert to play the role, at the time though, he barely spoke any English. To top it ff, Chris Lambert is terribly near sighted and cannot wear contacts. So, we have a Scottish actor playing a Spaniard who is really Egyptian and not bothering to adust his accent at all, and a French actor, who cannot speak English, trying to do a Scottish accent while blindly swinging a sword around, which is wh the accents are all over the place, it's kinda beautiful.
Sorry for being so long-winded, I love your videos.
May I recommend "Joe vs the Volcano" for a future reaction? The first Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan team up and Meg Ryan plays every single woman who matters in the movie, she's brilliant.
Queen was commissioned to do the soundtrack for this movie and really took their job seriously:
Princes of the Universe:
I am immortal
I have inside me blood of kings
I have no rival
No man can be my equal
Take me to the future of your world
Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme):
I am the one, the only one
I am the god of kingdom come
Give me the prize
Just give me the prize
Queen tells you all about the storyline in their lyrics.
I loved the first Highlander movie and the TV show with Adrian Paul.
In the series, the immortals could be killed temporarily; they would just later wake up, unless they lost their heads.
I think here was a cheater in one of the episodes that would kill his opponents with a gun and then take their heads.
Amazing, classic movie. Just never ruin it by watching the sequels (especially the second one!).
The TV series was amazing.
to be fair Highlander 2 wasn't the worst one, im fairly certain Highlander 5 is legally classed as a war crime and was used to torture prisoners at Guantanamo bay
I just want to point out that scene transitions like the one from the parking lot to the highlands were really new at that time.
We never saw anything like this before. It was groundbreaking at the time.
They aren't "highlanders", they are "immortals" - the movie is "The Highlander" because our hero is "Connor Mcleod of the Clan Mcleod" from the Highlands of Scotland. :)
there used to be thousands of immortals. and the gathering hadn't forced them to fight yet...so they made long enduring friendships
I love this movie so much. Its not perfect, but the things we love rarely are.
Wise words, cheers friend.
The transitions in this movie were pretty cool.
Come on guys, stop with the dumb ass comments during serious scenes. When you make comments, it helps if you pay attention to what has already happened before you open your mouths with the first inane comment that pops into your head. Do you really think it would be enjoyable to watch the ones you love grow old and die in your arms? Really, new fetish? They did not use popular music for the soundtrack. Queen wrote and performed it for the studio, so the movie and the music came out at the same time.
Fun fact Freddie Mercury was hired for one song and after reading the script he went in to his studio and 2 weeks later came out with a whole album witch is called it's a kind of magic.
The popular joke with the film series is: "There should only have been one."
The first film is a lot of fun. The second film attempts to explain it all and as a result loses the concept's luster.
If a civilian kills an immortal, the power goes to literally whichever immortal is geographically closest to the death. In the series it was sometimes used as a 'oh hell, one of us just got killed by a mortal' alarm.
I don't recall that being the case. They felt it, but the quicken was lost and there was a group of humans who went around doing this on purpose, so the the immortals did not get stronger.
"He's Spanish?!?"... hold a sec there's more
He'sh a schixteenth schenturary Scphanisch nobleman, canna' ye tell by his accschent laddie?
(Not to mention, a future Russchian Schubmarine Commandah)
Wonder why the opening narration by Sean Connery was so echo-ey? It was added after the movie and recorded by phone in his bathroom.
I think the best way to summarize the lore of this comes from one of the TV intro (without spoiling too much).
_He is Immortal. Born in the highlands of Scotland 400 years ago. And he is not alone. There are others like him. Some good, some evil._
_For centuries, he has battled the forces of darkness, with holy ground his only refuge. He can not die, unless you take his head, and with it, his power. In the end, there can be only one..._
I watch this series when I was a kid, and from what my understanding is whenever, a immortal kills another one they gain all the knowledge and experience of the other, including combat skills, so whoever takes the most heads is more likely to be the best fighter.
On the topic of immortality/agelessness I'd like to suggest "The Man From Earth". It is kind of a slow and talkey movie, so it might not be perfect for reactions, but it is one of the best takes on immortality I've ever seen.
Second the recommendation. But explicitly _not_ for a reaction i'd say (i.e. to me a reaction to it is an actively _bad_ idea - not only is it "not perfect", it's almost exactly the opposite in that reacting to it will likely both spoil the movie for the reactors _and_ be a bad reaction).
Still a film well worth watching though.
Count how many times Simone says some variation of “quickening” lol
Also I understand why people love this movie, but it definitely borders on being so bad it’s good haha
Yeah i mean.... i did like Highlander has a kid but now as an adult in my eyes this movie didn't aged to well. I do remember the tv show version of it that was cool.
Thank you for watching! One of my favourite films
Clancy Brown's "I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY! IT'S BETTER TO BURN OUT, THAN TO FADE AWAY!!" Wasn't in the script. Brown blurted it out during one of the takes, because he was bored and didn't expect them to actually use it in the movie.
Yes! been so excited for you guys to watch this amazing movie with an epic soundtrack Queen (yes its very awesome that they did the whole soundtrack Simone!😊)great reaction as always guys😄. Weapon of choice a long sword! There can be only one!
Strangely, when you watch this awesome film now, you get the feeling that this whole film has been re-dubbed, almost like a classic kung fu movie! :)
It almost certainly was. It's probably all ADR, because the audio from the day would be unusable due to loud cameras etc.
The theme Princes of the Universe by Queen absolutely goes hard even till this day
And let's not forget Kurgan's theme, 'Gimme the Prize'.
The TV show with Adian Paul goes way more into the lore and answers alot of questions within the first episode alone
George asked about their physical strength. From what I could gather from the movies and the series, the highlanders are pretty much just (immortal) normal human beings - but their "power" (vaguely including strength and fighting techniques) are gained incrementally based on their kills - they gain the total power accumulated by each opponent they kill. Not sure if that helps. You guys rock.