Highlander (1986) 20th Century Fox/Fantasy-Action-Adventure RT: 116 minutes Rated R (strong action violence, a scene of sexuality, some language) Director: Russell Mulcahy Screenplay: Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson Music: Michael Kamen (with original songs by Queen) Cinematography: Gerry Fisher Release date: March 7, 1986 (US) Cast: Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown, Sean Connery, Beattie Edney, Alan North, Sheila Gish, Jon Polito, Hugh Quarshie, Christopher Malcolm, Peter Diamond, Billy Hartman, James Cosmo, Celia Imrie, Alistair Findlay, Edward Wiley, James McKenna. Box Office: $5.9M (US)/$12.9M (World)
Rating: ****
I am proud to be one of the first people to discover Highlander. It didn’t become popular until it came out on video. I was already a fan by that point. I saw it during its one-week run at the movies and LOVED IT! I knew I would when I saw the ads for it. I didn’t care what the reviews said about it being jumbled and confusing with the frequent time shifts between 16th century Scotland and 20th century New York. I had no problem at all following it. I championed Highlander like mad, recommending it to everybody I knew. I like to believe I influenced a few folks to rent the video or watch it on cable, but I’ll never know for sure. All I know is that it’s FREAKING GREAT!
Christopher Lambert (Greystoke) plays the title character, Connor MacLeod, a young man originally from the Scottish Highlands now living in NYC. What’s so unusual about that, you ask? He was born in 1518 making him 467YO in present-day 1985. You see, MacLeod is immortal. He can’t die unless somebody cuts off his head which is a very real possibility in his situation. It’s explained in the opening titles (via voiceover by co-star Sean Connery) that immortals have been around since the dawn of time living silently among us waiting for the time of “The Gathering” when all remaining immortals will gather in a distant land to do battle with each other until only one is left- i.e. “There can be only one!” The last man standing wins a great prize.
MacLeod first learns he’s different when he survives a fatal wound sustained in a battle with a rival clan. Instead of celebrating, his loved ones accuse him of being in league with Lucifer and banish him from their village. A few years later, he’s married to a beautiful woman named Heather (Edney, In the Name of the Father) and working as a blacksmith when he meets his mentor Ramirez (Connery) for the first time. The older man, an Egyptian born circa 898 BC, teaches MacLeod all there is to know about being an immortal. Among other things, he explains when one immortal kills another; he absorbs the dead man’s energy which makes him more powerful. It’s called “The Quickening”. It basically entails the recipient being surrounded by light while all hell breaks loose around him- e.g. windows break, cars explode, etc.
In ’85, MacLeod lives in NYC under the name of Russell Nash. An antiquities dealer, he comes to the attention of police after a man is found decapitated in the parking garage of Madison Square Garden. It’s the result of a sword fight between the victim and MacLeod/Nash. With the time of The Gathering drawing nigh, immortals have begun to converge in the Big Apple. The dead guy was an immortal until he lost his head. The case also attracts the attention of police forensic scientist/metallurgy expert Brenda Wyatt (Hart, Oh, God! You Devil) who finds shards of metal from a rare sword at the scene of the crime. She wants to find out more, but MacLeod/Nash rebuffs her at every turn. He doesn’t want to re-experience the pain of watching a lover grow old and die without him. Naturally, this means they’ll fall in love by the final act.
MacLeod’s primary foe is a large fellow known as “The Kurgan” (Brown, Bad Boys), an evil psycho who will plunge the world into darkness if he wins The Gathering. He’s the same guy who dealt the non-fatal blow to MacLeod in battle in 1536. He’s been trying to kill McLeod down through the centuries. He is one crazy MF!
Highlander is that rare movie that succeeds on every level. Directed by Russell Mulcahy (Razorback), he takes a nifty sword-and-sorcery tale and transplants it to a modern-day NYC that resembles film noir reimagined as a heavy metal video. I love the contrast between the rugged wide-open spaces of medieval Scotland and the urban jungle of the 20th century with its looming buildings and dark alleys. The director also makes excellent use of dark and light. Highlander truly is a sight to behold. I don’t ordinarily go for movies that overdo it stylistically with showy cinematography and other forms of camera trickery, but this is one time where it works in the movie’s favor.
French actor Lambert manages a passable Scottish accent as McLeod, at one point calling Ramirez a “stupid haggis”. He has a dark, brooding quality that serves him well as a man alone in a world that would fear him if they knew his secret. He’s also quite handy with a sword. Connery camps it up nicely as the fancily-dressed Ramirez called a “Spanish peacock” by one character. Brown gives an incredible OTT performance as Kurgan, a menacing creep with a big scar across his neck, a gift from Ramirez when they fought in the 16th century. He gets some of the best lines like when he tells a doomed opponent “tonight you sleep in hell” before killing him. Hart is good as MacLeod’s love interest, a woman of science who takes the news of her lover’s immortality surprisingly well.
Highlander benefits from great special effects and well-mounted sword fights. Rock band Queen contributes several cool songs including “Princes of the Universe”, “A Kind of Magic” and (my favorite) “Who Wants to Live Forever”. As a Scotsman, I dug the scenes in Scotland. It has action aplenty and a sense of humor about itself. It never takes itself too seriously. It’s actually a lot of fun with its dippy dialogue, silly story and grand action scenes. It’s exciting, humorous and, at times, emotionally heartfelt. It’s absurd and brilliant at the same time. It’s totally deserving of its cult status.
TRIVIA TIDBIT: The original US theatrical cut was eight minutes shorter and did NOT include the scene explaining MacLeod’s relationship with his secretary Rachel (stage actress Gish). Why on earth did the American distributors cut it? It’s important to the story. It bothered me to no end until I saw the longer UK version in ’90.
