Russell Mulcahy's Highlander
Written: Mar 17 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Intriguing story, strong performances
Cons: none
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| Mike_Bracken's Full Review: Archived Movie Reviews |
Highlander: The 10th Anniversary Director’s Cut: EMI Films/ 20th Century Fox
Rating: USA: R/ UK: 15/ Germany: 16
From the dawn of time we came, moving silently down through the centuries. Living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you…until now.
And with that, so begins one of the greatest SF/fantasy movies ever made, Russell Mulcahy’s (Razorback, Resurrection) cult classic, Highlander.
Written by Gregory Widen while he was still a student in the illustrious UCLA screenwriting program, Highlander is the intriguing tale of a 16th century Scot named Conner MacLeod (Christopher Lambert: Highlander 2, Highlander 3, Greystoke). After suffering fatal wounds in clan warfare, MacLeod returns to life, causing his family and people to shun him. Cast out, he makes a home in the highlands, taking a wife and living in peace until an Egyptian named Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramirez (Sean Connery: Entrapment, The Hunt for Red October, You Only Live Twice) comes to tell him why he cannot die. MacLeod and Ramirez are immortals who live on Earth until the time of an event called the gathering. At the time of the gathering, all the immortals will meet in New York City and fight until only one remains—and the winner receives the prize…dominion over Earth and mankind. The rules are simple: you cannot die unless your head comes away from your neck, you can engage another immortal in sword combat anywhere—save for holy ground, and in the end, there can be only one.
Highlander is another film that succeeds because it’s simple. From the movie’s opening sequence (where MacLeod fights another immortal in a parking garage) until the final frame, Widen and Mulcahy wisely choose not to bother with the details about why these characters are immortal, why they must fight to the death, etc. Instead, they simply give you the premise, tell you the rules, then go on with the story. It keeps the film from bogging down with too much exposition, and makes it harder to spot any of the film’s faulty logic.
The film benefits from some fine performances all around. Lambert shines as MacLeod, a reluctant warrior who just wants to live a peaceful life during the Scotland scenes, then turning into a weary but well-trained swordsman during the time of the gathering. Connery chews the scenery as Ramirez, an eminently likeable mentor who provides much of the film’s levity. However, the real show stealer has to be Clancy Brown (Starship Troopers, Pet Sematary 2, Cast a Deadly Spell) who plays the role of the evil Kurgan—an immortal known for feeding children to starving dogs for amusement. Brown is absolutely maniacal in the role, camping it up and making it obvious that he’s having a good time.
Highlander also features a love story subplot, as MacLeod, widowed since the 1500’s, falls in love with a forensic technician played by Roxanne Hart. Surprisingly enough, the love angle seems to fit with the rest of the film, instead of seeming forced in as an afterthought the way it is in many adventure films.
Director Russell Mulcahy originally worked in the music video business, and he brings all the tricks of that trade to this film. Highlander would be one of the first action films to utilize the quick edits that were so popular in MTV videos. Equally impressive are Mulcahy’s scene transitions, which take us from the present to the past. In the film’s opening sequence, we watch as the camera rises through the roof of the parking garage, then emerges at ground level in 16th century Scotland…it’s a slick technique that adds to the artistic quality of the film.
Rock group Queen provided the film’s classic score, offering raucous songs like "Princes of the Universe" and "Give me the Prize" for the more upbeat sequences, but also showing they could handle the softer scenes with tracks like "Who Wants to Live Forever?".
The 10th anniversary director’s cut of Highlander offers some extras never before seen here in the States, including: several deleted scenes—one showing how MacLeod came to meet his secretary Rachel when she was a child, commentary from producers Peter Davis and William Panzer as well as director Mulcahy, and the whole thing is presented in its letterboxed aspect ratio. The extras alone make this the definitive version of the film to own.
Once in a great while, a film comes along that manages to transcend being a movie and become part of pop culture—captivating audiences with its statements on the human condition, its characters, its philosophy, or something totally indefinable—Highlander is one of those films. Having spawned two sequels (with a third on the way), and two television series, it’s demonstrated that it’s more than worthy of the cult film status that’s been bestowed upon it. And for that, it gets my seal of approval.
Recommended:
No
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