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It was the original Highlander movie that started it all. After this film became a cult hit, it would inspire many sequels to come over the years between 1991 and 2007. There was also an animated movie along with some animated shows. Meanwhile, there has been talk of the franchise getting rebooted with The Witcher and Man of Steel star Henry Cavill taking the lead role. No matter what happens with the franchise next, however, there will always be many fans who will be most fond of the original movie. For those new to the fictional fantasy world, the story flips between 1985 New York and 16 th century Scotland. We start in the former where the last remaining immortals are gathering to fight to be the last to survive but, the thing is, only decapitation can take these individuals out of the existence so your basic stabbing or shooting isn’t going to do it. The opening sequence shows us Connor in an epic Car Park sword fight before eventually killing another one of these ‘immortals’ and once dead, he also takes his energy or soul… I would conclude. Thus setting us up for what to expect from future battles. It’s easy to see why it became a cult classic because although it didn’t really receive the best box office on original release, Europe took it on and loved it while the USA caught up later once it came out on VHS, that’s the old DVD’s kids. Certain elements have dated enormously but there is perfection here with utterly phenomenal scene transitions that effortlessly move us between scenes of the distant past and 1985 New York, I actually struggle to understand how they were achieved considering the changes in tech from then to now. All right, folks. This will be our last post until Wednesday next week, as it’s not only the long Labor Day weekend here in the States but by wife and I are also celebrating our thirty-second wedding anniversary. So we’re going to take a little time to relax here in sweltering-in-a-heatwave Southern California. A certified ‘80s cult classic, the film was directed by Russell Mulcahy ( Swimming Upstream, The Real McCoy) and stars Christopher Lambert ( Mortal Combat, Fortress), Sean Connery ( James Bond), Clancy Brown ( The Shawshank Redemption, Starship Troopers) and Roxanne Hart.
The Immortal Attraction of Highlander’ is an interesting retrospective of the film and manages to assemble many of the most important people, both from in front of the camera and behind. Cast interviewees include Christopher Lambert, Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart, and Beatie Edney. In addition, there are insights from Gregory Widen the writer, Michael Kamen the music supervisor, and quite a few others, including director Russell Mulcahy. The second documentary, ‘A Kind of Magic: Music of the Immortals’, looks at the music of the movie. Though Michael Kamen is featured and presents some lovely anecdotes, film music expert Neil Brand offers some hugely important insights, not least is to highlight the work done by Kamen, who can often be overshadowed and overlooked due to the genius of Queen. In reality, the band and Kamen worked very closely to create a genuinely important film score; one that somehow is yet to be released in its entirety. ‘Capturing Immortality’ is an interview with photographer David James, and offers a glimpse into a feature of films that is often overlooked: the world of the stills photographer. It’s diverting and interesting, and manages to offer a few unique stories, but is very much a niche extra. However, I’ve been on the phone a lot in the last couple of days talking with industry sources, and we’ve got some great new Blu-ray and especially 4K catalog updates for you this afternoon. New York City; the Battle to end all Battles. The last remaining Immortals gather together to fight to the death: decapitation alone can kill them, and the victor alone can lay claim to “The Prize”. Amongst the contestants is Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), who fought his first Battle in 1536 on the highlands of Scotland, swordsman Ramirez (Sean Connery) who mentored MacLeod and taught him the ways of the Immortals, and the evil and brutal barbarian Victor Kurgan (Clancy Brown). Hope you’re all having a great week so far. I was buried in catch-up work yesterday after having a series of family visits here—our first in two years due to the pandemic—so suffice it to say that there was no news post yesterday.
Absolutely amazing. 4K picture quality is far better than any blu ray release I've seen. Some people don't like the artwork on the steelbook but I love it. I’ve also just spent most of today on the phone with industry sources, gathering information for our big preview of 4K Ultra HD catalog releases that are coming in the second half of 2021. And that’s the crux of today’s post here at The Bits, but more on that in a minute. Bookmarked this to watch on Netflix as its just appeared but think I will wait for a better version.
The information in today’s post should be considered unofficial until the studios in question make their actual announcements. But we believe it to be a reliable gauge of titles currently in the production pipeline or planning stages. And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa (1986), as recently-released on Blu-ray by our friends at The Criterion Collection. Russell Mulcahy’s music video writ large starring a Scot pretending to be a Spanish Egyptian and a Swiss Frenchman pretending to be a Scot transcends every part of its subjectively flawed DNA to become and remain an all-time classic. The steelbook itself is fantastic with some wonderful artwork from Matt Ferguson, the actual 4k presentation is brilliant and the sound, although it's not Atmos or DTS:X is still great. One of Highlander’s defining features is that it has always looked terrible. Even the Blu-ray was a muddy, murky affair. Therefore, the UHD transfer is a miracle. While in itself the presentation can be inconsistent, especially in a level of grain occasionally smoothing out, it still looks like a different, fresher film. The opening and subsequent scenes in the underground garage are sharp and full of detail in shadows. All the modern day sequences respond well to a 4K brush up, detail in faces and textures is enhanced beautifully. Effects shots have survived surprisingly well and actual sparks can be appreciated in the sword battles.
All of which is sold brilliantly by his cast, not necessarily for their acting, but for their sheer embodiment of these characters – Lambert’s permanently befuddled look (possibly due to his inability to speak English at the time) gives Nash/Connor MacLeod a real sense of weariness, of the effects of being on his own for so long, of not being able to love or be loved; Clancy Brown is having a complete blast as The Kurgan, completely unhinged but still with a keen sense of purpose and his own honesty within what he’s doing; even the smaller roles of the three women in MacLeod’s life – Beattie Edney, Roxanne Hart and especially Sheila Gish – plug directly into that sense of loss and enduring love, enabling these strange romantic undertones in amongst all the swordfights and beheadings. But it’s Connery doing what Connery so often did that lodges in the memory – steal a film with a just a handful of moments, his Ramirez here having such a devilish twinkle in his eye that his energy, his charisma and his authority just seep into all those around him.
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