Directed by:
Russell MulcahyCinematography:
Gerry FisherComposer:
Michael KamenCast:
Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown, Sean Connery, Beatie Edney, Alan North, Jon Polito, Sheila Gish, Hugh Quarshie, James Cosmo, Celia Imrie (more)Plots(1)
He fought his first battle on the Scottish Highlands in 1536. He will fight his greatest battle on the streets of New York city in 1986. His name is Connor MacLeod. He is immortal. After surviving a wound that should have killed him during a clan battle in the Scottish Highlands in 1536, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) is banished from his village. Years later, he is met by Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez (Sean Connery), a swordsman who teaches MacLeod the truth about himself, he is immortal; one of a race of many who can only die when the head is cut from the body. He must fight his way through the centuries until the time of The Gathering, when the few immortals who have survived the ages will come together to fight until only one remains. In New York City the final fight is about to begin, and in the end, there can be only one. (StudioCanal UK)
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Reviews (11)
A classic mainstream adventure with a perfect cast, impressive production design and a great premise, which, however, also became a stumbling block. It’s one thing to play with ideas of immortality and jump from the 16th century to the present day with a snap of the fingers, and something else is to tell a story detached from emotions, with clumsy effects and highlights in the form of static sword fights. Lambert is excellent in one of his few major roles, the music of Queen is fantastic and Connery is downright iconic. With a more elaborate and imaginative script, a remake should be a safe bet. 3.5*
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With Christopher Lambert coming to Comic-Con in 2022, I wanted to revisit his most iconic role. The last time I watched it was as a kid, and I remember finding it pretty complex back then. The plot does start off a bit confusing, but it picks up, and the 80s vibe is charmingly naive and a joy to watch. Yes, it's very much a product of its time, but if you love films from that era, you won't be disappointed. Highlander is a legend—maybe a slightly dated one, but still legendary — with the neon-lit atmosphere of 80s New York that only that decade could deliver.
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This film has one great thing: the beautiful Scottish landscape and the mysticism of the flashbacks. The story taking place in the present is predicable and boring, and it’s not even helped by the B-movie like performances, which in this case I found incredibly annoying. To be fair, though, I’ve never liked fantasy in any form, not only in film.
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Two star actors, Queen’s music and beautiful Scottish scenery make for a dated – from today’s point of view – but still nice adventure. The datedness is caused mainly by the trashy script, which works only with hints and symbols, but doesn’t use the subject matter in depth. Highlander is very attractively made brainless entertainment for the 1980s mainstream audience.
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The band Queen playing in the background tells you everything you need to know about this movie. Highlander is the cinematic equivalent of 80s stadium rock, where monumentality is the alpha and effect is the omega. Almost all of the scenes here are subservient to that mindset and therefore for the most part make no sense, are ridiculously bloated, but impossible to take your eyes off of. Mulcahy's visual creativity here is incredible; indeed, some of the special effects and camerawork in Highlander were even patented. The cinematographer probably only took the steadycam off when he went to bed at night, yet he couldn't be allowed much in the way of freedom of movement due to the harsh close-up lighting of so many of the scenes. Mulcahy's magnum opus deceives you from the beginning with its focus and presentation of cinematic mythology, which creates the illusion of an elaborate inner world. But the second half thankfully makes clear why it was filmed in the first place – so a sleazy biker with a folding sword and a neck sewn up with safety pins can roam New York City while the hero sits in an abandoned bar with such harsh light coming through the blinds that there must have been at minimum a nuclear explosion outside. After that, the most surprising thing about the defining cult film of the 80s was how much of a showcase camp it was. With a group of people with beers in hand, you're in for a truly amazingly awful experience, which still doesn’t stop you from genuinely enjoying the film. Every, truly every scene contains some element that has you out of your seat laughing at it. Good-naturedly and enthusiastically. Everyone gets to pick their favorite. My favorite is unquestionably the one where one of the characters invites the protagonist home, tells him to tend bar for the time being, and he expertly opens a bottle of 1783 Hennessy for her. Lmao.
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