i want you to hit me as hard as you can
sometimes there can be a very thin line between fantasy and science fiction
but in the case of today's fantasy film that line was crossed with extreme prejudice by its sequel
since then the debate has raged is highlander a science fiction film or a fantasy well i'll
tell you what i think i think it's a shame that sequel got burned up in a horrible fire
all those years ago before it could answer the question no one asked how did the immortals
become immortal i wonder if they're aliens what a shame huh so thanks to that and my sheer
unbreakable stubborn will highlander is a fantasy movie and it's a kind of magic because you do not
argue with freddie mercury that was at play today on fantasizing about fantasy films we're crossing
the centuries with a man and a kilt as we talk the cult classic highlander there can be only one
greg wyden wrote the original script for the film while he was attending ucla and it was a far
more different story than what would eventually hit screen this version had a more sympathetic
antagonist with the kurgan for a start with him being less a wisecracking psychopath and more of
just an immortal with only the fight left to live for his dog in pursuit of conor was due to having
lost everything he cared about over time this was it this was all he had left the script had other
differences as well most notably that immortals could still have children that didn't mean they
would have immortality as their offspring that was still a luck of the draw this part of the
story was another level of sadness for those who were part of the eternal few as they too would see
their children die before them wyden's teacher told him he needed to get an agent and get the
script seen by studios he'd eventually sell it for two hundred thousand dollars of course the script
would change quite a bit before the version we'd see as is typically the case including the title
which was originally the dark knight i'm batman no not that one the film would start with a wrestling
match modern day warriors being watched by ancient ones our main character conor mcleod watches
and flashes back to his first time in battle centuries before in the highlands of scotland
what proceeds is a flashing and clashing sword fight in a car garage for connor who is now an
antique steeler fights another man known as fazel who is eventually defeated and decapitates him
upon his death electricity sparks and we see conor rise in the air while the electricity flows into
him destroying most of the garage he leaves but is captured by police as the film progresses we learn
along with conor's new love interest brenda about who and what he is i called you highlander what
did i mean there can only be one only one what connor and his kind are immortal and are part
of an eternal battle between immortals that will eventually leave one left alive as there
can be only one who will receive the prize we learn his history and that he was trained in
combat and learned about his immortality from another immortal named ramirez you cannot die
macleod accept it ramirez was killed by the same immortal who dealt the first death to conor a
massive warrior known as the kurgan no one really knows how the immortals were made or how they are
chosen to be given an eternal lifespan so long as they don't lose their head this is why so many of
them use their weapon of choice swords that and they are pretty damn cool but they cannot kill one
another or do battle on holy ground so churches are safe places eventually conor and the kurgan
have a final battle with the winner taking all and the prize that has been promised for millennia
the now gone thorn emi financed the production with a fairly low budget of 19 million dollars
for a project that would include a film legend like sean connery as well as have an epic story
line that spanned centuries as it was connery was paid a million dollars of that budget for
seven days of work very good filming would take place in scotland naturally england and new york
director russell mckay would be chosen to bring the story to life mulcahy was from australia and
had held the cult classic razorback in 1984. he was more well known for his work in music videos
having directed the first music video ever shown on mtv video killed the radio star by the bugles
he would helm a number of duranda brand videos as well including hungry like the wolf and the wild
boys this work in music video would come into play with highlander but the film taking a lot of its
style and reliance on music to help set the scene and tell the story much like happened with conan
and arnold christopher lambert was chosen to play the lead conor mcleod when he didn't really speak
english that well mckay saw a shot of him in a magazine after his star in turn in graystoke the
legend of tarzan basically he looked the part and the being able to say the dialogue would
happen along the way we've been kinsmen 20 years lambert was an interesting choice for the part
namely because the film was now called highlander and he was obviously supposed to be scottish even
though lambert was born in the u.s his family was french and he was raised in switzerland and france
the combination though worked in his favor is conor and there's even a line where a cop
asks them where he's from and his responses lots of different places the mission of dialects and
not really being able to tell where conor's from due to its travels over the centuries
adds another level to the part the irony though at least to me is that the film managed to snag
one of the biggest scottish movie stars of all time in sean connery and they cast him as an
ancient egyptian by way of spain in a movie called highlander connery came about after
a number of hollywood legends had been banded about for the role of mcleod's immortal teacher
names like clone eastwood michael kane peter o'toole and even gene hackman were on the list
but connery was actually perfect for the part and brought to it a swashbuckler style and fun
that i don't think anyone else could have done the chemistry between him and lambert was also
fantastic with the two actors getting along so well they would call each other by their
characters names on set continuing the mentor and student relationship but no fantasy film would be
complete without a fantastic villain enter clancy brown as the kurgan in the film the character is
pure menace with brown's deep voice adding an extra edge to the role you will always be
weaker than i while brown originally wanted the character to be more like the cold and
calculating killer of the original script this version eventually became a leather-clad rock
and roller who obviously relished the fight the kurgan is a down and dirty punk i'm still
eeked out by how dirty his feet are in the hotel scene while he puts his sword together
what the hell is up with that it's a fantastic role and clancy brown owns it
the sword fights of course are what a lot of people remember from highlander as well as the
swords in the film ramirez has a katana sword that eventually winds up with conor it's a beautiful
design with an equally beautiful story behind it that it was a dowry for his marriage to the
princess shakiko after her death in 593 bc ramirez never married again and he tries to talk conor out
of his marriage to heather the woman who he loved after his discovery of being immortal
he'd rather spare him the pain of the loss but conor stays with her until she passes away
older and gray while he remains the same age christopher lambert would train with
legendary fencing and fighting instructor bob anderson for four hours a day to prepare
anderson would be the sword-fighting devil for darth vader and would also be the instructor for
the princess bride the pirates of the caribbean films lord of the rings and numerous others the
film did have its own issues though while shooting and it would seem a lot of this was
due to producers trying as much as they could to cut costs part of this would be the reason
why conor's shooting schedule was so brief he'd actually have to record the voiceover introduction
for the film in a spanish villa's bathroom due to timing it works though and the added reverb
of the bathroom walls is why it has an echo effect no one has ever known we were among you
until now at one point a decision had been made not to feed the extras breakfast prior to the
first day of shooting in scotland this created some problems of course with sean connery a man
not known for the most even-headedness while filming see league of extraordinary gentlemen
actually coming in to talk sense to them and getting them to relent and feed the crew and
i'm at your service the music for the film is what many remember with queen being the reason for that
but composer michael caiman was in charge of the film's score cayman had worked on various genre
classics prior to highlander including life force brazil and pink floyd's the wall queen
though brought to the film music that would become as lasting as the immortals themselves
they were only supposed to do one song for the project but the band loved the film so much they
wound up doing more while there was no soundtrack per se music from the film would be on the kind of
magic album dialogue from the scene it would be part of would be included with gimme the prize
kurgan's theme brian may would write who wants to live forever while riding in a cab after watching
the film princess of the universe would be used as a theme song for highlander the series while
all the music is superb who wants to live forever really hits home in the hearts of viewers and fans
especially during the tragic scene it plays over as conor puts heather to rest after she dies
it captures the essence that is at the core of the story which is
is mortality a gift or curse who would want to live forever with the cost it
carries
you may not realize it but highlander is probably one of the most prolific franchises of the fantasy
genre while the original film was not a massive success upon an initial release
making back close to 13 million of its 19 million budget it quickly became a cult phenomenon on home
video since then the series has spawned in total and yes i guess i'll include the second one here
five feature films one animated feature film two live-action tv series and a cartoon series
there are two video games one based off the film and released the same year and another
released in 1995 for the atari jaguar that was supposed to be the first in a series of games
called highlander the last of the mcleods which is tied into the animated series there have been
numerous books and comics as well the tv series starring adrian paul is arguably more popular than
the original feature film the series ran for six years with lambert appearing in the first episode
it followed duncan mcleod an adopted son of the same clan as conor it would turn out thanks to
the film franchises in the series that conor wasn't actually the last of the immortals
let's talk about that whole second movie now because it needs to be said
highlander 2 is something most people do not like this included the cast who are making
it like sean connery and michael ironside who freely admitted they hated making it and it was
all for a paycheck you called me the production ran into issues while filming in argentina due
to the country going through a lot of turmoil in 1991 explaining away the magic and mystery
of who the immortals were just really ruined the mythology almost immediately the producers
of the second film appear to say that the reason they did it was because fans kept asking about it
instead of simply letting it be a mystery we got highlander to the quickening and sean connery
coming back to life simply to be killed by a giant fan is this irony while the bagpipes play
after that it seems like the franchise spent the rest of its time trying to fix and forget what
happened with highlander 2. the renegade cut doesn't help the third film the sorcerer that
came out in 94 basically says that conor never was the last immortal and does a reset then in
2000 highlander in-game really changed things up no spoilers if you haven't seen it there are plans
being tossed around hollywood right now for a remake of the original because of course there is
but i'd actually be okay with that the first film still holds up but a fresh take on the story and
reboot wouldn't be unwelcome and actually as of this recording henry cavill was just announced
to be up for the lead role of conor mcleod in the remake which has also snagged the director of john
wick chad stalisky to direct the film highlander is a really fantastic fantasy film it combines
the historical the modern and the mystical like all good mythology and fantasy there's a message
within the film which is really that life is a gift even if it is brief forever isn't what you
think it is when you have to say goodbye to those you love and in the end the prize is actually the
limited time we are given and what we do with it while we're here thank you for watching our
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