An immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponents, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled "Prize".An immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponents, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled "Prize".An immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponents, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled "Prize".
- Awards
- 2 nominations
Beatie Edney
- Heather
- (as Beattie Edney)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAll of Sir Sean Connery's scenes had to be filmed in a week, due to Connery's schedule. He had a bet with director Russell Mulcahy that they would not finish in seven days, but Mulcahy won the bet. Connery earned $1 million for his week's work.
- GoofsBrenda uses a metal detector to find particles of a sword in reinforced concrete. This cannot work as the signal from the metal in the reinforcement bars would swamp the signal generated by the sword particles.
- Quotes
[repeated line by Ramirez, The Kurgan and Connor MacLeod]
Connor MacLeod: There can be only one!
- Alternate versionsThe French theatrical version of "Highlander" is mainly the same version as the US theatrical. It does add the World War II flashback but it also removes the interior shot of detective Bedsoe in his car while on a stakeout. This has been issued on 2-disc and 3-disc DVD sets in France with French dialog only.
- ConnectionsEdited into Highlander III: The Sorcerer (1994)
Featured review
I haven't watched 'Highlander' since it was on TV in the eighties. I loved it as a kid and was a little apprehensive regarding how well it would stand around thirty years later. And, despite being quite surprised at how much I didn't really appreciate back then, I'm pleased to say that it's worth a watch before the inevitable remake that will doubtless come soon.
It's (mainly) set in what was 'modern day,' but now is way back in the eighties, where Christopher Lambert plays one of the few last immortals left alive. He's been around since, er, whenever Scotland was filled with bagpiping, claymore-wielding warriors (about 400 years I think he says at one point) and he's lived his long life never being able to love properly due to the obvious complications involving watching all his loved ones age naturally and die. And, if that wasn't bad enough, we - the audience - are repeatedly reminded that 'There can be only one.' That basically means that all remaining immortals must fight each other to the death (apparently you can actually kill an immortal with a well-placed decapitation) in order to win whatever prize awaits them.
I say 'mainly' set in the eighties, because there's a fair amount of screen-time dedicated to flashbacks of when Lambert was the titular 'Highlander' in his native time. There he's guided as to what he really is by one Obi-wan Kenobi mentor-like figure, played (as effortlessly as you'd expect) by Sean Connery. Here we learn about everyone's backstory and the villain who's been stalking the immortals throughout the ages. The main surprise I found while re-watching 'Highlander' after all this time is that I didn't remember so much of the film being set in the past (it's almost 50/50 between past and present. I remember Connery being in it (he was Bond, after all!), but that's about all I could recall of the flashback scenes.
I would say that there's plenty of action, watching one immortal take swing after swing of their sword at another immortal's neck. However, by today's standards, the action is probably a little tame. There's hardly much exciting camerawork or major special effects (again, by today's scale), so you get the odd swordfight every so often. It was great for the time and the sound effects used when the swords clash is really cool. Plus you have Queen's epic and totally overblown soundtrack to accompany the film (written specifically for the film, I believe).
Highlander' is all good fun, but then I'm biased as I'm viewing it through nostalgic eyes (and I'm a fan of Queen). It's definitely worth a watch, but it may seem a little dull and old-fashioned to the cinema-goers of today who expect epic battles where entire cities are destroyed by intergalactic CGI armies. Oh and in keeping with the 'There can be only one' theme, if you do decide to watch 'Highlander' - stick to the original. I tried the sequels and realised that that tagline was more true than it ever intended!
It's (mainly) set in what was 'modern day,' but now is way back in the eighties, where Christopher Lambert plays one of the few last immortals left alive. He's been around since, er, whenever Scotland was filled with bagpiping, claymore-wielding warriors (about 400 years I think he says at one point) and he's lived his long life never being able to love properly due to the obvious complications involving watching all his loved ones age naturally and die. And, if that wasn't bad enough, we - the audience - are repeatedly reminded that 'There can be only one.' That basically means that all remaining immortals must fight each other to the death (apparently you can actually kill an immortal with a well-placed decapitation) in order to win whatever prize awaits them.
I say 'mainly' set in the eighties, because there's a fair amount of screen-time dedicated to flashbacks of when Lambert was the titular 'Highlander' in his native time. There he's guided as to what he really is by one Obi-wan Kenobi mentor-like figure, played (as effortlessly as you'd expect) by Sean Connery. Here we learn about everyone's backstory and the villain who's been stalking the immortals throughout the ages. The main surprise I found while re-watching 'Highlander' after all this time is that I didn't remember so much of the film being set in the past (it's almost 50/50 between past and present. I remember Connery being in it (he was Bond, after all!), but that's about all I could recall of the flashback scenes.
I would say that there's plenty of action, watching one immortal take swing after swing of their sword at another immortal's neck. However, by today's standards, the action is probably a little tame. There's hardly much exciting camerawork or major special effects (again, by today's scale), so you get the odd swordfight every so often. It was great for the time and the sound effects used when the swords clash is really cool. Plus you have Queen's epic and totally overblown soundtrack to accompany the film (written specifically for the film, I believe).
Highlander' is all good fun, but then I'm biased as I'm viewing it through nostalgic eyes (and I'm a fan of Queen). It's definitely worth a watch, but it may seem a little dull and old-fashioned to the cinema-goers of today who expect epic battles where entire cities are destroyed by intergalactic CGI armies. Oh and in keeping with the 'There can be only one' theme, if you do decide to watch 'Highlander' - stick to the original. I tried the sequels and realised that that tagline was more true than it ever intended!
- bowmanblue
- Jul 30, 2018
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Highlander - El inmortal
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $16,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,900,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,453,021
- Mar 9, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $5,901,480
- Runtime1 hour 56 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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