Plot: What’s it about?
For one reason or another, I just never got into the Highlander series. I know hearing so much of them, but for every franchise or series that I get into, there are about a dozen more that don’t phase me. That isn’t to say that should the time arise (as it has now) to sit and watch it, I won’t have an open mind. It’s just from what I know about it, it doesn’t seem to be my cup of tea. I don’t particularly care about ancient times or sword fights or any of that stuff.
Scotland, 16th century and we find the MacLeod clan as they battle the Fraser family. A mercenary known as “The Kurgan” (Clancy Brown) is aiding the Fraser family and allegedly kills Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lamber). Allegedly as we all know the star of the film is most likely to return for the remainder of it. Since there is immortality here, this creates an ongoing feud that brings us to modern times, which in this case, would be New York City in 1985. I shouldn’t forget that Sean Connery shows up here as Juan Ramirez who acts as something of a tutor to Connor. And we get many scenes of the two training. It becomes redundant after a while. Expect a lot of cutting back and forth in time. It is a bit more coherent here than might’ve been, but like the swordplay that’s present here, it grows tiresome after a while.
Worth noting is that this disc presents the film Director’s Cut. This adds approximately 6 minutes of new footage. Having never seen the theatrical cut, I can’t speak for the changes, but I wanted to note it just the same. Perhaps I am coming across too harsh on Highlander as it does give us mild entertainment value, but it just wore out its welcome for me long before the closing credits.
Video: How’s it look?
The 1.85:1 transfer is a nice one. I have seen better images, but there weren’t any obvious flaws that came to my mind. The 4K has a nice, polished look to it and gives the colors and background shots a nice facelift. There seemed to be a smoothness to the picture that it became clear that care went into this upgrade. Dolby Vision does well here.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The DTS HD track stays active as well. The vocals were fine and there was a good range throughout that kept us in the middle of the action. It’s certainly a busy film and the track keeps the listener engaged.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- The Immortal Attraction of Highlander – In this near hour-long documentary, we learn about various topics of this series. It’s very detailed and well worth viewing for fans of the film. It can be found on the 4K disc.
- A Kind of Magic: Music of the Immortals – focuses on the film’s score.
- Capturing Immortality – Features an interview with photographer David James
- There can only be one Kurgan – Features Clancy Brown giving an interview. The topics of stunts and performance as well as effects are discussed.
- Audio Commentary – We get a whopping 3 tracks here. One with author John Melville, one with Russell Mulcahy and one with Mulcahy, William Panzer and Peter Davis.
- Interviews – One with Christopher Lambert and one with the director. Expect some decent notes here.
- The Making of Highlander – This one goes for 2 hours and probably has more information than any fan could possibly want.
- Deleted Scenes – These have no audio but do have the film’s score.
- Theatrical Trailer
- Archival interview with Christopher Lambert – This one contains some good notes as well.
The Bottom Line
Highlander simply bored me. I didn’t care about the plot, the characters, or the endless sword fights. I understand there is an audience for this film, but it’s not me. For those interested, you get a solid 4K package with some cool packaging and nice extras. Have at it. All others should skip it. Do note that my review copy was a Best Buy exclusive in steel book packaging and with some collectible cards in the packaging, all housed in a clear slipcover. It’s neat.
