Highlander is a film and television franchise that began with a 1986 fantasymovie starring Christopher Lambert, who plays Connor MacLeod, the Highlander. Born in Glenfinnan, in the Scottish Highlands in the 16th century, MacLeod is one of a number of Immortals. Over the years, there have been five Highlander movies, two television series, an animated series, an animated movie, an animated flash-movie series, ten original novels, seventeen comic book issues, and various licensed merchandise.
Inspiration
The Immortals were first introduced in Highlander in 1986. They were created by Script Writer Gregory Widen who, according to Bill Panzer, producer of the Highlander franchise, "was a student at film school, and he wrote this as his writing class project. (...) He was apparently travelling through Scotland on his summer vacation and he was standing in front of a suit of armor, and he wondered, 'What would it be like if that guy was alive today?' And that's where everything fell into place - the idea that there are Immortals and they were in conflict with each other, leading secret lives that the rest of us are unaware of.
From the dawn of time we came, moving silently down through the centuries. Living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you.....until now.
Highlander
The first of what became a series of films, Highlander, directed by Russell Mulcahy, was released on March 7, 1986 with the tagline, "There Can Be Only One." The film features a number of flashback scenes establishing Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod's early history, and builds up to his final destiny amongst the last of the mysterious Immortals. Through a mentor and fellow Immortal — Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez played by Sean Connery — he learns of the existence of other Immortals, who occur spontaneously throughout history. An Immortal can die only after being beheaded, and Immortals battle one another in ritual single combat to the death, until the "Gathering," when the few remaining Immortals will fight until only one remains to take "The Prize." The Gathering occurs in modern-day (1985) New York City, and sees the Highlander, who has fallen in love again despite trying to cut himself off from humanity, narrowly defeat his powerful and evil enemy, The Kurgan, whom he has encountered repeatedly over the previous centuries, and who has slain Ramírez and many others.
Gregory Widen wrote the script to Highlander, then titled "Shadow Clan", as a class assignment while he was attending the workshop of Richard Walter, chairman of the screenwriting department at University of California, Los Angeles.Upon initial U.S. release, it was not well-received, but it gained wide and persistent popularity in Europe and on other markets, as well as on home video. It has since obtained status as a cult classic. It is considered the best film in the franchise.
The role of Connor MacLeod was allegedly offered to and turned down by Mickey Rourke. According to Roxanne Hart, Brooke Adams was the original choice for Brenda Wyatt. Clancy Brown nearly turned down the role of The Kurgan because he thought that the prosthetics required later on in the film would cause him health problems(He is allergic to make-up)[4]
The original orchestral score was composed by Michael Kamen, but the soundtrack includes several songs by Queen, like "Princes of the Universe," which was also used in the Highlander television series title sequence. Queen wrote many of the songs specifically to match the mood of the scenes when the songs were played, notably Brian May's "Who Wants to Live Forever", concerning the doomed love of Connor and his wife Heather.
Box office wise, the movie only took in $2,453,021 in its opening weekend and ended up grossing $5,735,847. However, the movie was a larger financial hit internationally taking in $12,885,193. the first film is held by both critics and fans as the best movie in the franchise and has since gain the status of being a cult classic.
Highlander II: The Quickening
Highlander II: The Quickening, directed by Russell Mulcahy, was released on November 1, 1991. The film mainly takes place in 2024, with flashbacks to events in 1999, and also a very distant past on the planet Zeist. MacLeod designs an energy shield to protect the Earth after its ozone layer began to disintegrate, but the Shield's heavy red clouds and blocking of natural sunlight have plunged mankind into despair. The Shield has also fallen under the control of the Shield Corporation, which taxes heavily for its services in the pursuit of profit. Meanwhile, MacLeod has physically aged into a frail old man — his mortality part of winning the Prize – and expects that he will eventually die of natural causes. After he kills one of the Immortals from Zeist sent to kill him, he becomes young and Immortal again, much to his dismay. He then joins with Louise Marcus (Virginia Madsen), who had led a group of terrorists who try to dismantle the Shield.
This film offers an alternative origin for the Immortals, who are depicted as aliens exiled to Earth from Zeist. In direct contradiction to the original film, Ramírez and MacLeod were friends before their exile from Zeist. In the original, they first met in Scotland in 1541, with no mention of Zeist whatsoever. This was a primary reason the movie immediately met with harsh criticism from critics and audiences alike.[1]
Russell Mulcahy was disappointed with the movie as originally released, and later made his own "Renegade Version" director's cut with a proper sequencing of various scenes, and the filmmakers' explanation for why the movie turned out as it originally did. Filming had ended late and over-budget, and much of it was done in Argentina, which at the time was experiencing hyperinflation. The insurance company decided to take "creative control" from Mulcahy so that the resulting movie would see maximized revenue.[2] One of Mulcahy's most dynamic alterations was the relabeling of the Zeist footage as a flashback to an ancient, technologically-advanced civilization on Earth, much more in line with the later continuity of the first film and the later TV series.[3] In 2004, a Special Edition was released, featuring several distinct alterations, including new computer-generated visual effects throughout the film.
Highlander: The Final Dimension
Highlander III: The Final Dimension (alternatively titled Highlander III: The Sorcerer) was first released on November 25, 1994.
The third movie contradicts both the second film and the television series, acting as a stand-alone sequel to the original movie.[4] MacLeod battles a warrior who missed the original Gathering, because he was buried deep in a Japanese cave that is holy ground, isolating him from the supposedly final contest of the first film. Kane (played by Mario Van Peebles) is a master of the "power of illusion," which allows him to create false imagery to deceive his enemies. Connor, who has lived with his adopted son John for years with the belief that he is the final Immortal, must return to New York and finish the job he started back in 1985. Along the way, he finds a new love, Dr. Alex Johnson (Deborah Unger).
The film was received well by critics and fans alike. Some saying that it was copying the first movie.
Highlander: Endgame
Highlander: Endgame, first released on September 1, 2000, was an attempt to merge characters from both the original film and from the Highlander TV series.[5] The story follows Duncan MacLeod as he confronts Jacob Kell, a renegade Immortal who has assembled a group of fellow warriors, as well as an impressive body-count. Kell, who holds a centuries-old grudge against the elder Connor MacLeod, has taken the lives of Connor's dearest loved ones, and does not follow the traditions of single combat. Connor has spent a decade trying to escape the Game in a hidden Watcher fortress known as the Sanctuary, but he and Duncan are forced to confront this new threat that neither one of them alone can succeed against. As the two MacLeods will not break the single-combat tradition, Connor convinces Duncan to kill him, thus gaining the power that he needs to defeat Kell.
The movie was meant to act as a bridge between the Highlander television series and the spin-off series Highlander:The Raven that was continuing on TV back in 1999. But these plans started to go awry when "Raven" was cancelled due to low ratings and the change in syndication as well as production delays started occuring due to cast availability problems. Dimension Films, which took on the project as a way of invigorating the franchise, realized that its plans for the film were not going to meet expectations and scaled back on its release.
Filming began in October 22 1999 and ended in March 7 2000. Much of the bulk of filming happened in Romania which was opposed by the producers.
Critical reaction to Highlander: Endgame has been mixed to negative. It holds a 12% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 52 reviews, higher than Highlander II and Highlander III, both of which hold 0% ratings[8], and a score of 21 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 37 reviews[9].
The film was not a financial success, managing to garner only $15m of its $25m budget. The film opened at #3, grossing $5,067,331 in the opening weekend. It went on to gross $12,811,858 domestically and gather $3,031,750 from foreign markets for a worldwide total of $15,843,608.[16]
However it was a commercial hit when it was released on DVD. The producers released the directors cut version of the film, which was far better than the theatrical in that new and edited footage was added along with better special effects and audio tracks.
Highlander: The Source
Highlander: The Source is the fifth installment of the Highlander film series, which premiered on the Sci Fi Channel on September 15, 2007.[6] The film follows Duncan MacLeod and a group of fellow Immortals seeking the source of immortality.[7] The film retcons the meaning of the Game and the phrase, "There can be only one."
Plans to continue the films with The Source being the first of a trilogy have since been abandoned, as Peter Davis has recently sold rights for a remake of the original film to Summit Entertainment. This company announced on May 20, 2008 that they are planning to make a new version of the 1986 cult classic movie "Highlander." Writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, who both worked on the "Iron Man" film will be writing the script. Peter Davis will produce the new film.[6]
The movie was originally going to be set in Africa (filming in Uganda, Tanzania & Morocco) with Duncan, Methos and an African Immortal character who are searching for the source of Immortality and possibly the very first Immortal only known as "the old one". An evil Immortal (also an African) named Kalenge and his two minions are searching for the source hoping to kill the old one and become strong enough to be the one. The script features a triple quickening scene towards the final showdown.
Critical reaction to Highlander: The Source has been universally negative. The Sci-Fi Movie Page gave The Source one and a half stars out of five, saying: " Just when you think that this is a franchise that can’t sink any lower, along comes Highlander: The Source. ... One gets the impression that The Source was filmed with theatrical distribution in mind but that no sane cinema distributor would touch it with a ten-foot barge pole. Good for them. Instead it went straight to the SciFi Channel and now the DVD shelves where you should let it stay, collecting dust."[18]
Recently, Fans and Adrian Paul and Peter Wingfield have both said that the film is now not considered canon to the series. Peter originally turned down reprising his role because he hated the script. The movie is said to have been the one that effectivly killed the franchise.
On May 20, 2008, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Summit Entertainment is planning a remake of the original 1986 Highlander film. Writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, who both worked on the Iron Man film will be writing the script. Peter Davis will produce the new film. Kevin McKidd is in talks to portray the title character of Connor MacLeod.[8]
Canadian actor Kevin Durand is said to be considered for the role of the Kurgan.
Spin-offs
The various spin-offs are typically divided into two categories: one that follows the timeline started by the 1992 television series, and those that function as stand-alone spin-offs of the overall franchise.
Highlander: The Raven was a series that took one of the characters in the previous live-action series, Amanda (Elizabeth Gracen), as its central character. She was accompanied by former police officer Nick Wolfe (Paul Johansson). The first episode was aired on November 7, 1998. The series lasted from 1998-1999. it was cancelled after the marketing of syndicated shows was changing in the late 1990's.
A 2001 animated flash series, The Methos Chronicles, was an Internet Flash-series based on Methos (voiced by Peter Wingfield), a character drawn from the television show. This short-lived series lasted only one ten-episode season. There were plans to develop a live action version of the animated flash with Wingfield willing to participate. But the proposed series never happened.
In 2008, Reunion, a reunion special was filmed starring Peter Wingfield, Elizabeth Gracen, and Jim Byrnes reprising their roles. The 17 minute special was a low budget project that takes place 10 years after the series (or between the fourth and fifth movies). Filming took place at Wingfield's beach home with the actors volunteering in their roles. The plot involved the characters discussing Methos' plans to get married and settle down with a mortal woman and her son.
Big Finish Productions have the licence to produce Highlander audio dramas. The format (like many of their other ranges) is one actor reading the script with another playing one other important part. The first four audios star Adrian Paul as Duncan MacLeod and were released monthly from June 2009. The stories themselves are set after Highlander: Endgame. This first 'season' of four releases comprised:
To newcomers, the most confusing aspects of the franchise are the inconsistencies and paradoxes between the television series and the films. To explain the paradoxes presented, the entire Highlander franchise may be seen as completely separate storylines, occurring in alternate continuities. The common thread between the realities is the succession from the first film (except the one with Highlander: The Search for Vengeance):
The continuity of the original film and Highlander II, in which Connor spends his mortal life dedicated to solving the environmental problems of the Earth, until his immortality returns with the arrival of his old rival General Katana and his henchmen. (Connor MacLeod Mythology)
The continuity of the first Highlander and Highlander III, which establishes that a group of Immortals — trapped in a cave centuries prior to The Gathering — escape after MacLeod's fight with the Kurgan, and the battle for The Prize resumes. (Connor MacLeod Mythology II)
The continuity with a retconned Highlander, in which Connor does not win the prize, and survives the Great Catastophe as seen in Highlander: The Animated Series, only to be killed by the show's main villain, Kortan. The Animated Series follows the adventures of Quentin MacLeod, who was prophesized to defeat Kortan following Connor MacLeod's defeat. (Quentin MacLeod Mythology)
The continuity of the stand-alone anime feature, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, which doesn't any previous Highlander story, and doesn't follow the original film in any way.
The continuity with a retconned Highlander, in which Connor does not win the prize, and the story is followed up through the eyes of Duncan MacLeod, Connor's distant "cousin". In this continuity are included "Highlander", Highlander Television Series", "Highlander III", Highlander TV Spin-off The Raven, Highlander Endgame, Highlander The Source, and various media that range from books to comics. (Duncan MacLeod Mythology)
In the final (and most prominent) continuity, Connor's battle with the Kurgan (as alluded to in the season 2 episode "The Watchers", is simply viewed as the beginning of the Gathering, and not a final fight for "The Prize." The second film, as well as the stand-alone animated spin-offs, are not considered part of the TV series canon, and some debate exists as to the third film's inclusion — however, it was recently referenced in the ongoing Highlander comic book series, itself part of the TV universe. The comic series' canonicity status remains unclear, although writer/producer David Abramowitz is the series' chief creative consultant.[14]
