Highlander: Endgame
| Highlander: Endgame | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Douglas Aarniokoski |
| Written by | Characters: Gregory Widen Story: Eric Bernt Gillian Horvath William N. Panzer Screenplay: Joel Soisson |
| Produced by | Bob Weinstein Peter S. Davis Harvey Weinstein William N. Panzer Cary Granat |
| Starring | Adrian Paul Christopher Lambert Bruce Payne |
| Cinematography | Douglas Milsome |
| Edited by | Chris Blunden Rod Dean Robert A. Ferretti Tracy Granger Michael N. Knue Donald Paonessa |
| Music by | Nick Glennie-Smith Stephen Graziano |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films |
Release dates |  September 1, 2000 |
Running time | Theatrical Cut: 87 min. Producer's Cut: 101 min. Australia Cut: 88 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000 USD |
Highlander: Endgame is a fantasy film originally released on September 1, 2000. It is the fourth installment in the Highlander film series. This film was an effort to merge characters from Highlander film and characters and situations from the Highlander television series, with the movie focusing on the TV show's main star Duncan MacLeod, played by Adrian Paul. It follows the series and, to a lesser degree, the first film.
Plot
In 1555, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) returns to his former home in Glenfinnan, Scotland, to save his mother from his former friend and village priest Jacob Kell (Bruce Payne). Kell executes Connor's mother for witchcraft. Connor kills both Kell and his adopted father, Father Rainey, and sets Glenfinnan ablaze. Jacob Kell is reborn as an Immortal, and vows vengeance against Connor for Rainey's death. He spends the next four centuries killing people Connor cares about. He gathers a posse of lesser Immortals, who overpower other Immortals and allow Kell to take their heads. By 2002, Kell has 661 Immortal kills, making him one of the most powerful Immortals ever.
In 1992, Kell orchestrates the death of Connor's adopted daughter Rachel Ellenstein. Heartbroken, Connor departs for The Sanctuary, where Immortals are under surveillance by a subgroup of Watchers to prevent The Prize from being won.
A decade later, Kell and his posse of Immortals attack the Sanctuary, and Connor is believed to be beheaded along with the other Immortals there. Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), compelled by a vision, begins to investigate and nearly dies at the hands of Kell's posse. Later, he discovers Connor was spared by Kell, so as to allow the evil Immortal to make his life even more miserable. He wants to kill Duncan in order to torture Connor, and given the number of Quickenings he has received, this seems quite likely to occur. Therefore, Connor forces Duncan to kill him, thereby absorbing all of Connor's power in order to defeat Kell.
Amongst Kell's followers is Duncan's Immortal wife Kate, a woman whom he wedded in 1713 and "killed" on their wedding night in order for her to become Immortal. This has driven her into the arms of Kell, and he must earn her forgiveness, or face her as an embittered part of Kell's faction.
In the end, after Kell executes his group in a mock Last Supper, Duncan and Kell have a final battle, in which Duncan is victorious. He then goes to Glenfinnan, Scotland to bury Connor with his wife Heather. The Producers' Cut ends with the revelation that Kate is still alive.
Alternate versions
- The 87-minute theatrical version has the fastest pace and includes a line that was removed from later cuts due to negative fan response: Methos refers to the Sanctuary as Holy Ground.
- The home video release was expanded into a 101-minute Producers' Cut. With an improved sound mix and soundtrack, better color-timing and tweaked visual effects, this film was typically considered a more satisfying cut by fans. It includes the "Kate lives" ending, as well as several expanded and/or re-edited scenes.
- The DVD release also contains a rough cut of the film in cropped widescreen including production counters, with a subplot involving Connor MacLeod giving a Christmas tree to an orphanage every Christmas, an activity picked up by Duncan after Connor's death. Kate does not appear in this version of the film at its conclusion, unlike the other cut included on the DVD. A similar workprint cut had previously leaked onto the Internet.
Date change
The title card at the beginning of the film reads, "Present Day," which would suggest the year 2000 (the date of the film's release). The official Endgame website listed the date as 2000. However, this would set the "10 Years Ago" flashback in 1990, which causes continuity problems with Connor's appearance in the television series pilot (set in 1992).
The producers addressed the problem on the DVD release. On the DVD audio commentary, producer William N. Panzer noted, "We sorta like to think that the movie takes place in 2002. Connor and Duncan were together in 1992, as opposed to 1990." Also, the supplementary DVD-ROM timeline uses the 1992/2002 dates.
Theatrical trailer
The trailers for the film feature several shots showing Kell using mystical abilities (such as stopping a sword in midair with some sort of force field, cloning himself and holding an orb with Connor's screaming head inside of it). Also, Connor and Duncan are shown emerging from some sort of portal.
None of this footage made it into any released version of the film, and the footage is only seen in the trailer. No explanation for the nature of these scenes has ever been willingly released by the producers or film studio, although it has since been revealed that these shots were never intended for inclusion in any finished cut of the movie — they were shot exclusively for its trailer, instead. No mention of Kell's magical abilities exists in the online version of an early screenplay.
The trailer can be viewed here.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (September 2007) |
- During the fight Connor and Duncan have with the brigands, one of the men (Lachlan) picks up a rock as a weapon. As the MacLeods go on the defensive, Duncan says to Lachlan: "Looks like you've lost your edge, lad." This is a reference to Adam Copeland's (Lachlan) "stage" name of Edge in World Wrestling Entertainment.
- The original title was Highlander IV: The Immortals (the first drafts worked on by creator Gregory Widen). Later official titles included Highlander: The Search for Connor and Highlander: World Without End.
- There are four shots in this film from the original Highlander (1986). The first is a computer-altered and enhanced shot of Glenfinnan, which was originally the shot of Connor walking away from his village. The second is a shot of the Silvercup sign, pulled from the scene of the Kurgan taking Brenda to the building. And in the rooftop Quickening, two shots of Connor and Heather together are also taken from the original.
- Castle Stalker is seen briefly in the film during Connor's flashback scene. This building was also seen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
- Despite being an Immortal, Conner MacLeod is noticeably older in this film, due to the natural ageing of Christopher Lambert. Some have speculated that this is the reason Conner was killed in this movie.
Sources
- Scotland: The Movie Location Guide [1]
See also
External links
- Highlander: Endgame at IMDb
- Highlander: Endgame at Rotten Tomatoes
- Highlander: Endgame at Box Office Mojo
- Highlander: Endgame at AllMovie
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