Admittedly, I'm a little late to the game on this movie, 39 years late. But it was in my Amazon Prime feed (and actually "free"*). So I finally got around to watching it last Friday. From the opening prelude spoken by the legendary Sean Connery (see screen capture below) and the first notes of Queen's "Princes of the Universe" song right after, I knew immediately why this is deemed a cult classic. And the certainty only continued to grow as more evidence surfaced, surprising and delighting me upon my first watching.
*I did finally succumb to paying the extra $3 a month recently to remove ads, after boycotting Amazon Prime for nearly a year when they started including the commercials. It's just that their content is pretty decent right now, and my time is worth the additional few dollars. And that's not counting the Amazon yearly fee we're paying (natch).
What is a cult classic? Well, I'm sure there is an official definition somewhere, but I view a cult classic as a less than perfect or polished film, that somehow manages to exceed expectations, offering something unique and memorable, which engenders a faithful and devoted fan following. Some elements may include a killer soundtrack, inventive and sometimes cheesy special effects, both great and not so great acting; but a entertaining story nonetheless, often touching on resonating themes. And it's the combination of these elements, pieced together to create something worth watching over and over again. Several cult classics that come to my mind are the following: Logan's Run, The Omega Man, Soylent Green, Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story, Blade Runner, Flash Gordon, etc. Some of my favorite movies, period.
Flash Gordon (1980) also has fantastic Queen soundtrack. I like many Queen songs, "Under Pressure" being my favorite, but next in line is definitely the Flash Gordon LP. And these songs written for Highlander were immediately to my liking! They're not even necessarily played to completion in the film, but there is enough to tickle my ears. And I'm now listening to a compilation on Apple Music, and they're even better than I knew, with movie quotes throughout (something I also enjoy)!
Okay, we've covered the music, but what else is going on here:
Well, the lore of Highlander (before the sequel came out) is pretty simple and only sparsely explained (see prelude above). You've got these immortal guys, who can only be killed if decapitated, they can't fight on holy ground or have children, and they like to use swords. When one of them dies, the survivor seems to absorb their electrical energy, resulting in explosions and windows breaking everywhere.
Why are they immortal? "It's a kind of magic."
The film begins at a wrestling match where everyone is cheering except for one guy, Russell Nash. Nash played by Christopher Lambert (Lord Greystoke aka Tarzan) is having flashback memories of his previous life. He's a Scottish Highlander from the 1500s, named Conner MacLeod. He leaves the arena and gets in a battle with another immortal in the parking garage. After his foe loses his head, Conner hides his sword (a katana) and quickly gets picked up by police for questioning. Conner is currently an antique dealer in NYC.
It all seems pretty low to modest budget fare in the beginning, but enhanced by the Queen music. However, when they show his past experiences in Scotland, the cinematography is simply breathtaking going well with the beautiful score music by Michael Kamen (Lethal Weapon & License to Kill).
Conner is severely injured in battle against a sort of black night character, named Victor Kruger/The Kurgan, played by Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor from Superman: The Animated Series, and the Justice League cartoons). He's taken back to his clan, and briefly dies before waking up again. Thinking his miraculous recovery is demonic, they exile him from their village. He eventually finds happiness settling down with his wife, Heather.
Sean Connery's devil-may-care character, Ramírez (another Immortal), shows up to train Conner in swordsmanship. A little more than a cameo, but not quite a co-staring role, Connery seems to really be enjoying himself. Connery is only one year from his Oscar winning performance in The Untouchables (1987), but it's cool that he can delve into all sorts of characters. He certainly adds a gravitas to the film, which compensates for Lamberts more stilted dialogue. But that juxtaposition is part of the charm, and the two have good chemistry together.
Ramírez is killed by Victor, who demolishes Conner's home and violates his wife (off screen - something she hid from her husband). After Heather dies of old age, Conner wanders the world through the centuries. We see one scene during WWII where he rescues an orphan girl, raising her as his daughter, who now serves as his middle-aged assistant in 1985. There is also a flashback to a duel in 1783.
On the case following the parking garage battle is Brenda working with the police in forensics. She also happened to (conveniently) write a novel on ancient swords, so when she discovers metal filings from Conner's blade, she's even more inquisitive.
Anyway, the prophesied Gathering is about to commence in New York, where the remaining Immortals will (be compelled) to battle it out for "The Prize". This brings Victor, now a leather clad punk/bruiser to the city to seek out Conner. Chaos ensues and there are some spectacular battles and high speed chases, as well as some groaning, but at the same time cool, one-liners. "There can be only one." "It's better to burn out than to fade away!"
Conner and Brenda get involved (warning - it's an R-rated film), there most be some magnetism that quickly draws particular women to him, but to his credit, when he's with a woman, he marries them and stays with them until death does she part.
One of the innovative things in the film is the generous use of a fish-eye lens for many sequences. It's something that probably shouldn't be done, but you just feel the passion of the creators involved, and as this was probably not under the biggest studio budget or scrutiny, they're just making something special and unique, and not a little bit "raw".
Sparks fly, things and people topple, and in the end (not surprisingly) Conner defeats Victor, becoming the victor himself. And the prize? He gets to live a mortal life and he chooses to settle down with Brenda. He also now has the ability to read people's minds and will use this "power" to help mankind.
I enjoyed it quite a bit and hope to rewatch it with my wife soon, when I know she won't fall asleep during the movie!
Now, Highlander, spawned at least 3 sequels, and I started watching Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) this morning. It is clearly not as good as the original already, despite having better production qualities, including lenses. They've put more money into it for sure, but the bizarre thing is that they've deviated from the purely fantasy aspect and gone straight into science fiction! It's now 2024 and there is an electromagnetic dome covering the earth and blotting out the sun, installed 25 years prior due to the erosion of Earth's ozone layer. Conner was instrumental in creating the device to save the human race, after losing Brenda to the intense radiation years before. Even more weird is that the immortals all come from some other planet and Conner and Ramírez knew each other before they met in Scotland 450 years ago. Although, Connery's return ("it's a kind of magic") is welcome and his tailoring scene is worth watching alone. That and a extremely funny (in a poor taste kind of way) airport safety instruction video that depicts what happens when the plane crashes. Anyway, I'm not sure I'll be able to recommend it or not, and I may not explore the other films either, but that doesn't diminish from the original.
And I've got a new soundtrack to seek out for my collection! Maybe they'll release a 40th anniversary version next year. I can only hope.
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