Highlander: The Director's Cut
Part medieval epic, part rock video, director Russel Mulcahey's
crackpot fantasy film Highlander is presented now on DVD
from Artisan Entertainment in its originally intended form. Already
a cult classic, Highlander is improved by the restoration
of some hitherto unseen footage. The essential tone of the film
is the same, but the inclusion of these deleted scenes adds greater
scope to the production (in particular, the sequence which explains
the origin of MacLeod's secretary, Rachel).
Clancy Brown's performance as the villainous Kurgan remains one
of teh most entertaining movie villians ever - so much so, that
Christopher Lambert's comparatively stiff hero is hopelessly
upstaged. Still, whatever the faults of this gauche, often nutty
adventure, no movie has managed to capture the mythic essence
of the Scottish highlands in quite the way as this one has.
The Scottish scenes are rife with incredible imagery - the lone piper echoing over the loch at sunset, teh gritty, muddy clan war filmed in the mountains of Glencoe, and the rugged terrian of the Isle of Skye, where Ramirez trains MacLeod in the art of swordmanship. The scenes in Scotland are also helped by the presence of Sean Connery who brings his rugged charm and distiniction to the film. Refreshingly, the Highlander score also boasts genuine highland pipes (unlike Braveheart and Rob Roy, which inaccurately substituted Irish uillean pipes).
Of course, the epic grandeur of the Scottish scenes is often at odds with the incessant silliness and MTV-slickness of the New York sequences (which are sadly greater in length). But Highlander is the kind of film where intellect is best checked at the door, and the viewer encouraged to be swept along by the film's absurdities.
The print quality is grainy and this DVD is not as crisp-looking
as others I have seen. The sound mix is also poor (the dialog
is muddled-sounding, and the kitschy Queen songs overpower most
everything). However, a good commentary track by the producer
and director is included, and provides much insight into the
production's background. In all, it is great to have the original
director's cut of Highlander, one of the best guilty pleasures
ever made.
Paul Andrew MacLean
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