On March 7, 1986, the film ‘The Immortals’ (Highlander) directed by Australian Russell Mulcahy premiered in Los Angeles. On September 1 it was released in Spain.
The Immortals is a film that, despite a lukewarm reception from critics, eventually became one of the cult productions of the decade. To characterize it, not only the famous soundtrack largely performed by Queen, but also numerous anecdotes and curiosities: here are the most interesting.
36 years have passed since the premiere of Highlander, the last immortal, one of the most iconic films of the 80s. The film, directed by Australian director Russell Mulcahy, tells the story of the brave Connor MacLeod. He alternates between a millennial past in Scotland and the present in New York, where Connor lives under the name of Russell Nash.
On March 7, 1986, the premiere of the film starring Christopher Lambert took place in Los Angeles. The film is remembered by many also (if not above all) for the soundtrack in which there are numerous Queen songs. Among the songs there is also Who Wants To Live Forever, one of the greatest hits sung by Freddie Mercury. Here are the five most interesting facts about ‘The Immortals’.
Fiasco at the box office, triumph in the following years
Although it is now a cult film and produced four more sequels, a television series, comics and books, Highlander was a real disappointment at the box office. In fact, when it was released, the film turned out to be a complete flop considering that it had cost 16 million dollars, but grossed less than 13 million.
The story, told through alternating flashbacks between ancient Scotland and contemporary New York, the bloody duels between the protagonists, the romantic scenes, the performance of Christopher Lambert and the Queen soundtrack were not, at first, appreciated by critics and the public. Then they would be appreciated, with interest, in the following years.
Lambert was not supposed to be the lead and did not know English
As often happens in the most famous movies, even for Highlander the main protagonist was not the first choice. In fact, it seems that the director of the film had thought of Mel Gibson for the role of lead actor. Just the one that, 10 years later, he would win the Oscar for starring in Braveheart, another film set in Scotland.
Mel Gibson’s refusal led Russell Mulcahy to turn to Christopher Lambert who, despite being born in New York State and being French, did not know English well. So much so that he had to follow the lessons of a native language teacher to act in the film. The result, however, was extraordinary: Lambert learned quickly and even acted without an accent at all.
Sean Connery lost a bet with the director
Among the stars of the film is also the legendary Sean Connery, who plays Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez. He is a Spanish weapons master of Egyptian origin who reveals his immortality to Connor and then trains him in the use of weapons and reveals everything to him, the secrets of the immortals. Due to the Scottish star’s busy schedule, all scenes with Ramírez were shot in a short time. For this reason, Sean Connery made a bet with Russell Mulcahy that they would never finish his work, but he lost the bet.
The script was a graduation thesis
Few people know that the script for one of the most famous films of the last 35 years was born from a degree thesis. Gregory Widen, the screenwriter for Highlander, said he thought of the film’s story while on holiday in Scotland.
While on a hike, he was visiting a museum in Edinburgh when he came across armor that made him wonder what might have happened if the owner or whoever had worn that armor in ancient times was still alive. Widen decided to write the script as a thesis (he later enrolled at the University of California) and titled it Dark Knight. A thesis that later, sold as a script for the film, earned him $200,000.
Queen’s legendary soundtrack
When it comes to Highlander, it’s hard to separate the movie from its soundtrack. In fact, Russell Mulcahy’s success is also due to his film music, which is signed by Queen. These masterpieces, however, ran the risk of never being produced, because in reality other artists such as David Bowie, Sting and Duran Duran had been contacted before the Freddie Mercury band. Also, it seems that Queen initially had to write just one song, but then they got carried away and inspired by the movie. Famous songs like Princes of the UniverseWho Wants to Live Forever y A Kind of Magic.
