Thirty-five years ago, a new phrase first entered the pop culture lexicon: “There can only be one.” It’s from Highlander, a 1986 sci-fi fantasy from director Russell Mulcahy. The film stars Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod, a Scottish warrior who discovers that he is an immortal being destined to fight throughout the centuries. Sean Connery co-stars alongside Clancy Brown and Roxanne Hart.
Although the movie, written by Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, and Larry Ferguson, celebrates its 35th anniversary on March 7, Highlander is a movie that I thought I’d never seen. That is, until I saw it again recently when it became available on Amazon Prime. I realized that I had seen it before, it had been so long that I did not remember much. However, it slowly came back and I began to formulate why the movie, and the franchise it spawned, remains a fan favorite to this day.
In a sentence? Construction of worlds. The film, created and co-written by Gregory Widen, weaves together a story and mythology that is larger than the screen can hold. We discover a world in which a continuous battle has been fought between immortal warriors throughout the centuries. They have the knowledge that one day they will join an event called Encounter where the remaining immortals will fight to the death until only one remains, and that person will receive mysterious power.
In the movie Highlander, however, only a small part of that story is seen. And even on that splinter, it still leaves a ton to the imagination.
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The movie is very much about this man, Connor MacLeod. Realizing that he is immortal, he must confront him and his purpose, followed by the Reunion in which he is shown with the villain Kurgan (Brown). The story spans centuries, but is told through flashbacks, all of which focus on MacLeod – 100% the right choice, because his story is the perfect keyhole in this larger world. Especially when, spoiler alert, he defeats Kurgan and wins the prize, which is almost infinite knowledge and ability to read thoughts, as well as his mortality.
Highlander basically follows the eventual victor of this God-level quest. But there is much more to that story than what we see, which in turn gives everything that happens in the film much more serious. We never (at least in this movie, I haven’t seen the sequels or TV series) did we find out how this all started, how many immortals there were, if they were only men, why it ended where it ended, and what MacLeod did. with the award he won. Surely a lot of that is covered in the sequels, but taking the original movie by itself, it’s a story packed with potential.
Nowhere is it better illustrated than in the fight scenes. Think about it. The film’s first action scene takes place in a dark underground parking lot. Another is in a smoky alley. The end is on a roof soaked with water. Neither of these are particularly epic locations (though the rooftop with the falling Silvercup Studios sign is getting closer). And yet this story, these immortals, with all their infinite experience and wisdom, are truly epic. We just see them in situations that are less than that.
To better illustrate, arguably the most epic fight scene occurs without the main character. It is when Kurgan fights against Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez (Connery) inside an old castle. This makes perfect sense because Ramirez is the main link to what the movie could be, but he is not. First of all, it is through him that we learn most of the mythology and crucial rules for the plot. Plus, it’s been delivered by the guy who played James Bond in this outrageous jewel and silk outfit and huge hats; it’s absolutely wild. Ramirez is everything the rest of Highlander is not and in all his scenes, all you think is “I wish this movie was about him.”
Which is exactly the beauty of Highlander. While the on-screen story is interesting, it always seems like what’s going on could be even better. It makes you want more.
Other pieces in the film follow this pattern as well. There are several Queen songs throughout, all of which feel much grander and more detailed than the movie in question. Brown’s performance early in his career as Kurgan feels pretty serendipitous, as he became such an incredible character actor in the decades after (including Burg’s portrayal in The Mandalorian). And while it surely wasn’t the first film to do so, I couldn’t help but imagine Mel Gibson drawing Highlander for inspiration for the period battles in his Oscar-winning film Braveheart.
All of which is to say, Highlander is a good movie in a great package. The main story is interesting. The camera work is insanely impressive (seriously: there are some moves in the film that almost feel beyond the capabilities of 1986 tech. Also, what the heck happened to that incredible long shot in wrestling match? It’s so out of place and wild. I’m rambling.) The music is great and the action is insanely cool. But what makes it all work is that it only scratches the surface of a world you’d love to know more about. Plant the seeds and let them grow in your imagination. And those seeds continue to grow 35 years later.
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