Highlander is a fantasy film from 1986 and stars Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown and Roxanne Hart, Lambert plays Connor MacLeod, a Scotsman who discovers that he is immortal and that he must fight through the ages to the time of The Gathering, where those who are left will battle for the Prize, but in the end, There can be Only One.
Highlander, at least this first film is a film that simply works in almost all areas, the direction by Australian Russell Mulcahy is solid, the cast hit their marks, there's an intriguing story and some great songs by the rock band Queen, a solid package that shouldn't disappoint many.
The Transfer:
Video:
Simply put, this video transfer feels the Quickening, a new HD master was created for this release and the team responsible have done a great job, there are a few instances of grain on the print but it didn't distract from the pleasure of this new print, for years now fans of this film have had to put up with a dark and murky DVD release, this Blu-Ray blows that out of the water as scenes in the Scottish highlands bounce off the screen with strong color and vibrance, again this print is a pure delight.
Oh and if you stop the film at any point and eject the disc, you'll pick up right where you left off next time you put the disc back into your player, a nice touch.
Audio:
Presented in DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 (the 2.0 is the default track, so you'll have to change to the 5.1 via the menu), again the audio here is great and will definitely satisfy fans, the Queen songs are the highlight especially the end song "A Kind of Magic" so the sound will again satisfy.
The Extras:
The Making of Highlander: A 3 part 85 minute documentary on the making of the film, containing interviews with writers Gregory Widen and Peter Bellwood, DP Gerry Fisher and Designer Allan Cameron as well as actress Roxanne Hart, all of these people give their thoughts and memories on their side of making the film, Widen and Bellwood also talk about the response of Highlander II and Hart gives her own memories of working with Brown and Lambert, she also looks better now than she did in the movie.
A good making of that will satisfy fans.
Commentary with Director Mulcahy: Mulcahy sits alone for this track and sounds as though he woke up with a cold or at least a stuffed nose, he gives his own memories on directing the film and working with Queen on the songs, something absent from this release.
Interview with Christopher Lambert: Again, Lambert chips in using his native French to talk about his own memories of making the first Highlander, as well as the aftermath of the film's success.
Deleted Scenes: When the HD master was created a few additional scenes were found, but no production audio came with them, so they were presented with music segments, like 99.9% of all Deleted Scenes, they are best left out.
Trailer: A rarity on modern disc releases, but here is a trailer for the film, it does a good job advertising it but not one that the American audiences likely saw given how it did over there on its initial release (which is: badly)
What's missing:
Well, anything to do with Queen's contribution, no interviews with any of the surviving band members nor the music videos for "Princes of the Universe" (which DID appear on the DVD release), "A Kind of Magic" or "Who Wants to Live Forever", this is really unacceptable given how much the songs had to do with forming the identity of the film.
But then again, the band members might have charged too much for the disc makers to include them, so who knows.
Overall:
If you're a fan and have a Blu-Ray player, don't hesitate to feel the Quickening and grab this release, it's easily the best release of the film available at the moment and despite the absence of Queen, what's presented here should satisfy fans of the film
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