Highlander was actually filmed in Scotland. The Macleod castle is Eilean Donan Castle in the west Highlands (rather appropriate). This might be why the Scotland scenes look beautiful! While they did film some scenes in New York City, most of the modern day scenes were filmed in London.
"Who in the holy Skeletor is he?" Best reaction to the Kurgan EVER. Christopher Lambert has an odd accent. Born in New York City, lived in France for most of his childhood, then moved to Switzerland. He wasn't actually fluent in English when he took this role, but worked with a dialect coach to not only learn English, but develop a layered, non-specific accent, to lend the idea that, as he says, he's from "lots of different places." Connor has moved about enough and picked up enough accents and languages that it's formed a unique milieu. I always thought Connor's girlfriend turned on him so quickly either out of fear of being guilty by association or suspected of being the "witch" who put the Devil in him, unless she jumps straight to the head of the "BURN HIM!" line. That, or she feared he'd corrupted her somehow, and needed to die for her to be "cleansed." There was a deleted scene with Kastagir and Connor going out and having a party, and messing with one of the cops that was investigating MacLeod. Sadly, all the deleted scenes were lost in a fire, and only survive in a few production stills. An entire character, Yung Dol Kim, was cut. He fought the Kurgan, then chose to die because he was just sick and tired of Immortality and the Game, and the Kurgan cannot comprehend why he would do that. The Kurgan is a great villain, just chaotically unhinged evil, knows he's Immortal and has the worst kind of fun with it. In the Series, the Quickening is specifically one Immortal killing another, and gaining all that Immortal's knowledge and power. The film leaves it a bit more ambiguous, but a recent SF Debris review of the film points out, when Ramirez is teaching Connor about it, it's the ability to connect with other life -- the stag, in that specific case. At the end, Connor says "The Quickening overpowers me! I know! I know everything! I AM everything!" The Prize, therefore, is heightening the Quickening to the point where he can connect with anyone and everyone at will, as he says, know what people all over the world are thinking, help them understand each other, help them understand themselves. So it is a setup, but not for what you thought it was setting up.
Highlander's my favourite film of all time, so every now and again I look to see if people have done reactions to it. This is one of the best ones. Laughed out loud so many times at the things yous came out with. Definitely agree that it's a great concept and "lore" that's executed quite poorly. As much as it's my fave, it's ridiculous - it really was the "what it could be" that captured my imagination decades ago.
They wanted Christopher Lambert's accent to be weird. The idea was for it to show how old he was and all the places he'd been. It doesn't explain why he sounds like that in the very beginning, but hey...
Part of The Kurgan's behavior can be attributed to his age. He was bored. 🤣 He was almost 3,000 year old. He's been everywhere and done everything. He probably killed thousands of people, laid with thousands of women, survived thousands of "deaths". It would be more strange for a person to act "normal" after all that, than for them to be weird. 🤪
The actor who plays the kurgan is the voice of mr.krabs from sponge Bob thr quicking allows you to sense other immortals to prepare for battle ,you got it right that the more immortals a immortals kills the stronger they become i.e. the fastet they heal from fatal wounds ect.
The swords sound weird because they weren't actually using metal swords during fights but plastic ones. Crhistopher Lambert suffers severe myopia (even at that time) and couldn't use contact lenses so fights had to be done with plastic ones to avoid him hurting or getting hurt and sound effects were added in post production. He sees barely nothing without glasses.
i'm a big fan of this franchise and trust me; the cheese is one of the big reasons. Every fan has a laugh with the cheese. It's what makes it entertaining on top of the love story and action.
A lot of 80's movies are weird on a good way out of my sight and Highlander is a great example for this, so I'm glad both of you liked it. Maybe you will give Braveheart a second chance in future, I mean a lot of Patreaons seemed to like this movie too when the result of the votes has a draw with Highlander, right?
This was around the time when MTV video directors were getting jobs to film movies. Russell Mulcahy was one of those directors, along with Tony Scott, who directed Top Gun. The style screams 1980s rock videos. It’s definitely an interesting movie to watch in terms of cinematography and camera placement. It’s a lot of fun. PS - Christopher Lambert is a New York born French actor, hence the accent. He’s legally blind and couldn’t wear contacts, so the sword fighting scenes had to be choreographed. He couldn’t see a thing.
Oooh some great information! That definitely makes sense to why we felt the fight scenes seemed a bit clunky and rehearsed- thought it was just the style.
Americans only know 3 things about Scotland: Bagpipes, kilts, and haggis. It would be silly to insult someone by calling him a kilt or a bagpipe. That just leaves haggis.
The quickening is just when the power gets transferred after you behead another immortal. But it doesn’t last. It only becomes magical when he’s the last one. And he explains then he can hear people’s thoughts all over the world. He can grow old and have children. That’s the prize.
This is my favorite movie, and that's based on having seen a few thousand movies over nearly 70 years. I've seen this about 25 times. The first time was accidental on TV in a hotel room while traveling on business in the 80s. At that time, the movie was unknown and it took about 4 or 5 years to develop a cult following. The movie sequels, certainly not planned when this made, are deplorable. The TV series (1992 - 1998) is quite good. This is based on the end of term project of an undergraduate film student at UCLA named Gregory Widen. A group of low budget movie producers, who normally looked through student scripts for anything good, bought it from him. Today Widen is a prominent screenwriter and director. He says that the largest difference between his script and the movie is the Kurgen. He says that in his original script, the Kurgen was just a very depressed person for whom the competition for the prize was a reason to get up in the morning. On the set, Clancy Brown, who played the Kurgen, used to complain to Widen about the farcical Kurgen scenes and Widen would tell him, "Hey, man, I'm just the author." Christopher Lambert, who plays McLeod, was a French actor who had a lot of trouble with English in general at this time, much less accents in English, but, in a way, that's at least partially okay since McLeod would have lived in, as he put it, "lots of different places." I'll accept your appraisal of his Scottish accent. I've never once seen Scottish people react to, review, or discuss this movie before. Real Scots are probably the only people who would notice deficiencies in the accents. Thanks for reacting to it. Good luck with your channel.
Lorna really enjoyed it and has been talking and quoting bits from the movie for the last few days not sure if it's going to be one of our favourites but I think she has joined the cult The accents were awful but we are okay with that! It's a tough one for a lot of actors and it doesn't help that Scotland there are so many different dialects.
In the TV series, they pinned down the vague meaning of "the quickening" to something specific - the event right after the death of one combatant in which the other gets his power.
HAHAHA!!! OK this reaction earned my subscription because you are both great!! Let me explain a few things. Most Americans can't identify a foreign accent at all, so if it sounds vaguely "Scottish" it's good enough for us. I HAVE actually had to explain to some American friends why his name is "Mack Cloud: but his sword says "Mc Lee-owed." When you said that I nearly pissed myself laughing!!! Kurgen (aka Skeletor) is also known for doing the voice of Mt Hrabs in Spongebob, Lex Luthor in the Justice League cartoon series, he is the drill instructor in Starship troopers, the guard in Shawshank Redemption, and a HOST of others. I also used to deliver his family's newspapers back in Urbans, Ohio. The entire movie is very 80s.....very dated....and VERY cheesy even when it first came out. Still LOVE it!! Now, however, I will never be able to watch without hearing "He-man-der" shouting I HAVE THE POWER during every quickening!!! And.....stabbing is highly...."erotic?"
Hahaha thank you for the lovely comment! I (Colin) am glad we made you laugh and you enjoyed the content ☺️. Ahhh yes! Turns out I actually know that actor more than I thought! Thanks again!
The ability to know that Brenda had the revolver and the tape recorder are another aspect of the quickening, a hyper-awareness of his surroundings, at least in Connor's case. Perhaps not all the time, but it's there.
This was a great reaction, including the jokes about the movie. The explanation girl Christopher Lambert's accent is they decided he would've lived all over and needed a unique accent that was a mix of others. Also, the fight choreography was decent here but really improved by Highlander: The Series.
Connor's sword actually is a katana. the dragon head was screwed on and it broke off constantly. Sword Master Bob Anderson did a lot of Ramirez's sword fighting. He also played Darth Vader in the fight scenes in the Star Wars films. Anderson also did the distance shots on the cliffs
@@weebitreacts Until recently it was going to be Henry Cavill but he had to exit because he's producing and starring in a new Warhammer movie. Maybe Richard Madden or Tom Blyth would be good fits. The movie is being made by the director of the John Wick movies.
They've been trying to get a remake going for the last 15 years. Back in 2014 it was supposed to be directed by Justin Lin(of the Fast & Furious franchise) and star Ryan Reynolds. Then they both dropped out of it. Back in 2021 it was going to be directed by Chad Stahelski(of the John Wick franchise) and star Henry Cavill, but now Cavill has left the project, and Stahelski has far too much already on his plate to be able to helm this project for at least another 4+ years. Don't hold your breath on seeing this remake. The franchise is dead.
Highlander is so amazing, on so many levels. But so much of that is a contextual experience. Step outside those contexts, and the movie shows up as something else. There are a lot of movies that dazzle or connect with one person, while appearing flat or ludicrous to others. Don't worry if you didn't connect with it. We all speak different languages of perception. And we all have different interests in what languages we want to use and experiences we want to have or relate to. At least you now have your own experience. And you can also takeaway the value of knowing that if you ever do try to decipher it through other lenses, that you can uncover a treasure trove of contexts that conform to other types of people.
Dated now, well, maybe 🤷🏻♂️ Back in the 80s and early 90s until CGI exploded it impressed us youngsters. The animated effects (early CGI I guess, the quickening etc) were quite good though. And the camerawork and the wild transitions were advanced for its time. Already in the first scenes with the wrestling it must have been one helluva work to film those circling around the arena scenes-nowadays that would probably be filmed with help of drones. The director Russell Mulcahy was actually best known as a high profile music video director back then, his only full length film back then was Razorback-a horror film about a wild boar. He did direct Queen’s videos for A Kind of Magic and Princes of the Universe, songs featured in the film (except A Kind of Magic is in another version in the movie credits than on the album).
Yes, it *IS* a katana👍 No, Alan North was not in Home Alone's movie "Angels With Filthy Souls" The motel clerk said that he hopes Kurgan gets his head chopped off because he was just watching a news story about the recent decapitations happening in New York & New Jersey
Hi Lorna & Colin!🙂Wow! I can't believe you guys are watching this for the first time. This is definitely a cult classic in the United States. It is 80's cheesy. Christopher Lambert is a French actor. Both Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert can't really do foreign accents. I knew you guys would have a problem with the accents or lack there of here. Nope, The Kurgan was not Jaws in James Bond, Colin. This movie became very popular after it was released on home video. Despite losing money at the box office this film spawned several sequels and a TV series with Duncan MacLeod's cousin. I think I heard you guys say you haven't seen Sean Connery in a James Bond film yet in another reaction. "Goldfinger" (1964) is generally considered his most popular Bond film. I am partial to "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971). Connery came back to do this final Bond film after leaving. He donated his salary from the film to a Scottish charity. I'm surprised both of you are split on your reactions for this. Nice reactions to the original Highlander film, Lorna & Colin!!!!🎬👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Ahh nice bit of info there! Thanks! Some James Bonds reacts would be a great idea. Defo something for the future, well have a lot of content to make so could be fun. Tbh we been split a few times because Lorna is the lover of everything and I am the 'hater'. I will admit it was fun though. I had a good time. Thanks!
The screenwriter for this film also wrote (and directed) the Christopher Walken film from 1995 called The Prophecy. No fake accents, but still cheesy fun like this. And the director of this film also directed 1994’s The Shadow starring Alec Baldwin, which also cheesy fun.
You have to remember this was the early 80s. Yes, the accent was bad. But you kind of have to suspend these little moments, and enjoy it for what it was. I was younger back, then and it really put Scotland front and centre, for me. The music from Queen, was great. Who wants to live forever. was an amazing song. But the score by the late Michael Kamen, was wonderful to me. The scenery was great, (Scotland, I mean) with Eilean Donan Castle, of course. And the Highlands. And I can say this, led the way for BraveHeart, and the Outlander series. So, it did achieve a great many things for Scotland, in my humble view. .
We definitely got that it was early 80's! Our humour is Scottish and maybe lost in translation. We loved the movie especially me (Lorna) but it was definitely always going to be a movie we could banter with :)
@@weebitreacts Not too far from you guys. So I know the great Scottish sense of humour. The great sage of the North, Rab C Nesbitt, is my hero. Younger viewer, should look him up.Yes, totally get what your saying. Its not everyone's cup of tea. But it was this long lost thing called VHS tapes, that made it a big hit after. Anyway, great reaction. Keep up the good work.
As long as we’re poking fun at the movie, how did Connor get that sword that says McLeod on it? His clan exiled him with his arms strapped to that chunk of wood. He wasn’t carrying a sword when he left. 🤷♀️😅 Mostly, rewatching this movie w/you both makes me want to watch the TV series w/Adrian Paul again. They really worked out the lore much better for the series. Also, it was fun seeing Duncan (a cousin of Connor’s) flashback to adventures he had throughout the 400 years of his life’s history. Check it out if you get the chance. I think you’ll enjoy it more than this movie, although this is a good launching off point for the series. 🤷♀️😄 56:43
Sean Connery did die a few years ago, but he hadn't been acting for some time before his death. It's maybe an ego thing, but he acted well in to older age, and was still a pimp, but when it got to the point that he was too old to no longer get roles as the leading man, he said fuck it, and quit acting, I think because he didn't want to be remembered as anything else. I think he lived in the Bahamas, or some island in the Carribean, and just stayed out of sight.
I thought that was Rowdy Roddy Piper at first, when he's in the present... Lorna is a pure empath, feeling pity for broken wiper blades... We need to see Colin laugh more... Post plenty of pics from Japan!
I still feel sentimental about this flick since I watched it for the the first time when I was a "wee man" back in the 80's.. I tried to watch it again in my late 30's, but couldn't get halfway through. It does not hold up well, but it was interesting to see some Scots give their opinion. I agree it's hilarious that the only character with a proper Scottish accent is from a character who isn't even supposed to be Scottish ; ).
Well for those that are seriously put off by his accent, since he couldn't speak English prior to this, let alone in a Scottish accent I'd like to see how well you can learn a language and an accent to do a movie. When that's taken into account...
Yes you were right about this being a cult movie. People dress up in the movie attire and role play when it is shown in theaters like they do for 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'. People like a little 'cheese' in their films...! I know in the USA we had a heavy amount of immigrants from Scotland and many have made community events based on their origins. Perhaps it is why we are so fond of films set in the times most had immigrated here and earlier. This movie is well loved for its music also. Though no real soundtrack was made, you can get the 'It's A Kind Of Magic' album which has all the Queen music for this film.
Yeah we know but his character in the movie is Egyptian Spanish, I think that is the point we were trying to make, sorry if it didn't come across. Yeah Clancy was brilliant!
It’s okay. We love the movie, but recognize the cheesiness. This is one of those rare movies whose total is greater than the sum of its parts. There’s talk of a remake, but that probably won’t work. You can’t think too hard; just enjoy it.
I think they wanted an actor with an accent that couldn't be placed, like he lived a long time in many places. But it doesn't make sense for when he was in the Scottish Village to start.
Why are you laughing at those actors' accents? All the actors in the scotland scenes except for Mr. Lambert are actually scottish actors. They don't fake accents, these are their accents. And when it comes to Lambert he did a decent job in those scenes while they wanted someone with no recognisable accent in the present scenes and you can only get it with a non native speaker. Oh! And katanas used to have handguards exactly like Ramirez's one has, with that exact shape and size.
First time watching your channel so, is the Mrs here to be the commentary while Mr is here to lose the plot every 9 seconds and make up for his thickness with injections of the least clever, most obvious and juvenile jokes along the way. Because if that's the format, you nailed it on this one. Cheers.
They could easily have closed a lot of plot holes with better writing, like saying they were war orphans from another country and shit like that. And you accent, like Ramirez certainly could change over hundreds of years based on where you've lived. I take it for what it was and have watched it tons of times. I thought Kurgan was scary AF when I first saw him do this 30 years ago. Clancy had so much fun doing the role, it played it in the right vein. Liked the series, the last few movies were really bad, especially the finale.
The Highlander is just the perfect storm. You have an absolutely AMAZING story. You have a brilliantly novel concept. Lots of stuff is really well executed. You have Queen making the music. Aaaaand then you have all the bad stuff. The wires, the accents, the occassionally bad acting. To call it bad is wrong, because it really isn't. To call it good however is not possible because it has too many bad aspects. However, for me, it is a cultural milestone. A cult classic with some really really bad sides to it.
Great cult action-fantasy movie 👌👍: the sequels are dire & never got into the TV series with Adrian Paul 🙄 Fun Fact : Spoken prologue by Sir Sean Connery at the start,was done after the main filming was over,and in his home WC,which is why the echoy sound is so authentic! 😂 Reply
Lived in your beautiful country in 1982. Had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the Gatwick airport, would still be there if I could. I personally love this movie, with all it's failings. My personal favorite Scottish movie is "Local Hero", tho. Looking forward to watching your reactions.
I think you got the Quickening wrong. If one Immortal beheads another all the powers and knowledge are transferred to the victor (with a supernatural powersurge). That is the Quickening. I think most Highlander fans are aware of it's shortcomings but still🤨stop bashing it- especially for the accent.
Colin's hair looks considerably less damp 😂 You guys definitely gotta watch at least through Highlander: Endgame. Also looking forward to a Braveheart reaction in the future!
I have put more of an effort to dry it before watching 😂. Aww jesus! There's another one? Haha I am sure we will get to Braveheart at somepoint. A lot of content to come. Thanks!
@weebitreacts There are 5 live action Highlander films, 141 live action 45 minute tv series episodes, 1 anime movie and 40 animated series 20 minute episodes.
This was it. The original US theatrical version cut out much. For example, you didn't see the WWII backstory of Rachel, and you didn't see the scene at the zoo, so it sort of was a mystery how the Kurgan knew to kidnap Brenda. To be fair, they also cut out Fasil's backflips, so it wasn't all bad...
Your accents are AWESOME. I am from Boston Massachusetts, which is known for a distinct accent. My clients in London use to say I sounded like a Scotsman played backwards.
Love your accent but your partners a jerk, he spoilt it from me. I suppose if someone tried to imitate Te Reo Maori and didn't know what was offensive to us, for example Haggis which I have tried, but if you were to say "Pokokohua" (go boil your head in a pot) to another Maori, you would have to choice's run or fight. Well I've had my rant and I'll backflip out of here.
I first saw this as a teenager when it came out and it is very much a movie for teen boys. The action scenes looked pretty good for the time.. but the accents were just as funny then. The story is absolutely ridiculous and the prize is idiotic but on the plus side the cinematography, scene transitions and soundtrack are fantastic. I think I would dislike it if I saw it for the first time now.
There is a Highlander TV series, it makes a few changes but it is not bad, probably better than this film. The sequel films do not work with the first one at all.
Watch highlander the series. Your subs and views will grow. This movie got me hooked 30 yrs ago. The series makes it better. Kinda disappointing wee laddie didn't like it.
His accent is "Christopher Lambert", we don't question it.
ahahah love this comment
he didn't know English before he took this role!
He has the authentic accent shared by all Japanese thunder gods.
He was born in NYC, then as a small child moved to France then back again
Highlander was actually filmed in Scotland. The Macleod castle is Eilean Donan Castle in the west Highlands (rather appropriate). This might be why the Scotland scenes look beautiful! While they did film some scenes in New York City, most of the modern day scenes were filmed in London.
"Who in the holy Skeletor is he?"
Best reaction to the Kurgan EVER.
Christopher Lambert has an odd accent. Born in New York City, lived in France for most of his childhood, then moved to Switzerland. He wasn't actually fluent in English when he took this role, but worked with a dialect coach to not only learn English, but develop a layered, non-specific accent, to lend the idea that, as he says, he's from "lots of different places." Connor has moved about enough and picked up enough accents and languages that it's formed a unique milieu.
I always thought Connor's girlfriend turned on him so quickly either out of fear of being guilty by association or suspected of being the "witch" who put the Devil in him, unless she jumps straight to the head of the "BURN HIM!" line. That, or she feared he'd corrupted her somehow, and needed to die for her to be "cleansed."
There was a deleted scene with Kastagir and Connor going out and having a party, and messing with one of the cops that was investigating MacLeod. Sadly, all the deleted scenes were lost in a fire, and only survive in a few production stills. An entire character, Yung Dol Kim, was cut. He fought the Kurgan, then chose to die because he was just sick and tired of Immortality and the Game, and the Kurgan cannot comprehend why he would do that.
The Kurgan is a great villain, just chaotically unhinged evil, knows he's Immortal and has the worst kind of fun with it.
In the Series, the Quickening is specifically one Immortal killing another, and gaining all that Immortal's knowledge and power. The film leaves it a bit more ambiguous, but a recent SF Debris review of the film points out, when Ramirez is teaching Connor about it, it's the ability to connect with other life -- the stag, in that specific case. At the end, Connor says "The Quickening overpowers me! I know! I know everything! I AM everything!" The Prize, therefore, is heightening the Quickening to the point where he can connect with anyone and everyone at will, as he says, know what people all over the world are thinking, help them understand each other, help them understand themselves. So it is a setup, but not for what you thought it was setting up.
According to Will Ferrell's character Ricky Bobby, this movie won a best picture Oscar back in the day. I'm not going to argue against that.
😂😂😂
"It won the Academy Award.... Best movie ever made." 😉👍
Highlander's my favourite film of all time, so every now and again I look to see if people have done reactions to it. This is one of the best ones. Laughed out loud so many times at the things yous came out with. Definitely agree that it's a great concept and "lore" that's executed quite poorly. As much as it's my fave, it's ridiculous - it really was the "what it could be" that captured my imagination decades ago.
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it and I (Colin) hope our teasing of it wasn't too off putting for you ☺️
They wanted Christopher Lambert's accent to be weird. The idea was for it to show how old he was and all the places he'd been. It doesn't explain why he sounds like that in the very beginning, but hey...
Part of The Kurgan's behavior can be attributed to his age. He was bored. 🤣
He was almost 3,000 year old. He's been everywhere and done everything. He probably killed thousands of people, laid with thousands of women, survived thousands of "deaths". It would be more strange for a person to act "normal" after all that, than for them to be weird. 🤪
The actor who plays the kurgan is the voice of mr.krabs from sponge Bob thr quicking allows you to sense other immortals to prepare for battle ,you got it right that the more immortals a immortals kills the stronger they become i.e. the fastet they heal from fatal wounds ect.
Also the bad head guard in Shawshank Redemption. The drill Sargent in Starship Troopers. Those are probably his other most visually roles.
The swords sound weird because they weren't actually using metal swords during fights but plastic ones. Crhistopher Lambert suffers severe myopia (even at that time) and couldn't use contact lenses so fights had to be done with plastic ones to avoid him hurting or getting hurt and sound effects were added in post production. He sees barely nothing without glasses.
Every time you ask why Brenda did something, it can easily be explained with, "because she's a freakin' idiot."
i'm a big fan of this franchise and trust me; the cheese is one of the big reasons. Every fan has a laugh with the cheese.
It's what makes it entertaining on top of the love story and action.
100% agree
A lot of 80's movies are weird on a good way out of my sight and Highlander is a great example for this, so I'm glad both of you liked it. Maybe you will give Braveheart a second chance in future, I mean a lot of Patreaons seemed to like this movie too when the result of the votes has a draw with Highlander, right?
Lorna is still quoting bits from the movie! So she definitely loved it
This was around the time when MTV video directors were getting jobs to film movies. Russell Mulcahy was one of those directors, along with Tony Scott, who directed Top Gun. The style screams 1980s rock videos. It’s definitely an interesting movie to watch in terms of cinematography and camera placement. It’s a lot of fun. PS - Christopher Lambert is a New York born French actor, hence the accent. He’s legally blind and couldn’t wear contacts, so the sword fighting scenes had to be choreographed. He couldn’t see a thing.
Oooh some great information! That definitely makes sense to why we felt the fight scenes seemed a bit clunky and rehearsed- thought it was just the style.
He is the same guy who directed The Shadow movie
Americans only know 3 things about Scotland: Bagpipes, kilts, and haggis. It would be silly to insult someone by calling him a kilt or a bagpipe. That just leaves haggis.
Ahaha loved this comment! Thanks for the giggle
The quickening is just when the power gets transferred after you behead another immortal. But it doesn’t last. It only becomes magical when he’s the last one. And he explains then he can hear people’s thoughts all over the world. He can grow old and have children. That’s the prize.
This is my favorite movie, and that's based on having seen a few thousand movies over nearly 70 years. I've seen this about 25 times.
The first time was accidental on TV in a hotel room while traveling on business in the 80s. At that time, the movie was unknown and it took about 4 or 5 years to develop a cult following. The movie sequels, certainly not planned when this made, are deplorable. The TV series (1992 - 1998) is quite good.
This is based on the end of term project of an undergraduate film student at UCLA named Gregory Widen. A group of low budget movie producers, who normally looked through student scripts for anything good, bought it from him. Today Widen is a prominent screenwriter and director. He says that the largest difference between his script and the movie is the Kurgen. He says that in his original script, the Kurgen was just a very depressed person for whom the competition for the prize was a reason to get up in the morning. On the set, Clancy Brown, who played the Kurgen, used to complain to Widen about the farcical Kurgen scenes and Widen would tell him, "Hey, man, I'm just the author."
Christopher Lambert, who plays McLeod, was a French actor who had a lot of trouble with English in general at this time, much less accents in English, but, in a way, that's at least partially okay since McLeod would have lived in, as he put it, "lots of different places." I'll accept your appraisal of his Scottish accent. I've never once seen Scottish people react to, review, or discuss this movie before. Real Scots are probably the only people who would notice deficiencies in the accents.
Thanks for reacting to it. Good luck with your channel.
Lorna really enjoyed it and has been talking and quoting bits from the movie for the last few days not sure if it's going to be one of our favourites but I think she has joined the cult
The accents were awful but we are okay with that! It's a tough one for a lot of actors and it doesn't help that Scotland there are so many different dialects.
@@weebitreacts Tell me about it. There are many in the US too (I don't have one). Remember that in the end there can be only one.
"I am Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. I was born in 1518 in the village of Glenfinnan on the shores of Loch Shiel. I am immortal."
In the TV series, they pinned down the vague meaning of "the quickening" to something specific - the event right after the death of one combatant in which the other gets his power.
Oooh that makes sense
HAHAHA!!! OK this reaction earned my subscription because you are both great!! Let me explain a few things. Most Americans can't identify a foreign accent at all, so if it sounds vaguely "Scottish" it's good enough for us. I HAVE actually had to explain to some American friends why his name is "Mack Cloud: but his sword says "Mc Lee-owed." When you said that I nearly pissed myself laughing!!! Kurgen (aka Skeletor) is also known for doing the voice of Mt Hrabs in Spongebob, Lex Luthor in the Justice League cartoon series, he is the drill instructor in Starship troopers, the guard in Shawshank Redemption, and a HOST of others. I also used to deliver his family's newspapers back in Urbans, Ohio. The entire movie is very 80s.....very dated....and VERY cheesy even when it first came out. Still LOVE it!! Now, however, I will never be able to watch without hearing "He-man-der" shouting I HAVE THE POWER during every quickening!!! And.....stabbing is highly...."erotic?"
Hahaha thank you for the lovely comment! I (Colin) am glad we made you laugh and you enjoyed the content ☺️. Ahhh yes! Turns out I actually know that actor more than I thought! Thanks again!
The ability to know that Brenda had the revolver and the tape recorder are another aspect of the quickening, a hyper-awareness of his surroundings, at least in Connor's case. Perhaps not all the time, but it's there.
Greatest line in the movie: "Ahm noat Schpaaanush, ahm Egyuptyun"
Queen's Kind of Magic album is basically a soundtrack for this movie.
People in the '80s thought it was cheesy too.
Haha glad to hear it. It was fun though il give it that!
This was a great reaction, including the jokes about the movie. The explanation girl Christopher Lambert's accent is they decided he would've lived all over and needed a unique accent that was a mix of others. Also, the fight choreography was decent here but really improved by Highlander: The Series.
In all fairness he was drunk when he had his dual on Boston common so it probably dulled the pain
The first time you switched to the blurred image I thought: " And this is from Christopher Lambert's point of view."🤭
Connor's sword actually is a katana. the dragon head was screwed on and it broke off constantly. Sword Master Bob Anderson did a lot of Ramirez's sword fighting. He also played Darth Vader in the fight scenes in the Star Wars films. Anderson also did the distance shots on the cliffs
Highlander spawned four sequels, two series, and an upcoming reboot. This movie is the best of the lot, so far.
There is going to be a reboot? Now that could be interesting! Who would you have play Highlander?
@@weebitreacts Almost as important, who will you get to play Queen?
@@weebitreacts Until recently it was going to be Henry Cavill but he had to exit because he's producing and starring in a new Warhammer movie. Maybe Richard Madden or Tom Blyth would be good fits. The movie is being made by the director of the John Wick movies.
They've been trying to get a remake going for the last 15 years. Back in 2014 it was supposed to be directed by Justin Lin(of the Fast & Furious franchise) and star Ryan Reynolds. Then they both dropped out of it. Back in 2021 it was going to be directed by Chad Stahelski(of the John Wick franchise) and star Henry Cavill, but now Cavill has left the project, and Stahelski has far too much already on his plate to be able to helm this project for at least another 4+ years.
Don't hold your breath on seeing this remake. The franchise is dead.
The Connor's sword is a katana, it belonged to a friend of his
note
Connor was not at the Battle of Culloden though his nephew Duncan was
Highlander is so amazing, on so many levels. But so much of that is a contextual experience. Step outside those contexts, and the movie shows up as something else. There are a lot of movies that dazzle or connect with one person, while appearing flat or ludicrous to others.
Don't worry if you didn't connect with it. We all speak different languages of perception. And we all have different interests in what languages we want to use and experiences we want to have or relate to.
At least you now have your own experience. And you can also takeaway the value of knowing that if you ever do try to decipher it through other lenses, that you can uncover a treasure trove of contexts that conform to other types of people.
When he made this film, Christopher Lambert could not speak English. He learnt it as he went along and his native French accent was up front.
Sean Connery died on 31 Oct 2020 unfortunately RIP.
Dated now, well, maybe 🤷🏻♂️ Back in the 80s and early 90s until CGI exploded it impressed us youngsters. The animated effects (early CGI I guess, the quickening etc) were quite good though. And the camerawork and the wild transitions were advanced for its time. Already in the first scenes with the wrestling it must have been one helluva work to film those circling around the arena scenes-nowadays that would probably be filmed with help of drones. The director Russell Mulcahy was actually best known as a high profile music video director back then, his only full length film back then was Razorback-a horror film about a wild boar. He did direct Queen’s videos for A Kind of Magic and Princes of the Universe, songs featured in the film (except A Kind of Magic is in another version in the movie credits than on the album).
Never noticed before but I think Christoph Lambert wearing sneakers with a suit is a nod to ‘Subway’.
Is he really 😂😂. I can't bring myself to check. Il take your word on it. Class film!
Yes, it *IS* a katana👍
No, Alan North was not in Home Alone's movie "Angels With Filthy Souls"
The motel clerk said that he hopes Kurgan gets his head chopped off because he was just watching a news story about the recent decapitations happening in New York & New Jersey
So the sword master on this movie was the legendary Bob Anderson. He also coordinated the lightsaber fights in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Oooh we didn't know that! Amazing!
“A Pepsi guy.” LOL
Hi Lorna & Colin!🙂Wow! I can't believe you guys are watching this for the first time. This is definitely a cult classic in the United States. It is 80's cheesy. Christopher Lambert is a French actor. Both Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert can't really do foreign accents. I knew you guys would have a problem with the accents or lack there of here. Nope, The Kurgan was not Jaws in James Bond, Colin. This movie became very popular after it was released on home video. Despite losing money at the box office this film spawned several sequels and a TV series with Duncan MacLeod's cousin. I think I heard you guys say you haven't seen Sean Connery in a James Bond film yet in another reaction. "Goldfinger" (1964) is generally considered his most popular Bond film. I am partial to "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971). Connery came back to do this final Bond film after leaving. He donated his salary from the film to a Scottish charity. I'm surprised both of you are split on your reactions for this. Nice reactions to the original Highlander film, Lorna & Colin!!!!🎬👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Ahh nice bit of info there! Thanks! Some James Bonds reacts would be a great idea. Defo something for the future, well have a lot of content to make so could be fun. Tbh we been split a few times because Lorna is the lover of everything and I am the 'hater'. I will admit it was fun though. I had a good time. Thanks!
Raiden from mortal Kombat, James Bond, Mr. Krabs and special guest Lord Commander Mormont of the Knights Watch. What's not to love?.
Not sure if anyone else touched on it but it is a katana, just a unusual unique tsuka ( hilt )
The screenwriter for this film also wrote (and directed) the Christopher Walken film from 1995 called The Prophecy. No fake accents, but still cheesy fun like this. And the director of this film also directed 1994’s The Shadow starring Alec Baldwin, which also cheesy fun.
This was just one of a lot of mid-80s fantasy movies that were a lot of fun but didn't make much sense.
James Cosmo is in both Highlander and Braveheart.
You have to remember this was the early 80s. Yes, the accent was bad. But you kind of have to suspend these little moments, and enjoy it for what it was. I was younger back, then and it really put Scotland front and centre, for me. The music from Queen, was great. Who wants to live forever. was an amazing song. But the score by the late Michael Kamen, was wonderful to me. The scenery was great, (Scotland, I mean) with Eilean Donan Castle, of course. And the Highlands. And I can say this, led the way for BraveHeart, and the Outlander series. So, it did achieve a great many things for Scotland, in my humble view. .
We definitely got that it was early 80's! Our humour is Scottish and maybe lost in translation. We loved the movie especially me (Lorna) but it was definitely always going to be a movie we could banter with :)
@@weebitreacts Not too far from you guys. So I know the great Scottish sense of humour. The great sage of the North, Rab C Nesbitt, is my hero. Younger viewer, should look him up.Yes, totally get what your saying. Its not everyone's cup of tea. But it was this long lost thing called VHS tapes, that made it a big hit after. Anyway, great reaction. Keep up the good work.
It could be a brilliant remake..
A stone cold classic, in my top ten of all time! (Probably 8 of the 10 will be eighties action films).
Skeletor, the bad guy is Clancy Brown, the voice of Mr Crabs.
As long as we’re poking fun at the movie, how did Connor get that sword that says McLeod on it? His clan exiled him with his arms strapped to that chunk of wood. He wasn’t carrying a sword when he left. 🤷♀️😅
Mostly, rewatching this movie w/you both makes me want to watch the TV series w/Adrian Paul again. They really worked out the lore much better for the series. Also, it was fun seeing Duncan (a cousin of Connor’s) flashback to adventures he had throughout the 400 years of his life’s history. Check it out if you get the chance. I think you’ll enjoy it more than this movie, although this is a good launching off point for the series. 🤷♀️😄 56:43
Sean Connery did die a few years ago, but he hadn't been acting for some time before his death. It's maybe an ego thing, but he acted well in to older age, and was still a pimp, but when it got to the point that he was too old to no longer get roles as the leading man, he said fuck it, and quit acting, I think because he didn't want to be remembered as anything else. I think he lived in the Bahamas, or some island in the Carribean, and just stayed out of sight.
I thought that was Rowdy Roddy Piper at first, when he's in the present... Lorna is a pure empath, feeling pity for broken wiper blades... We need to see Colin laugh more... Post plenty of pics from Japan!
Hahaha Lorna IS a pure empath! 😂. Thanks! I would like to laugh more so seems a winner go everyone! I am sure we will have plenty to share! Thanks!
@@weebitreacts Comedy suggestions: Blues Brothers (1980), What's Up, Doc?, Animal House, Borat (first one), Duck Soup, Buck Privates, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Some Like It Hot, The Producers. Enjoy!🤣🤣🤣Oh, "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" & Stripes. More John 🍬🍬🍬!!
I still feel sentimental about this flick since I watched it for the the first time when I was a "wee man" back in the 80's.. I tried to watch it again in my late 30's, but couldn't get halfway through. It does not hold up well, but it was interesting to see some Scots give their opinion. I agree it's hilarious that the only character with a proper Scottish accent is from a character who isn't even supposed to be Scottish ; ).
Funny you should mention it, there actually was a Highlander tv show.
3:59 🇯🇵
This was a lot of fun, thank you from the US!
17:17 mean
the humor of the Scots 🤨
🙂
All those explosions after a battle between two immortals are also known as quickenings.
Because of this movie, when I am in a parking garage I think of swords and immortals.
Well for those that are seriously put off by his accent, since he couldn't speak English prior to this, let alone in a Scottish accent I'd like to see how well you can learn a language and an accent to do a movie. When that's taken into account...
As a lifelong Highlander fan, you don't deserve her ;) Shot badly? What?
23:58 i don't think it's him
Colin is sad it's not aha
Christopher Lampart had to learn the language in order to do this film
Yes you were right about this being a cult movie. People dress up in the movie attire and role play when it is shown in theaters like they do for 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'. People like a little 'cheese' in their films...! I know in the USA we had a heavy amount of immigrants from Scotland and many have made community events based on their origins. Perhaps it is why we are so fond of films set in the times most had immigrated here and earlier. This movie is well loved for its music also. Though no real soundtrack was made, you can get the 'It's A Kind Of Magic' album which has all the Queen music for this film.
Well in fairness, Lambert is French, Connery is Scottish not Egyptian nor Spanish, but Clancy really sells the role as The Kurgan.
Yeah we know but his character in the movie is Egyptian Spanish, I think that is the point we were trying to make, sorry if it didn't come across. Yeah Clancy was brilliant!
It’s okay. We love the movie, but recognize the cheesiness. This is one of those rare movies whose total is greater than the sum of its parts. There’s talk of a remake, but that probably won’t work. You can’t think too hard; just enjoy it.
The cheese is real but we loved it 😋
I think they wanted an actor with an accent that couldn't be placed, like he lived a long time in many places. But it doesn't make sense for when he was in the Scottish Village to start.
Why are you laughing at those actors' accents? All the actors in the scotland scenes except for Mr. Lambert are actually scottish actors. They don't fake accents, these are their accents. And when it comes to Lambert he did a decent job in those scenes while they wanted someone with no recognisable accent in the present scenes and you can only get it with a non native speaker. Oh! And katanas used to have handguards exactly like Ramirez's one has, with that exact shape and size.
Connor is 450 years old, you guys and your Glaswegian maths lol.
Shocking effort from us 😂. Thanks!
Sean Connery did pass away a few years back
First time watching your channel so, is the Mrs here to be the commentary while Mr is here to lose the plot every 9 seconds and make up for his thickness with injections of the least clever, most obvious and juvenile jokes along the way. Because if that's the format, you nailed it on this one.
Cheers.
Man, I adore a woman with a Scottish accent. I should go there and find my lifetime love.
16:12 helander.
i'm borderline unsubscribing. you're on notice colin. 🤨🙂
Nooooo!! That was a good one, Come on! 😜😜
They could easily have closed a lot of plot holes with better writing, like saying they were war orphans from another country and shit like that. And you accent, like Ramirez certainly could change over hundreds of years based on where you've lived. I take it for what it was and have watched it tons of times. I thought Kurgan was scary AF when I first saw him do this 30 years ago. Clancy had so much fun doing the role, it played it in the right vein. Liked the series, the last few movies were really bad, especially the finale.
The Highlander is just the perfect storm.
You have an absolutely AMAZING story. You have a brilliantly novel concept. Lots of stuff is really well executed. You have Queen making the music. Aaaaand then you have all the bad stuff. The wires, the accents, the occassionally bad acting.
To call it bad is wrong, because it really isn't. To call it good however is not possible because it has too many bad aspects.
However, for me, it is a cultural milestone. A cult classic with some really really bad sides to it.
Great cult action-fantasy movie 👌👍: the sequels are dire & never got into the TV series with Adrian Paul 🙄
Fun Fact : Spoken prologue by Sir Sean Connery at the start,was done after the main filming was over,and in his home WC,which is why the echoy sound is so authentic! 😂
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Lived in your beautiful country in 1982. Had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the Gatwick airport, would still be there if I could. I personally love this movie, with all it's failings. My personal favorite Scottish movie is "Local Hero", tho. Looking forward to watching your reactions.
I agree with Colin. It was awful. Lorna is kinder, "Nothing to write home about." Great Reaction. It was so bad it was funny.
46:30 Well somebody clearly doesn't believe in *LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT* or *LUST AT FIRST SIGHT...* ha ha ha
😂😂
43:20
Please tell me Colin is joking. 😬🤦♂️🤣 #math
Best action movie ever made !
Highlander is an acquired taste like hagis.
It's definitely a katana. Katanas do have the suba or 'protector.
10:53 Is Doogle a common Scottish name, and do you know anyone named Doogle?
Naaah it's not common and neither of us know anyone called Dougal ^^
Hi - Lander :)
I think you got the Quickening wrong. If one Immortal beheads another all the powers and knowledge are transferred to the victor (with a supernatural powersurge). That is the Quickening. I think most Highlander fans are aware of it's shortcomings but still🤨stop bashing it- especially for the accent.
We loved it! Scottish humour is not for everyone haha
One thing's for sure, don't watch any of the other Highlander movies. You were lukewarm on this one, but they definitely don't get any better.
La katana era di Sean Connery
They’re immortal, but still suffer from male pattern baldness. 😂😂😂
Colin's hair looks considerably less damp 😂 You guys definitely gotta watch at least through Highlander: Endgame. Also looking forward to a Braveheart reaction in the future!
I have put more of an effort to dry it before watching 😂. Aww jesus! There's another one? Haha I am sure we will get to Braveheart at somepoint. A lot of content to come. Thanks!
@weebitreacts
There are 5 live action Highlander films, 141 live action 45 minute tv series episodes, 1 anime movie and 40 animated series 20 minute episodes.
The Directors cut is where it is at!
There is a directors cut? 😳😳😳
This was it. The original US theatrical version cut out much. For example, you didn't see the WWII backstory of Rachel, and you didn't see the scene at the zoo, so it sort of was a mystery how the Kurgan knew to kidnap Brenda. To be fair, they also cut out Fasil's backflips, so it wasn't all bad...
Your accents are AWESOME. I am from Boston Massachusetts, which is known for a distinct accent. My clients in London use to say I sounded like a Scotsman played backwards.
Thanks! I don't know if that's a compliment or not from your clients 🤔😂
Love your accent but your partners a jerk, he spoilt it from me. I suppose if someone tried to imitate Te Reo Maori and didn't know what was offensive to us, for example Haggis which I have tried, but if you were to say "Pokokohua" (go boil your head in a pot) to another Maori, you would have to choice's run or fight. Well I've had my rant and I'll backflip out of here.
best movie ever , the next 2 movies not very good
Yeah I am not too sure we will get round to them 😂😂. Thanks!
I first saw this as a teenager when it came out and it is very much a movie for teen boys. The action scenes looked pretty good for the time.. but the accents were just as funny then. The story is absolutely ridiculous and the prize is idiotic but on the plus side the cinematography, scene transitions and soundtrack are fantastic.
I think I would dislike it if I saw it for the first time now.
Colin cracks me up. His laughter is infectious. Highlander is great as a comedy.😅
You both should react to movie Braveheart!
There is a Highlander TV series, it makes a few changes but it is not bad, probably better than this film. The sequel films do not work with the first one at all.
Can you please react to the thriller movie Stigmata Starring Patricia Arquette , please
Hi!
How come no one tried a Southern accent? I guess it wouldn't fit the movie.
Watch highlander the series. Your subs and views will grow. This movie got me hooked 30 yrs ago. The series makes it better. Kinda disappointing wee laddie didn't like it.