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Highlander: Director's Cut
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Lionsgate Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan Stevenson (23rd December 2010). |
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The Film
 “Highlander” is the story of Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), a five hundred year old Immortal born in the Scottish highlands in 1518, as he travels through time never growing older. But, Connor isn’t the only one of his kind. A small band of these undying warriors persist throughout our world (and not all of them are good), savagely fighting to the death and waiting for a time that they call “The Gathering”. There can be only one, as the characters are so fond of repeating throughout the film, and these earthly Gods must kill each other, beheading their opponent in the heat of battle, until all but one remains to claim “the prize”. Each Immortal absorbs the power of the fallen during a process called “the Quickening” and it is this prospect of becoming stronger and stronger with each kill that sends many of these men on a quest for power that eventually drives all but a few mad. Of course, MacLeod is clueless to any of this, only learning of his “gift” after surviving a fatal wound in battle that would have certainly killed a mere mortal. While wandering the countryside after being accused of being an ungodly witch, MacLeod, banished from his village and disowned by his Clan, learns the true nature of his unique abilities from a three thousands year old Egyptian Spaniard with a thick Scottish accent named Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez (Sean Connery). Mastering swordplay and learning the ways of the immortals is important, Ramirez says if the Highlander wants to beat the most savage of the supernatural warriors, The Kurgan (a gleefully sadistic Clancy Brown), a merciless barbarian from the steppes of Russia who apparently throws small children into pits with dogs to watch them fight just for fun. But “Highlander” doesn’t just concern itself with the insanity of 16th century Scotland. No, as a sci-fi and fantasy epic based on the tenets of immortality, the story (written by Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson) runs parallel between two time periods: Connor’s origins in the 1500's and his life as Russell Nash, a dealer of rare antiquities, in 1986 New York City. Director Russell Mulcahy weaves these two timelines together with some incredibly elaborate transitions and not always successfully (indeed, although better in the so-called “Director’s Cut”, the film’s fragmented narrative is it’s biggest flaw). The film opens at a pro-wrestling match, where MacLeod is shaken by visions from his past, forcing him to leave the event. Alas, a fellow Immortal is waiting for him in the parking garage underneath Madison Square Garden, and, in a feebly choreographed fight sequence that looks like something out of a Michael Jackson music video, Connor has no choice but to behead his opponent and claim his power. The climactic fight catches the attention of the NYPD who find the headless corpse and arrest Connor (aka Nash) as he tries to flee the scene. The police later let him go due to a technicality, but not before a forensic specialist named Brenda (Roxanne Hart) takes an interest in the mysterious could-be murder. Connor tries to woo the policewoman, but gets sidetracked when he realizes that doing so might put her in danger of the real “Headhunter Killer” – the Kurgan – just like all the other women he’s placed in harms way in the past. The story is as absurd as it is fun. It’s over the top villain, who takes delight in his insane habit of running down pedestrians with his car while basting Queen on the stereo, seems only too 80's and ridiculous to not give in. Connery, playing himself, playing Ramirez seems just about perfect when he stands alongside Christopher Lambert, the American-born Frenchman who’s playing a Scot. Russell Mulcahy, who’s schooling as a music video director basically forces him to stage the various battles between The Kurgan and MacLeod in warehouses and factories that seem to produce only steam and sparks. Mulcahy clutters the film with complex crane shots, endless tracking shots, and senseless, but impressive, scenes captured by helicopter of MacLeod and Ramirez training atop impossibly tall Scottish mountains. Bizarre perhaps, but in a way I think Mulcahy’s style is so unexpected for this type of film that it actually fits perfectly. “Highlander” is an awesome slice of 80's cheese that’s for sure, but it’s still incredibly entertaining, perhaps even because of its cheesiness. Best movie ever made, not quite, but Russell Mulcahy’s “Highlander” is still a pretty decent film even if it’s not perfect. This may surprise some readers (then again, perhaps not, considering that I’ve shared a love of bad movies in reviews before) but I genuinely like “Highlander” and cherish every one of its incredibly dense one-liners. The film is just impossible to hate. Sure, you might need to have a strong geek-sense to appreciate this ridiculously hysterical entry into a nerd-pleasing genre, but there is no denying that at least the concept is pretty original. And, I mean come on, Sean Connery plus samurai swords multiplied by beheadings has got to be some sort of equation for perfection, does it not? “Highlander” spawned a massive franchise (of pretty terrible) theatrical and direct-to-video sequels, an unpredictable six-season TV show that never realized it’s potential, and numerous novels and comics (that, admittedly, I’ve never read), but the seminal entry remains the best in the vast series. It’s not a great film, but “Highlander” is absolutely an amusing one that is perfect fodder for lazy weekends and crummy sick-days. Lionsgate’s Blu-ray includes the 117-minute Director’s Cut of “Highlander” which differs from the original American theatrical release in a number of ways, more closely resembling the International – or European – Cut of the film. These changes are nearly all for the better, with the Director’s Cut featuring a far more coherent plot structure and also improving the film by including some much-needed character development that is blatantly missing from the original American cut. The Director’s Cut also includes a flashback to WWII where Lambert is able to deliver what has quickly become my favorite line in the film, if only for the way it plays (“Whatever you say, Jack. You are the master race.” [Nazi gets torn to shreds by Connor’s machinegun.]) Earlier this year, just before the rumblings of a domestic Blu-ray release, I imported the film from the UK where it’s been available in high definition for about a year from Optimum Home Entertainment. Region Free and simultaneously debuting along side almost identical discs from Kinowelt in Germany and Universal/Studio Canal in France, I assumed that when the film did land on our shores fans would receive a near-identical package from US-based Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The film is owned by Studio Canal who almost always license the exact same Blu-ray discs (with shared encodes, special features and all) to their various distributors throughout the world. The content provider has done this countless times before with titles like “Delicatessen” (1991), “Ran” (1985), “The Lady Killers” (1955) and even a few titles not part of their Studio-Canal Collection such as “Terminator 2: Skynet Edition” (1991). But, sadly, that is not the case for “Highlander”, even if it shares the same European-originated “Director’s Cut” as the Optimum (et al) disc. When compared, the US release is often drastically different than the various European releases, and in nearly every case the US release comes out worse.
Video
Thankfully the one area that Lionsgate’s Blu-ray is identical (or as good as, anyway) to the Optimum disc is also likely the most important for format enthusiasts. Despite a slightly larger file size and a generally healthier bitrate on the European import, the foreign and domestic releases appear almost indistinguishable in motion with both discs enjoying the benefit of a remastered 1.85:1 widescreen 1080p 24/fps high definition (VC-1 encoded) presentation. Regardless of slightly different tech specs, both Blu-ray’s offer a marked improvement over previous home video releases of the film. There are plenty of moments where the disc shines with excellent depth, great color and fabulously sharp detail. It’s also clear that a great deal of care has gone into producing the new master, which is simultaneously both filmic and free of most blemishes. But, the transfer is still only fair because it is, simply, extremely inconsistent. Detail is often impressive, but clarity wavers overall with many shots appearing frequently soft (although thankfully not pushed there by an overkill of DNR, and likely a result of the lenses and 80's film stock). Blacks are mostly natural and true; sometimes however they seem flat and murky and shadow delineation is only occasionally acceptable (at other times it’s downright poor). Colors and contrast are never hard-pressed, so the overall image is a bit dull and flat, but the picture doesn’t seem faded or weak in the slightest (and there is boldness in spurts; the Scottish hillsides are lush and green, the opening wrestling match is bursting with fittingly impetuous reds and blues). Film grain is often healthy and filmic, and nearly always well compressed, but it’s density fluctuates which can be a bit distracting. As I said, the Blu-ray makes huge strides over the various DVD releases of the past (most of which were frankly terrible) and it even looks genuinely good at times. But, compared to other high-def discs, “Highlander” is not – nor will it ever be – the shining example of how 80's catalog films benefit from blu-ray. The film’s transfer is far too inconsistent for it to be.
Audio
The major differences between the domestic and Import releases begin with the audio. Lionsgate has provided an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround option and a Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono dub with optional subtitles in English, Spanish and French. The Optimum disc offers, in addition to a wealth of subtitles and losslessly encoded dubs, English DTS-HD Master Audio mixes in both 5.1 and (more importantly) the film’s original 2.0 Stereo format. The 5.1 surround mix is decent – with the various Queen songs in the soundtrack and Michael Kamen’s score enjoying a nice bump in clarity – but not too impressive. Surround activity feels forced and phony. While the mid-range is fine, the tracks low and high end seem weak and clipped. Bass is lacking, although it does have its moments during the Quickening scenes. Overall I was left with a feeling as though the mix had been spread to thin by expanding it in to six channels. My suspicions are confirmed by the Optimum’s DTS-HD stereo mix, which has far better dynamics and a more natural tone. Make not mistake, the film sounds good, and much better than the DVD… just not great. It’s really too bad that the better lossless stereo track wasn’t brought over to the US disc.
Extras
And here’s where things get really depressing. While Lionsgate’s domestic “Director’s Cut” blu-ray includes an audio commentary with director Russell Mulcahy and a deleted scenes reel, the UK release by Optimum Home Entertainment (and just about anywhere else in Europe actually) is resoundingly better. The European Import contains a feature-length making of documentary and an interview with Christopher Lambert in addition to retaining the material that appears on the US release. As neither Blu-ray disc is the creation of its respective distributor (content owner Studio Canal has simply leased the materials to each company) it makes little sense that the European releases of “Highlander” have superior extras. It makes even less sense when you consider that the documentary – like the Optimum Blu-ray disc it’s authored on – is Region A compatible. Could the reason for its absence be rights issues? Perhaps, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we might see an “Immortal Anniversary Edition” in a few years that includes “new extras”; Davis/Panzer has a habit of milking franchise fans, so I really wouldn’t put it past them. It’s too bad that the US release is gimped in this department because the documentary is quite good; it really should have been included on the domestic Blu-ray. Oh well, at least Mulcahy’s audio commentary is worth a listen. Note that this is not the commentary from the Anchor Bay and Lionsgate DVD's featuring the director and producers Peter Davis and Bill Panzer. Instead, the director flies solo for a (mostly) scene-specific audio commentary recorded a couple of years ago for the European market. Mulcahy’s track is informative, if a bit dry, and gets better as it goes along. He focuses on the construction and shooting of certain scenes, but often diverts into a few interesting near-tangents about his thoughts on the film, the story and the critical reception. This is a good track, and it’s definitely something that fans of the film should check out. The deleted scenes (1080p, 6 minutes 14 seconds) are decidedly less worthy: much, much less. Apparently the audio elements for these alternate and extended scenes has been lost, so Studio Canal decided to lay music – pieces of the film’s score – under them. But, with little context and no production audio they’re just barely comprehendible odds and ends. Commentary by the director could have made these leftover bits at least interesting, but nope – no such luck. Without any input from Mulcahy, I see little use for these scenes, but, hey, at least they’ve been upgraded to HD. Finally, there are a few pre-menu bonus trailers (1080p, with 5.1 DTS) for: - “Apocalypse Now” on Blu-ray running 1 minute 28 seconds. - “The Expendables” on Blu-ray and DVD running 2 minutes 29 seconds. - "Lionsgate promo - The Stars of ‘The Expendables’ on Blu-ray” running 1 minute. - “Kick Ass” on Blu-ray and DVD running 2 minutes 26 seconds.
Packaging
“Highlander: Director’s Cut” arrives on Blu-ray in the United States courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment, distributing the film for Studio Canal. Packaged in an Elite eco-case, the dual layer BD-50 is confirmed to be region free.
Overall
I suppose Lionsgate has provided a respectable Blu-ray release for this fan favorite film, and that the disc – offered at a reasonably inexpensive price point – should suit the needs of those not interested in extras. Both the Import and domestic releases provide improved, if inconsistent video and similarly good-but-not great audio, so if you’re only concern is a visual and audible upgrade over your DVD, either Blu-ray is fine. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for the absolute best version of “Highlander” on the high-def market seek out one of the many Region A compatible European imports (which can be had for only a few dollars more than the US release; and that’s shipped to the states) due to the fact that, unlike the Lionsgate release, they have over 90 minutes of documentary supplements. Recommended, but really only for fans.
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