Highlander - There can only be one
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Highlander - There can only be one |
| Original title | Highlander |
| Country of production | USA , UK |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1986 |
| length | 111 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Russell Mulcahy |
| script |
Gregory Widen , Peter Bellwood , Larry Ferguson |
| production |
Peter S. Davis , William N. Panzer |
| music |
Michael Kamen , Queen |
| camera | Gerry Fisher |
| cut | Peter Honess |
| occupation | |
| |
| chronology | |
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Successor → |
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Highlander - There can be only one is a feature film by Russell Mulcahy from 1986 , the one which more broadly Fantasy can assign genre of. However, it also contains many elements from action films and historical films. The film opened in German cinemas on August 28, 1986.
Story of the movie
The film begins with the prologue, spoken by Sean Connery as Ramírez (in the German dubbed version by Gert Günther Hoffmann ):
“From the Dawn of Time we came, moving silently down through the centuries, living many secret lives, struggling to reach the Time of the Gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you, until now. "
“We came out of the twilight of time and wandered unrecognized through the centuries. Hidden from the world's eyes, we struggled and sought to reach the time of meeting. When those who are left will fight to the last man. You did not know that we were among you - until today. "
Then the action begins in New York in 1985. In the underground parking lot of Madison Square Garden two men fight with swords; Connor MacLeod is the winner and beheads his opponent Iman Fasil. A strange force passes from the corpse to him, destroying parts of the underground car park. MacLeod tries to escape but is arrested by the police; He can hide his sword in the garage beforehand.
In flashbacks , the viewer is now experiencing MacLeod's life story: Born in 1518 in Scotland , Connor MacLeod is 1536 in a battle of the clans of MacLeod against the clan of Fraser wounded in a duel against an initially unknown and fearsome Black Knight fatal; he already seems to be dead, but then Connor suddenly heals up within a very short time. He is then accused by his own clan and even by his lover Kate of being in league with the devil . A mob demands his cremation, but one of his relatives, Angus MacLeod, manages that Connor is merely banished.
Later Connor lives with his wife Heather in isolation in a dilapidated brochure in the middle of the Highlands . Only when he is visited by the Egyptian nobleman Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez does he find out what he is: There are “ immortals ” among people. With the first violent death, immortality takes effect on these elect; henceforth they no longer age, cannot father children and can only be killed by beheading. As a result, they fight each other in order to unite the forces of all immortals (the so-called "animation" [ Quickening ]) and to be able to rule the world. Only one of them can ultimately survive in order to be able to lead the strength that has been gathered in the end.
Connor MacLeod is trained to be a sword master by Ramírez, who was born 2,437 years ago. Ramírez explains to Connor the reason for his briefings: The black knight who killed Connor is called Kurgan (he is the last survivor of an ancient barbarian people, the Kurganen; in the German translation as Kurgiesen) and is also an immortal, but bloodthirsty and intoxicated of his immortality and therefore an extremely poor candidate for strength and its potential, should he ultimately win. Connor should therefore be put in a position to defend himself against him. Ramírez is finally beheaded in a duel by Kurgan after he was only severely wounded. Connor himself stays alive, but also gets to know the darker side of immortality: Despite Ramírez's advice, he refuses to leave Heather and has to watch his beloved wife grow old and finally die in his arms. Thereupon Connor leaves Scotland and travels the world for the next 430 years until he comes to America, where he settles down to fight the last fight there, because there are now only a few immortals left.
Back in present-day New York: the police cannot prove the murder of Fasil on MacLeod, now an antique dealer, although they are still suspicious of him. Only fragments of the murder weapon could be found; However, these arouse the curiosity of the pathologist Brenda Wyatt, who is also an author on the metallurgical history of ancient swordsmithing. The katana that Connor used in the fight in Madison Square Garden originally belonged to Ramírez and was made by the father of his Japanese bride 593 years before the birth of Christ, long before the art of swordsmithing in the Japanese Middle Ages. Fascinated by the possible existence of this sword, Brenda begins to chase Connor and eventually discovers clues to his life as an immortal. Connor ultimately reveals his secret to Brenda, and they both start a love affair.
Meanwhile, Kurgan turns up in New York, and he and Connor quickly come into conflict with each other. Kurgan kills another immortal and then uses Brenda as a hostage to force the final argument with Connor. A long battle ensues between the last two immortals, which MacLeod wins.
He and Brenda retreat to Scotland. As a prize, Connor MacLeod receives the power to read people's minds. From now on he can father children and grow old, and in memory of his friend Ramírez he decides to use his newfound powers for the benefit of mankind.
backgrounds
The film was based on a script by film student Gregory Widen. The film was produced by Peter Davis and William Panzer, who still hold the rights to Highlander today . Before shooting, however, the script was significantly revised by Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson. In the original, the story and character of the main character were much darker, with more emphasis on the darker side of immortality.
The music in the film adds a lot to the atmosphere of Highlander . It emerged from a close cooperation between the composer Michael Kamen and the rock group Queen . Queen had previously written the soundtrack for the science fiction film Flash Gordon . They should only contribute a few titles to Highlander . According to his own account, while still in the car on the way back from the studio, Brian May wrote the basics of Who Wants to Live Forever . Other songs were directly related to the film, such as A Kind of Magic (a quote from Connor MacLeod) and the title theme Princes of the Universe . Kamen's film music took up the themes of the Queen titles in many places and continued them orchestral. Queen brought out their songs written for the film in a modified form on their twelfth studio album in 1986, entitled A Kind of Magic .
The film was shot in New York and Scotland, and many indoor and studio shots were made in London . The budget was $ 16 million. While Sean Connery is rarely associated with the film, for Christopher Lambert the immortal Connor MacLeod is the role with which he is identified to this day. He learned sword fighting for 16 weeks for this role . Since the very short-sighted Lambert cannot wear contact lenses, additional hours of practice were necessary so that the filming could proceed without an accident.
Cut versions
The film was released in the US in a version shortened by around six minutes compared to the European version; only in France has it been cut almost as sharply for the cinema. The European version in Germany originally received an age rating of 18 years and over from the FSK , which is why a version shortened by a few violent peaks, which was approved for ages 16 and over, and a version shortened by several minutes and approved for ages 12 and up were created for television . Only the FSK 16 version was released on video, while the uncut European version, which is often marketed as the “Director's Cut”, was released on DVD with 18 release. The latter was finally approved in 2007 after a re-examination from the age of 16.
In America, both the American theatrical version and the “Director's Cut” (when it was released on DVD) were released as R-rated . These two versions not only differ in length, some dialogues have also been slightly changed. Although the "Director's Cut" is much longer than the US version, it doesn't just contain new scenes. A short scene of a policeman in front of Brenda's apartment is also missing.
Some scenes were also cut for the European release (a conversation between Brenda and Connor, Connor and Kastagir's party, Kurgan's fight against another immortal). There are many photos of these scenes, but not the film scenes themselves. Rumor has it that they have been destroyed by a fire in the studio in the meantime. They are not included as bonus material in any of the numerous video , laser disc and DVD publications.
Sequels
Despite the round ending of the first film, a sequel was shot due to the success . Highlander II - The Return hit theaters in 1991 and made a significant shift towards science fiction by turning the immortals into aliens . Although commercially successful, Highlander II is considered artistically unsuccessful and is not viewed today by producers or most fans as part of the "official Highlander timeline".
The main sequel is the 1992 television series Highlander . In it Adrian Paul plays the role of Duncan MacLeod, an immortal from the same clan as Connor. The series ran quite successfully on television for six seasons. At the same time, Highlander III - Die Legende came to the cinemas in 1994 , again with Lambert as Connor MacLeod. In Highlander: Endgame , both Highlanders finally appeared together on the big screen in 2000. The latest film is Highlander - The Source of Immortality (2007), in which immortals search for their “ holy grail ”. It was supposed to be the start of a new trilogy, which has not yet been continued.
In addition, there are many other facets of the Highlander universe, such as the cartoon series Highlander , the short-lived offshoot series Raven , the animated film Highlander - The Power of Retribution , the Internet Flash miniseries The Methos Chronicles , novels, a card game (CCG) and so on.
Trivia
- Peter Diamond , who can be seen as Iman Fasil at the beginning of the film, was also the stunt coordinator of the film. In his long career as a stunt coordinator, fight choreographer and actor, Diamond has worked in stunt-heavy supporting roles a. a. Classic films like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark shaped. He was also featured in an episode of the later Highlander television series. Bob Anderson was responsible for choreographing the film's sword fights .
- The music video for Queens Princes of the Universe , also shot by Mulcahy, combines scenes from the film with recordings of the band, who played in the recreated setting of the film's final fight. Christopher Lambert appears as Connor MacLeod.
- In the original version, when MacLeod thinks back to his first meeting with Rachel, Lambert speaks English, but the SS officer speaks German, which without subtitles leads to a slight problem of comprehension and thus to the loss of humor in this dialogue.
- Another difference to the original English version: In German MacLeod gives Ramírez the nickname “Spanish peacock”, in English he uses the term “ Haggis ”, which is meant to be rather offensive . He used it for the first time during the balancing act in the boat on the lake (the original text was changed significantly for this).
- The film lives to a large extent from the alternation between retrospectives and present-day action, which only gradually reveal the characters' previous history. These changes between the present and the past were all cut as so-called match cuts . A list of flashbacks:
- 1536 - Glenfinnan , Scotland
- 1542/43 - Glen Coe , Scotland
- 1587 - Glen Coe, Scotland
- 1783 - Boston ( MA ), USA
- 1943 - Netherlands
- Parts of the film were shot in the Scottish castle Eilean Donan Castle near Dornie ; these parts are later (incorrectly) located in Glenfinnan.
- Among other things, the British band Marillion was considered for the film music. The band declined to work because they were promoting the very successful album Misplaced Childhood at the time and were on tour.
- The German version of the film contains some translation errors. Brenda visits a computer specialist who compares Connor's signatures of the various identities over the centuries with his current identity, Russell Nash. It's very cold in the room, which is why Brenda shivers and asks if there is no heating in the room. The computer specialist replies that heat is bad for the “circuits” , which in the German version is incorrectly translated as “circuit” instead of “Schaltkreise” . In the same scene, the specialist claims that this Russell Nash "has been sneaking around here for at least 460 years" (a reference to Connor MacLeod's actual age). At that time he was still living with Heather in the Highlands. In the original it is only 400 years, which is more appropriate in terms of time, but firstly, given the settlement history of New York City , it is rather unlikely and secondly it does not match the age of the house that the dialogue is about. Another translation error can be found in the scene in which Connor speaks to Brenda for the first time. Connor enters a bar and orders a whiskey. In the English original this is the still popular Glenmorangie ( "A double Glenmorangie on ice" ). In the German translation (which comes from a time before the popularization of malt whiskey in Germany) it became Glen Moray (“A double Glen Moray on ice”). When Russel Nash is interrogated by the police, there is twice talk of a workshop (wrong translation of English garage ) - but what is meant is the underground car park. In the original Kurgan wishes the nuns in the church "Happy Halloween, Ladies". This suggests that it could be October 31st or a day just before that. Since Halloween 1986 was not yet widespread in German-speaking countries and only a few could begin with the word, he wishes “Happy All Souls, Ladies” in the translation. However, All Souls Day is not until November 2nd, so the action is postponed two days.
- MacLeod made a guest appearance in the video game Magicka as a non-player character . For killing this NPC you get the achievement "There can only be one".
- There is a certain irony in the cast of the roles, as for example the native Scotsman Craig Ferguson showed in his Late Late Show on the broadcast of May 1, 2014: the American Christopher Lambert, who grew up in Francophone countries, plays a Scotsman, whereas the Scotsman Sean Connery plays a Spanish speaking nobleman.
Reviews
“A thoroughly entertaining fantasy film full of action and speed, staged with great effort. The clichés of the plot are masked by sophisticated cinema attractions that are not presented without a joke, but above all the formal means of the video clip: clever camera pans, lighting effects, music that is sure of effects and, above all, the montage create a dazzling cinematic cosmos that reflects the logic of the space. Time-structure appealing. "
literature
- Hans Messias: More or less than a video clip? Reflections on "Highlander" by Russel Mulcahy. In: Film-Korrespondenz , Vol. 33, No. 19, September 16, 1986, pp. 7-9.
Web links
- Highlander - There can be only one in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Highlander - There can only be one atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- Location of the film
- Comparison of the cut versions FSK 16 - FSK 18 , Kabel Eins FSK 12 - FSK 18 , US theatrical version - Director's Cut by Highlander - There can only be one at Schnittberichte.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release Certificate for Highlander - There can only be one . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF).
- ↑ The Methos Chronicles ( Memento of the original from June 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) - Page at Highlander Worldwide ; As of June 28, 2011
- ↑ Craig Ferguson 5/1 / 14C Late Late Show tweetEmail. In: TVsCraigFerguson2. YouTube , January 27, 2020, accessed June 21, 2020 .
- ↑ Highlander - There can only be one. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
