Highlander (1 Viewer)

[Brian D H]

Pathetic.

There are towns and castles all over eastern Europe that haven't changed since the 1600s and they can't do one flashback? The only cost would have been the costumes and they probably have those left over from the TV series. If they're "re-writing" the script to use the "available sets" you'd think they'd include this.
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And, Abramowitz didn't write it? I am so disappointed right now.

 

[Zack Gibbs]

Watched this yesterday. Worst part was whenever someone/someplace new shows up on screen text shows up on screen naming them, X-files style. Unfortunately its accompanied by an unrelentingly loud digital typing sound. It's extremely annoying having this loud beeping going off every few seconds or so.


I'm just kidding BTW, there were much worse things than that. That was the 1st problem though.

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

Has anyone informed the Rifftrax guys about this movie?

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

A trailer for the Highlander anime movie has been released.

 

[Will_B]

If that link is down (it was for me), turn here:

 

[Ferdinand Hudson]

In case anyone haven't heard it yet, producer Bill Panzer died the other day after an accidental fall.

 

[Edwin-S]

It's bizarre how life can go. One day you're just cruising along and the next day....bingo.....you're stiff.

What a way he went. By ice skating of all things. Apparently, he decided to go ice skating and went down hard, striking his head. He appeared to be okay but succumbed, later on, to a haemorrhage. Just a very unfortunate accident. May he RiP.

 

[Will_B]

Adrian Paul's tribute to Bill Panzer is here:

http://www.adrianpaul.net/tributetobillpanzer.html

And I like how everyone is being honest in their tributes (on the highlander forums), noting that they "didn't always see eye to eye" on Highlander. I like that people can be honest about these differences even as we acknowledge the loss.

 

[Will_B]

Tomorrow is the release of the anime Highlander: The Search for Vengence!

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

A review of the anime was posted on AWN. (Note that there are multiple movies reviewed in the article.)

 

[Brian D H]

Attention Highlander fans (like myself): Stick a fork in it, the franchise is dead.

Lionsgate will NOT be releasing this in theaters. Evidently they couldn't edit the Russian version into a salavagable movie and have decided to just dump it onto basic cable TV with a few extra minutes deleted. (edited)

Highlander: The Source will "premier" as a "SciFi Original" on the SciFi channel on September 15th. (Set your DVRs?)
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:frowning: At least I have my Highlander: Ultimate Edition DVD, The Highlander Series DVDs, and even Highlander: End Game.
(I don't own or acknowledge the 2nd movie - though I might buy movie #3 someday.)
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Maybe we can look for a complete reboot in a decade or two.

 

[Ferdinand Hudson]

More on the line of 8 minutes shorter. The US Domestic Version was issued on DVD in Holland a short while back and it has been pretty trimmed down, inserted a few alternate takes, changed some SFX (not drastically imo) and removed the Methos intro and replaced it with an intro by Thekla Reuten who also gets to do an ending monologue not in the original cut. The only change on the SciFi compared to the Dutch DVD will be some editing for language and maybe violence. The original "Russian cut" (also issued in Poland and Brazil btw) will remain the longer version so far.

 

[Holadem]

--
H

 

[KurtEP]

I seem to remember that there was a decent nude scene in it. Unfortunately, I'd rather stab myself in the eye with a fork than watch that travesty again to verify it. :frowning:

 

[Brian D H]

Agreed. And some are saying that "Highlander: The Source" is worse. I'll let you know in a week after I've seen it and after I pull the fork out of my eye.
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Hmmm..... Should we move this thread to the TV forum at this point? Right now this has become a TV Movie followup to a TV series.

 

[Brian D H]

As promised it's been a week and I've seen it.

Review:

Highlander: The Source: 1 1/2 stars
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Here's my Highlander scale so you know where I'm coming from:

Highlander: 5 stars
Highlander 2: 0 stars
Highlander 3: 2 1/2 stars
Highlander 4 (Endgame): 3 stars [I know it's badly edited and constructed, but I still like it.]
Highlander the Series: 4 stars [Individual episodes range from 0 stars (most of 6th season) to 5 stars (Homecoming, 100th episode, etc.)]

Who am I? I'm a fan. I saw all of the movies in the theaters. I own the first movie and Endgame. I own the series. I even own "Raven" (but only because it was free with the series). I was at The Gathering 1998 convention. I own props from the series. I was on the Highlander cruise in 1999 (or was it 1997?). And now, I'm calling it quits.
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Summary? It was as bad as I'd feared.

First of all the presentation: SciFi couldn't even be bothered to show it in the proper aspect ratio - it was pan-and-scan, and it was a shortened version. I've seen a better ending on youtube that was from one of the DVDs (I think).

The coloring of the movie was very stylized which gave the whole thing a dream-like quality that in my opinion didn't work. Perhaps it was meant to convey the "mystical" feel of the plot, but to me it just took the proceedings even further from reality.

Permit me to quote from another reviewer who sums it all up pretty well:


It suffered from all of the problems of "Endgame" multiplied by 10. Like "Endgame" it didn't have the budget it needed (but worse), it seemed rushed in post-production due to the poor editing, sound, and score. Both "Endgame" and "The Source" seem like work-prints, with missing footage and incoherent construction. What separates them is that "The Source" also seems to have a rough draft for a script. That catapults it far below the rating of "Endgame". The only reason it is rated better than "Highlander 2" is that it is not the worst movie of all time - that alone gives it 1 star. It gets another 1/2 star for the simple fact that if this WAS a rough-draft AND it had been re-written 3 or 4 times there could have beeen a good movie in here somewhere.

For example; what if you used the extended ending on youtube (the one narrated by a different MacLeod) then you imagine an opening where we DON't have MacLeod brooding or playing a "Batman", where it is set now instead of in a post-apocalyptic world, where instead jumping into unexplained action (to establish the setting) we spend time simply establishing the relationship of Duncan, Methos, Joe and Anna (or maybe some other girl? Perhaps Kate? Perhaps even Amanda?)?, what if the first action scene is simply a fight between Duncan and another immortal on the same quest that ends in a quickening (to establish what immortals are for the newbys) and to lead Duncan on the quest? Perhaps the immortal was the first of many who might be coming after Anna? Then this group of friends can set off on their quest. Hey, what if we ditch the "Elder" and the guardian's story is revealed by Methos who, it turns out, knew him all those years ago before he became the guardian? (That would explain Methos' presence in the plot, at least) Then we increase the budget, add a few flashbacks, and fix the effects.........
*** Crap!*** You see what I did the last couple of days? I wasted my time imagining how to fix this mess. My ideas are leaps and bounds better than what we got. If we added 2 or 3 more re-writes on this it COULD have been a 3 star movie, maybe a 4, maybe the launch of a new franchise.

Instead, as I guessed last week, it's over. Let's just play the pipes, hold the wake, re-watch the first movie (or your favorite episodes), and put the clan MacLeod to rest. We still have our memories.

Signed - A Fan

 

[Rhett_Y]

This was bad.. caught the last hour if it on scifi this weekend.. oh man is it bad... The ending sets it up to go into a tv show.... Since when do the immortals get super fast, we are talking "flash" fast... it was bad.....

 

[Will_B]

We do still, indeed, have our memories. As bad as Highlander can get, nothing will change the fact that for me the Highlander: The Series television series -- particularly the seasons that introduced the Watchers -- were riveting. The episodes still hold up today (well, maybe not the clothing in season one, but everything else!).

 

[joshEH]

Ayup...you beat me to the punch, Will.

I was about to say (mostly) everything you just said -- at least there's the TV series to continually enjoy again and again over the years, and despite whatever you might happen to feel about this new flick, no one can take away your TV DVDs.

 

[Brian D H]

Amen. And it's nice to hear that there are still others out there who remember.

This is so stupid, but I feel like I've been watching a family member in intensive care for 5 years and we just pulled the plug - not because he couldn't have been saved, but because of the malpractice and incompetence on the part of all the "professionals" involved.