Highlander 2 Special Edition: anyone buying? (1 Viewer)

[dannyCraigs]

nice review, can't say that i'm tempted to buy it though. Only way i would buy this is in a highlander trilogy boxset, where i was virtually getting the second one for free.

 

[Jim Barg]

Nice review, David.

I found the documentary to be a fascinating blend of revisionist history and 'what the hell were we thinking?' and the featurettes were quite good.

Only things I missed were a commentary and the silly American theatrical trailer. (If Anchor Bay had gone ahead and put together this set, which at one point I think they were going to in 2002, we'd have had those extras.)

It's an unnecessary nitpick for what is a nice package to a bad movie.

 

[jason:g]

Too many different cuts/versions of essentially the same movie = Bad movie

 

[Will_B]

Jason yeah, I just can't do it myself. I can't make myself watch this again, no matter how much I love Highlander, and how much the new effects look nice. Can't do it. I promised myself back at the LAST director's cut that I wouldn't do it.

 

[Artur Meinild]

Following that logic, the original Star Wars trilogy are all very bad movies (3 cuts so far), the new Star Wars somehow bad (2 cuts), Lord of the Rings trilogy bad (2 cuts)... Most James Cameron movies are also bad (Terminator 2, Aliens, The Abyss), and finally don't forget the original Highlander, which is also a bad movie because it has numerous different cuts (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091203/alternateversions).

Does that translate?

 

[dannyCraigs]

I think it's quite obvious why changes have been made to Highlander 2 and most of us are aware of the production issues when this film was being made. In most cases, including lord of the rings, these new cuts add features for the fans, that might make the movie drag on to long for joe sixpack or bore him with detail. They are not repair jobs.

With the original star wars trilogy, it's a case of the director refusing to leave it alone. There's nothing wrong with any of the original releases of these films except that they don't fit in as well as they could do with the new prequels (which the first 2 have been totally unimpressive, hopefully the 3rd can save the trilogy), which IMO is why were seeing all these changes and why we will contine to see changes to the original trilogy. That coupled with the extra money to be made by contantly revising the most sucessfull trilogy of all time.

 

[Jason Walstrom]

Does that translate?




Nope. You're just being Cheeky.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Febtober!

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

"Following that logic, the original Star Wars trilogy are all very bad movies (3 cuts so far), the new Star Wars somehow bad (2 cuts), Lord of the Rings trilogy bad (2 cuts)... Most James Cameron movies are also bad (Terminator 2, Aliens, The Abyss), and finally don't forget the original Highlander, which is also a bad movie because it has numerous different cuts..."


No, what the poster probably meant was that, no matter how many times you take a bad movie and rejigger it, it's still going to be BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD. And HIGHLANDER 2 is one of the worst films ever to waste celluloid. Not because it has 3 different versions available, but because it's a horrible piece of garbage. Although it is unintentionally hilarious in a few spots, so it could have probably been even worse, although I daren't imagine how...

For that matter, am I the only one who didn't even like the first film? I saw it in the theater in '86, and thought that it was a mindless, derivative pile of junk with some good camerawork and lighting. The ONLY bright spots are Connery and the excellent soundtrack by Queen. Russell Mulcahy can't direct his way out of a paper bag...THE SHADOW is further proof of this, as if we needed more.

 

[TheLongshot]

Actually, The Shadow is very much a guilty pleasure for me. It is fun in a very cheesy way.

Jason

 

[Jim Barg]

The Rochester Public Library had a copy, so about a week before the DVD came out I borrowed it to quell my curiosity.

Thankfully, I didn't pay for it...

 

[Will_B]

I liked the first film just fine, in a "not quite as good as the first Terminator" kind of way (they were both similarly low-budget sci-fi action films), but it was the more dramatic sensibilities of the tv series that solidified me a true immie fan.

The timeline for me goes

HIGHLANDER 1...then bear left into slightly-alternate timeline to arrive at HIGHLANDER:THE SERIES* and HIGHLANDER IV:ENDGAME.

*And in my imagination, Richie lived happily ever after at that rich girl's castle.

Everything else is just the producers flailing around with the concept trying to come up with something that sticks.

 

[stewart borland]

OK I'll own up, I bought it :b

I know it's not the best, but I have them all - my excuse is that some of it was filmed up here, although more so the first one where most of the locations are Glencoe

 

[David_Blackwell]

Bumping to add that Paramount is re-issuing the Special Edition DVD on June 6th with new cover art. The extras are the same. I just contacted Paramount to see if the scene cut from the SE is still cut for the Paramount re-issue of this Republic title. I can always request the DVD and see if any differences exist in the re-issue.

 

[Dave Simkiss]

I'd be very interested to know that as well.

3 Special editions for Highlander 2 - who on earth (or Zeist) would have thought it.

 

[Sean_Murphy]

If anyone is interested, I wrote an article for Video Watchdog Magazine about the three versions (at the time this was the American, European and Renegade versions) of Highlander II.

The article does not cover this revised Renegade version with the newly updated special effects, but it does give you a really great overview of the many difference between the different versions of a very bad film.

I would be interested to know what scene was cut from the Renegade Version with the new special effects if anyone knows.

You can check out the article at http://www.figmentfly.com/published/...r2article.html.

And for those of you who really want some pain, you can see the shot-by-shot breakdowns I did for all three versions of the film at www.figmentfly.com/published/index.html.

Sean

 

[Damin J Toell]

DJ

 

[Jerome]

Sean,

your work on the different cuts of Highlander 2 was amazing. I keep this issue of VW with a extra care.

 

[Porfirio]

Thanks for the article Sean. I never knew about the Director's Cut and I figured the Renegade version was just another gimmick release. After reading your article, I've decided to give this film another chance.

Now, which one do I get, the current SE or the Paramount release? hmm

 

[Damin J Toell]

Whichever you can get the cheapest. It appears that the Paramount release will just be the current Republic/Lionsgate SE with new cover art. The Republic/Lionsgate release is available for $12 and change as of now. If you want it ASAP, I would not hesitate to pick it up. Otherwise, you can wait to se what the Paramount release ends up costing, but I doubt it will be so much cheaper as to make you regret purchasing the current release.

DJ