Highlander ... the opposite of a chick flick?

For three years now, we've been looking for the proper treatment to give 1986's Highlander, starring the haggis-eating Christopher Lambert and the Spanish peacock-struttin' Sean Connery.

It's hard-to-qualify movie: Is it just a straight-forward guy flick? Or a sci-fi movie? A fantasy? Or just a really good opportunity to listen to non-stop Queen songs for 90 minutes? (All of the above!)

Just yesterday, longtime fan Rupe from Tamoka Park, Maryland, writes in to argue the point:

"Hey Steve. I'm wondering if either of you fellows have any love for the cheezyfest that is Highlander. I'm listening to the chick flicks podcast and the letter read on the show mentioned A Kind of Magic, which is the Queen album that most of the movie's songs are on ... except for Hammer To Fall (featured in the scene with the crazy Vietnam vet), as that's on The Works (the one with Radio Ga Ga)."

"In any case, it's directed by Russell Mulcahy, who directed many a double-Duran video!  And the finale takes place on top of Silvercup Studios, home of the Sopranos sets."

"I could go on and on ... but when it comes to the sequels, TV series, books, etc... keep in mind my personal Highlander mantra: "There should have been only one!"

Nice argument, Rupe. I've never subjected myself to the sequels, so would I have to do that before we could do a proper podcast? My guess is that Sean Daly will whine and moan in any case. And what does everyone else think: Should we cover this movie as part of a larger topic or is Highlander worthy of a podcast episode of its very own?

TOP 5 HIGHLANDER LINES TO USE ON SEAN DALY:

5. "You have the manners of a goat. And you smell like a dung-heap!"

4. "I apologize for calling your wife a bloated warthog, and I bid you good day."

3. "You look like a woman, you stupid haggis!"

2. "Tonight you sleep in hell."

1. "Hello, pretty..."

Comments

[SpecialK]

Marissa, I agree with you about the last movie. To put it blankly, it sucked!
I loved the TV series but was really disappointed with the last season or two, how about you?

[CHAD]

never seen any of christopher lambert's movies, not one.

[don in tulsa]

highlander definately deserves it's own podcast. the sequel was horrid. the sorceror one had huge plot holes. i rather enjoyed the one that joined the original with the tv show.

calling highlander a chick flick doesn't make sense. i can shoot holes in your argument easily. 1. far too much violence. 2. no strong female lead (the love interest SEEMS to be strong but really isn't). 3. the lead character is a male. end of story.

[Marissa]

ARGH! I like my 2nd one better anyway -- sheesh.

[Marissa]

Yikes! The blog ate my comment.
I'll try again.

I never cared for the Highlander movies starring Christopher Lambert. I'm sure that is partially due to having been an avid viewer of the series starring "yummy eye candy" Adrian Paul (Thanks SpecialK)
I recently watched one of feature length HIGHLANDER movies starring Adrian Paul. Sadly, even if he'd been nude the entire time and called out my name in the movie, it still would have sucked major haggis.

[Marissa]

I never cared for the movies. I suppose that's due to having watched the series with, as SpecialK put it, "yummy eye candy" Adrian Paul.
I recently watched what I believe is the last "Highlander" movie starring Adrian Paul. argh. Even if he was nude the entire time and calling out my name in the film, it still would have sucked major haggis.

[Rock Fields]

I really liked the first movie. The second movie really, really sucked. I saw it in the theater when it came out and wanted to go get my money back. The third one was better (that one should have been the only sequel). I watched the TV show until about the last season and a half. Though making a former Miss America and Roger Daltrey as immortals was kind of cool.
I vote for a podcast on the first movie but touch on the other movies and the TV show to acknowledge that they happened.

VGF: that is one of my favorite quotes from the movie. And, I can hear a little of the Kurgen when Mr. Krabs gets mad. But only a little.

[Dominic]

Highlander should get it's own podcast. It's a great movie that spawned some god-awful sequels. There is much to talk about (The great score by Queen, natch).

[Rupe]

"What is...Highlander?"

"It's a movie. It won the Oscar."

"For What?"

"Greatest film of all time."

-Talladega Nights

[Shane in Pennsylvania]

While nominally NOT a "chick flick" for the great reasons spelled out in your blog's thesis paragraph, I can argue that it nonetheless qualifies.

What could be more touching to a female filmgoer than a man who carries a torch for his long dead wife -- whom he cannot join in death unless he loses his head at or on his way to The Gathering? Further, this same tortured soul forbears other earthly love to spare himself the exquisite pain of loss that he'd carried for hundreds of years over the death of his bonnie Heather.

Viewed through this lens, not only does THE HIGHLANDER qualify as a chick flick, it also so raises the bar that other lesser chick flicks may lose the title themselves.

You never taught me that, you Spanish peacock.

[Rupe]

Other favorite lines:
"Go to the Garden often? Basketball... the circus... WRESTLING?!"

"I cannot swim, you Spanish peacock!"

"Haggis? What is haggis?"
"Sheep's stomach, stuffed with meat and barley."
"What do you do with it?"
"You eat it!"

For some reason, the film has always ended with the note that an official soundtrack was available; that never seemed to materialize, although scads of (probably bootleg) versions are out on the net.

Also, for those of us in the US, the film on home video was a cut-down version of the European version, which featured a WWII segment that introduced us to MacLeod's secretary, Rachel, as a young girl. The key point of the film is he's shot by Nazis, after which he gets up - much to her astonishment - and says, "It's a kind of magic," setting up their 1980s exchange of the same line & Queen's title track. Why this was excised in the US for so long we'll not really know, although recent DVD releases restored it.

There is a drinking game passed around Pittsburgh (where unsubstantiated rumors persist of a 'Highlander'-based frat) which features some of the following rules:
-flashback? drink.
-flashback within a flashback? drink 2x.
-the Quickening? drink.
-someone says "there can be only one"? drink.
-cool fade transition? drink.

You're really not going to get through the opening wrestling sequence sober, frankly...

[SpecialK]

I adore Highlander, the first movie AND the tv show (Adrian Paul is yummy eye candy) but many could argue that it is not geared toward the female populas but I wouldn't say that it's the absolute opposite of a chick flick (I would put Porky's and some others along that line in that category). I'm not sure if this movie merits it's own podcast in an entirety but think that OldSchool might have an idea with 80s films that have cult followings.
What others ones could we put in that category?

[OldSchool]

Not a fan, so an entire podcast would not interest me. 80s films with cult following would likely be a more interesting topic to me and it could include some discussion on Highlander.

Did not know that Mr. Krabs was in it, so that is an interesting bit of trivia I learned today.

[Douglas Arthur]

You could look at Lambert's overall 80's work, which also included the excellent Tarzan film, Greystroke, and after highlander it was all downhill after that (Though I do have a soft spot for Fortress, though that is a 90's film). However, I think if Highlander gets its own cast, it opens it up to doing a 'cast on a lot of other cult films, like Re-Animator and Evil Dead, which quite frankly deserves a cast of its own since it gave us Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell!

[Vegasgirlfriend]

"I'm Candy" "Of course you are"

I love the fact that Clancy Brown, who played The Kurgan, now does the voice of Mr. Krabs on Spongebob Squarepants.

[Miguel]

That`s one of the greatest mysteries in the history of times.Why did Diane Lane marry that dude?

Highlander? No,thank you.

[Brad]

How many topics should be included in the Highlander podcast?

"There can be only one."

[Michelle]

I love Sean Connery, and Christopher Lambert must have done something right to get Diane Lane to marry him back in the day.

[Jeff in Cuba]

I think the 'Highlander' oeuvre merits its own 'cast.

Besides, it doesn't exactly fit neatly into a larger topic. Like you said, it's a tough one to pin down.

[Dr. Dim]

I've seen the film once, after a lot of prodding by a friend of mine. About all I can recall is the wooden Christopher Lambert sounding very much like Peter Lorre.

I didn't bother with any of the sequels or the TV series.