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Highlander

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Highlander

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1986 film by Russell Mulcahy

OverviewAI-generated

Highlander is a 1986 fantasy, adventure, and action film directed by Russell Mulcahy. The screenplay was written by Gregory Widen and Larry Ferguson, with music composed by Michael Kamen. The cast includes Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Roxanne Hart, and Clancy Brown. Production was handled by EMI Films, Davis-Panzer Productions, Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment, and Highlander Productions. The film originated in the United Kingdom and the United States, with filming taking place in New York City, New Jersey, London, and Hertfordshire.

The narrative is set in New York City and Scotland, featuring characters such as Connor MacLeod, Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez, and Kurgan. Gerry Fisher served as director of photography, while Peter Honess edited the film and James Acheson designed the costumes. The movie has a runtime of 111 minutes according to one source, though other listings cite 110 or 116 minutes. It was released on March 7, 1986, with additional release dates in June 1986. The film’s tagline is "There can be only one."

Synthesized by Vinony from 40 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, IMDb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film · TMDB

6.9

He fought his first battle on the Scottish Highlands in 1536. He will fight his greatest battle on the streets of New York City in 1986. His name is Connor MacLeod. He is immortal.

Released: 1986-03-07116 minDir: Russell MulcahyAdventure, Action, FantasyBudget: $19.0MBox office: $12.9MPart of: Highlander Collection

Cast

  • Christopher Lambert as Connor 'The Highlander' MacLeod
  • Roxanne Hart as Brenda J. Wyatt
  • Clancy Brown as Victor 'The Kurgan' Kruger
  • Sean Connery as Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez
  • Beatie Edney as Heather MacLeod
  • Alan North as Lieutenant Frank Moran

Themes

  • new york city
  • martial arts
  • swordplay
  • immortality
  • scotland
  • sword
  • sword fight
  • fictional war
  • dark fantasy
  • warrior

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Ratings

IMDb

7/10

159,384 votes

Year
1986
Runtime
110 min
Genres
Action, Adventure, Fantasy

via IMDb

Key facts

Directed by
Russell Mulcahy
Screenplay by
Gregory Widen Peter Bellwood Larry Ferguson
Story by
Gregory Widen
Produced by
Peter S. Davis William N. Panzer
Starring
Christopher Lambert Roxanne Hart Clancy Brown Sean Connery
Cinematography
Gerry Fisher
Edited by
Peter Honess
Music by
Michael Kamen
Production companies
Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment Highlander Productions Davis-Panzer Productions
Distributed by
20th Century Fox (U.S.) Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment (through Columbia - Cannon - Warner Distributors) (U.K.)
Release dates
January 1986 ( 1986-01 ) ( Avoriaz ) March 7, 1986 ( 1986-03-07 ) (U.S.) August 29, 1986 ( 1986-08-29 ) (U.K.)
Running time
111 minutes
Countries
United Kingdom United States
Language
English
Budget
$19 million
Box office
$12.8 million

via Wikipedia infobox

~36 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Highlander is a 1986 fantasy action-adventure film and the first installment in the Highlander franchise. It follows Connor MacLeod, a Scottish Highlander who discovers he is immortal and, after centuries of clandestine duels, confronts his ultimate rival in contemporary New York. It stars Christopher Lambert as MacLeod and also features Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown, and Sean Connery. It is directed by Russell Mulcahy from a screenplay by Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, and Larry Ferguson.

Highlander was a commercial failure on its initial theatrical release, grossing only a little less than $13 million worldwide against a production budget of $19 million, while receiving mixed reviews. Nevertheless, it became a cult film and inspired several film sequels and television spin-offs. British rock band Queen recorded several songs for the film's soundtrack, and those songs also appeared on their 1986 studio album, A Kind of Magic. Another Queen song, "Hammer to Fall", is also used in the film, although it was recorded for the band's previous studio album, The Works. One of the songs from A Kind of Magic, "Princes of the Universe", was also used for the title sequence in the television series. The tagline, "There can be only one", has carried on into pop culture.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Highlander” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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