Movie poster for Russell Mulcahy's Highlander, featuring Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, and Clancy Brown amid flashing blue lightning. — 20th Century Fox

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Highlander, a box office bomb that became a cult classic. We dive into the making of Highlander, the filmn’s themes of love and immortality and how Queen helped craft one of the great movie soundtracks

Highlander is hands down one of the greatest action movies of the ‘80s. No hyperbole. The film is an outrageous sci-fi fantasy mind melter about a race of immortal beings who battle each other through the ages for “The Prize” – the ultimate reward that grants the sole remaining Immortal incredible power and knowledge and the ability to live out their days as a mortal. If it sounds a little out there, that’s because it is, but any film that features swashbuckling sword fights, cartoon villains and Sean Connery playing an Egyptian-born Spanish sword master with a strong Scottish accent certainly comes into consideration for the title of “best movie ever”.

The idea for Highlander came to Gregory Widen while he was studying at UCLA. His original script, then entitled Shadow Clan, was quite different from what ended up on the big screen. Highlander went through many rewrites, with screenwriters Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson taking Gregory’s dark script and morphing it into a cartoonish, pulpy action flick with a dash of sci-fi.

Young Aussie director Russell Mulcahy was chosen to helm the project. Best known as a music video director – he had shot videos for The Saints (‘(I’m) Stranded’), The Vapors (‘Turning Japanese’), Rod Stewart (‘Young Turks’), Fleetwood Mac (‘Gypsy’), Elton John (‘I’m Still Standing’) and dozens more – Russell was fresh from directing his debut feature film, Razorback.

A commercial failure, the film did showcase Russell’s fast-paced editing style and creative nuance, which helped him land Highlander. In a 2016 interview with The Guardian, Russell explained how he “loved its graphic novel quality” and the “idea of an immortal who can never fall in love again, because he’d had to watch his first wife grow old.”

A long list of actors who were considered for the role of the Immortal Connor MacLeod, including Kurt Russell (who was cast but dropped out), Arnold Schwarzenegger (who thought it was too similar to Conan) and Mickey Rourke. Russell settled on French-American actor Christopher Lambert after spotting him as Tarzan in a magazine photo shoot promoting his latest film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. He was joined by Sean Connery as Egyptian-born Spanish Immortal Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez and Clancy Brown as The Kurgan, a brutal thug intent on killing all the remaining Immortals and claiming The Prize.

The casting of Christopher, who spent four hours a day with a dialect coach to help with his English, and Sean, who, despite playing an Egyptian living in Spain, spoke with a thick Scottish accent, didn’t really make sense on paper, but absurdly works on screen, with Christopher’s strange hybrid accent and Sean playing Sean adding to the dumb joy of Highlander. Clancy’s campy villain is also ridiculously fun and falls somewhere between a heavy metal frontman and a biker.

A budget of just $19 million meant Russell had to get creative, using the techniques he learned as a music video director, including fast cuts and a stylish soundtrack. Shot in England, Wales, Scotland and New York, Highlander was a fun but hard shoot according to Jonathan Melville’s highly recommended book, A Kind of Magic – Making the Original Highlander. While filming in Scotland, producers wanted to save money by not feeding the extras, which almost caused a riot. Thankfully they listened to reason, and the crisis was averted. Rain was also an issue, with over 200 pairs of Wellington boots purchased and wrapped in hessian sacking to look like bound leggings due to the extras’ original footwear becoming unusable due to the mud.

Highlander was released in 1986 and was a box office bomb, recouping just $12.8 million of its initial $19 million budget. Critics weren’t impressed, with Rotten Tomatoescritics consensus stating, “People hate Highlander because it’s cheesy, bombastic, and absurd. And people love it for the same reasons.”

Like so many films of that era, Highlander found a cult following amongst film buffs, with many retrospective reviews hailing the film’s stylish editing, impressive swordfights and acting, with Sean and Clancy both coming in for high praise for their over-the-top characters and understanding the silliness of the film’s sword and sorcery premise.

Then there’s the film’s concept of Immortals – humans that can’t be killed and are forced to live through the centuries as their family and friends live and die. This is something most people can resonate with. The thought of falling in love with someone only to know you will outlive them is tragic. Themes of lost love, isolation and immortality run strong throughout Highlander, with audiences sympathising with Connor after the death of his first wife, Heather MacDonald.

Despite his immortality and not being able to have children, he stays with her until she passes away in his arms. Distraught at losing his partner and realising he will never be able to have a normal relationship, Connor forgoes love and chooses to wander the earth alone, much like David Carradine’s Kwai Chang Caine in the hit ‘70s series Kung Fu.

Although he does eventually find love again in 1980s New York with forensic scientist Brenda Wyatt in New York, the theme of love and loss bubbles under the surface and gives Highlander a slightly serious tone, something that can be lost in the sword fights and action set pieces.

Then there’s the music. British rockers Marillion were first asked to record the soundtrack but were forced to turn down the opportunity as they were embarking on a world tour. Next in line was Queen, who had previous experience writing music for the sci-fi movie Flash Gordon.

According to A Kind of Magic – Making the Original Highlander, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury thought Highlander was the best script he had ever read. The band wrote six songs for the film – ‘Princes of the Universe’, ‘A Kind of Magic’, ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’, ‘Gimmie the Prize (Kurgan’s Theme)’, ‘Don’t Lose Your Head’ and ‘One Year of Love’ – collaborating with accomplished composer Michael Kamen, who was responsible for the film’s orchestral score.

While an official soundtrack has never been released, all six songs Queen wrote for Highlander ended up on their 1986 nine-track album A Kind of Magic, which has been called the unofficial Highlander soundtrack by fans.

The record was released to middling reviews but became a smash hit in the UK, debuting at #1 on the UK Album Charts and selling over 100,000 copies in the first week. Queen’s shmaltzy operatic pop rock was the perfect match for Highlander’s campy story of Immortal warriors battling it out in the streets of New York City.

The film opens with the anthemic ‘Princes of the Universe’, a clunky, anthemic stab of synth-pop with Freddie Mercury crooning “Here we are, born to be kings/We’re the princes of the universe”. Then there’s ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’, a soaring ballad Brian May wrote after watching a sneak peek of the film and realising the doomed romance between Connor and his wife, was at the heart of Highlander. It’s recognised as a Queen classic and is one of the most requested songs to be played at funerals.

Four decades on, and Highlander remains a slice of the ‘80s MTV era of filmmaking. It has spawned four movie sequels, a hit television series and is currently being rebooted by John Wick director Chad Stahelski with Henry Cavill in the role of the immortal Connor MacLeod. But nothing beats the original. Sure, it might be all over the shop tonally, but with Russell Mulchahy’s kinetic style of directing, Sean Connery and Clancy Brown chewing the scenery and Queen’s everlasting soundtrack, Highlander proves there can be only one.

Highlander is available to rent on Prime Video and Apple TV.

Five Films If You Enjoyed Highlander

The Duellist (1977)

Writer Gregory Widen has said that The Duellist was a large influence on his Highlander script. The Ridley Scott period drama follows an ongoing rift between bitter rivals Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine over two decades.

Troy (2004)

Troy is a big-budget historical epic loosely based on Homer’s Iliad with an ensemble cast featuring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Brian Cox, Rose Byrne and more. While not exactly faithful to the source material, Troy is a solid action flick well worth a watch.

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Based on Robert E. Howard’s legendary sword and sorcery hero Conan, this film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the bare-chested swordsman seeking revenge on the cult leader who murdered his parents. Negative reviews didn’t stop Conan the Barbarian from becoming a commercial hit that was followed by the 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer.

Excalibur (1981)

A retelling of the classic Arthurian legend, Excalibur stars Nigel Terry as Arthur and a top-shelf supporting cast including Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson. An absorbing blend of action, romance and fantasy.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

If you’re looking for a popcorn flick that’s lots of fun, look no further. This latest adaptation of the classic Dungeons & Dragons board game focuses on a team of unlikely heroes tasked with stealing an ancient relic. The cast is great, particularly Hugh Grant as the con artist Forge Fitzwilliam.