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Highlander

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Highlander

R

Released Mar 7, 1986

1h 51m

Fantasy

Adventure

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

69%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

When the mystical Russell Nash (Christopher Lambert) kills a man in a sword fight in a New York City parking lot, he leaves a sliver of an ancient weapon lodged in a car in the process. After brilliant forensics specialist Brenda Wyatt (Roxanne Hart) recovers evidence of the mysterious weapon, she and her partner, Lt. Frank Moran (Alan North), embark on an investigation Of Nash that will land them in the middle of a dangerous, centuries-old feud between powerful immortals.

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Critics Consensus

People hate Highlander because it's cheesy, bombastic, and absurd. And people love it for the same reasons.

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Even Gerry Fisher's camerawork can't convince me that this is other than the most inutterable tosh.

Jul 30, 2024

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Victoria Mather

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Made with such superstyle Highlander does have entertainment value but this can only be a one-off.

Jul 30, 2024

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

Close your brain to the illogicalities of the time-chopping structure and there is much to marvel at.

Jul 24, 2024

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

As the climax approaches, this sci-fi/fantasy blend tends to bore, struggling to turn sword-fighting and an inevitable showdown for an undefined “prize” into excitement.

Rated: 3/10

Jul 20, 2024

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

It’s easy to see why many love this picture but just as easy to see why many despise it.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 15, 2023

Full Review

Douglas Davidson

Elements of Madness

The film is a little sad, a little comic, a little horrific, and a little sexy and, now, it’s out on home video for the first time in 4K UHD with Dolby Vision and a bevy of bonus features.

Dec 21, 2022

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John A

(Director's Cut) This first film in a long running franchise is a vintage blend of camp, heart and Saturday serial fun.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/27/25

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Christian S

I was very young when this movie came out. It is still one of my favorites as of 2025. It aged a bit over the decades, but now 80s overblown movies are back in style. It is super entertaining. Clancy Brown is legend as Kurgan! The Queen soundtrack is killer! Thank you for making just an excellent film! Totally badass!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/12/25

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Lucion V

Growing up there were many movies of action and adventure and dragons and sorcery and this movie took the fantasy genre for me as a child and expanded it into the future of possibilities.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/25

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Jeremy S

Its THE fantasy movie. No movie has ever done sword and sorcery in a modern day setting like Highlander. Not even close. I'm going to go ahead and call a spade a spade: this is the greatest action movie of all-time. Queen's score, Clancy Brown, Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Roxanne Hart, Beatie Edney...Russell Mulcahy's revolutionary, music video-style directing; this is as good as movies get. This is to movies what Iron Maiden is to metal.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Had it's good moments, had its bad ones, but overall a great film! Parts felt quite rushed, especially the barely existent relationship with Brenda (poor Heather), but equally a lot of brilliant moments. Defo worth a watch at least once in your life!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

Full Review

Master L

Certainly better than anything else that’s came out in the past decade.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/25

Full Review

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Russell Mulcahy

Director

Christopher Lambert

Connor 'The Highlander' MacLeod

Sean Connery

Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez

Roxanne Hart

Brenda J. Wyatt

Clancy Brown

Victor Kruger

Beatie Edney

Heather MacLeod

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Synopsis

When the mystical Russell Nash (Christopher Lambert) kills a man in a sword fight in a New York City parking lot, he leaves a sliver of an ancient weapon lodged in a car in the process. After brilliant forensics specialist Brenda Wyatt (Roxanne Hart) recovers evidence of the mysterious weapon, she and her partner, Lt. Frank Moran (Alan North), embark on an investigation Of Nash that will land them in the middle of a dangerous, centuries-old feud between powerful immortals.

Director: Russell Mulcahy
Producer: William N. Panzer, Peter S. Davis
Screenwriter: Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, Larry Ferguson
Distributor: Home Box Office (HBO) [us], Image Entertainment Inc., 20th Century Fox, Anchor Bay Entertainment
Production Co: 20th Century Fox, Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment, Davis-Panzer Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 6, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.7M
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

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