Several times during the 80-minute special feature on Highlander: The Source, the actors, crewmembers and long-time Highlander associates assure the audience that this film will take Highlander to a new place, a place it has never been before.
On the surface all the elements are there for a good story - adding more to the legendary world of the immortals. There are special effects, cool equipment, fights and romance. What emerges at the end is a mixed up conglomeration of things varying from the most distasteful characters of the Mad Max movies, through eerie dream-like flash backs, to (I kid you not) a Jabba the Hut clone as some sort of defunct priest with a mysterious message.
There is none of the pathos, or the sense of mythology in the Immortal’s lives, unless one believes in only the mythology of monsters and the reality of man’s evil. With some of the most skilled swordsmen in the world today as part of the cast, why in the world was the decision made to film the fights in a fast forward “fantasy mode.”
The Special Features included are the above mentioned 80 minute documentary (?) on the making of the film. It plays like it was filmed by an eight year old with his first video camera.
There are a lot of confused and frankly boring scenes, mixed with some good stuff about production and technical aspects. This could have benefitted greatly from careful editing to make it worthwhile. People don’t really care to hear how many times cast and crew can say the f word during a scene run-through.
The best thing about the disc is the fifteen minute memorial to Bill Panzer. It is well crafted, beautifully written and moving in the extreme, especially if you have been a long time Highlander fan. It is worth the price of the disc to add this to your Highlander collection.
The running time for the feature is 86 minutes, and it is rated R for violence and some language.
Highlander: The Source is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information. Click Here to read a chat M&C’s April MacIntyre had with Highlander star Adrian Paul.
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