Highlander 2 new S.E.

[Glaeken]

This article was featured on vfxworld.com....
*
Stargate to Re-do Highlander 2 VFX for Upcoming DVD
Monday February 2, 2004
**
Stargate Digital, which recently opened a new facility in London, is currently revamping of all the visual effects for Highlander 2, to be released on DVD this spring through Artisan Home Ent.

Ironically, HIGHLANDER 2, starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, and directed by Russell Mulcahy, was Stargate's very first project 15 years ago when the company was launched by president and visual effects supervisor Sam Nicholson. A team of some 25 to 30 digital artists representing Stargate's international pool of talent from its Los Angeles, Vancouver and London facilities will split the work on the re-do. Some of the veteran artists who worked on the original HIGHLANDER 2 will work on the new version. The entire project will be shared over a high-speed network. 150 shots will be redone using 3D graphics and digital compositing. An additional 10-15 brand new digital shots will be produced from scratch.

"Fifteen years ago we were doing latent image matte paintings on glass, double exposing film at different times in the production and positioning miniatures in the foreground of the glass painting," said Nicholson. "Now using 3D digital matte painting and our 'virtual backlot' we can create entire cities and landscapes. We can pull back much farther from a scene and fly through CG generated buildings and arrive at the original photography, which has been enhanced and finished in HD. We're printing new high-resolution scenes back to film with our Arri laser printer rather than an optical printer. A whole new level of production value can be achieved now."

The two-disc DVD special edition will be supervised by Jonathan Gaines of Digital Heaven for Davis-Panzer Prods. and Miguel Cassillas for Artisan.

Stargate Digital (www.stargatefilms.com) of South Pasadena is well known for the design and production of signature visual effects for such primetime TV series as CSI, ER, LAS VEGAS, WEST WING, THREAT MATRIX, DEAD ZONE, CROSSING JORDAN and THIRD WATCH. It also provided visual effects for USA Network's TRAFFIC miniseries.

[Notoriousaurus]

I will buy this, I hope it includes the original theatrical version as well as the Renegade version.

I have a soft spot for the theatrical because it was the first Highlander I seen. Even though it was originally titled. Highlander 2: The Quickening - Continuity Be Damned.

[PorkChopXpress]

Originally Posted by Notoriousaurus

I will buy this, I hope it includes the original theatrical version as well as the Renegade version.

I have a soft spot for the theatrical because it was the first Highlander I seen. Even though it was originally titled. Highlander 2: The Quickening - Continuity Be Damned.

Ditto. In fact, I didn't see the first movie until after I had seen The Final Dimension. But like Noto, The Quickening was my first exposure to the series, and seeing it in a theater was pretty cool, especially at the time. It is still one that I enjoy and will gladly buy when it gets released.

[MooglePorn]

See now I'm conflicted.

I only own the first Highlander, and have always tried to ignore the others. Despite having some nice titties, 3 and 4 were pretty bad movies. 2 was even worse, but I have not seen the Renegade version, which is supposedly much more "decent". It'll probably boil down to price, but if I get this one, 3 and 4 are an impulse buy away... dammit.

[Sword of Whedon]

but I have not seen the Renegade version, which is supposedly much more "decent".

It's more that the scenes are now in the right order, and certain bridge scenes are in place. The movie now at least makes sense as a story, but it doesn't make it less horrible

[MrE26]

I've only ever seen the European cut, which i enjoyed. Might have to pick this up to see what the differences are.

[Reaver]

I refuse to buy this travesty piece of shit. God! Every time I even think about Highlander 2 my blood starts to boil and my collar vents steam. Highlander, the original film, was such a fantastic piece of fantasy, and then the sequel comes along and completely shits over all of it, damn near ruining it for me entirely. The only way I've maintained my sanity with it is by putting up a mental block so thick it would take large-yield nukes to open it, and it also covers the other movies and that crap TV show. As far as I'm concerned, Highlander 1 is it. That's all. The rest is just a figment, a bad dream...

[C Roberts]

Well said Reaver. Highlander 2 is one of the worst movies ever made. It has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Even Sean Connery can't help that movie (in fact he makes it worse).

[Brikar99]

Maybe they'll be able to computer-generate a better movie.

[Nexus 6]

Bad F/X were the least of Highlander 2's problems. The original theatrical version is one of the most ridiculously incomprehensible movies ever made, not to mention that it outright contradicts much of the first film. However, I don't really fault the filmmakers. The backers insisted on a lot of things that were not intended, and that really screwed things up.

The Renegade Version is still not that good of a movie, but at least it makes sense on its own terms, and it doesn't contradict the first film quite as much. Russell Mulcahy did what he could, and I think the Renegade Version is about as good as the film could be.

It's amazing that each one of the Highlander films seemed to go to great lengths to ignore the events of the previous film. They all seem to accept most of the first one, except for the fact that Connor was "the one" at the end. Ironically, #2 did acknowledge that.

[elwood731]

While I will agree that HL2 is a bad movie, I simply cannot agree that the series is bad. The series takes the ideas and concepts of the original film and greatly expand upon them in some very interesting ways. I think it's one of the best syndicated shows I've ever seen, but that's just me. Get past the lackluster first season and it is very much worth your time.

[Scottish Punk]

I am undecided on this. I will probably eventually get it, maybe used or something. I didn't think it was that great of a movie, but if it is an improvement over my renegade version it would be worth it.

I agree with Elwood, I have enjoyed the series more than movies. The series has some really good stuff in it. I loved the Methos character and his interaction with Duncan.

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by elwood731

The series takes the ideas and concepts of the original film and greatly expand upon them in some very interesting ways.

Ideas and concepts? How's this for an idea: THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE! There is an idea for you. And what does the sequels and TV shows do to that idea? They shit all over it, stomp on it, and then pour lighter fluid over it and burn it to a crisp. The entire premise of the initial movie was that there was a race of immortal beings, and throughout time they would engage each other in mortal combat, generally cutting off heads left and right, only only one remained standing, and he (or she, though the initial film never showed female immortals) would be THE ONE, THE LAST, the recipient of all their combine powers and la de da de da. Fini. Very cool and epic.

But then along comes the sequel to say, "Naw, fuck that noise, these aren't immortals, they're alien criminals, and there are a whole planet of them out there still, so Conner isn't THE ONE, the first movie meant absolutely nothing, so let's piss on it and make a dollar or two." Pfft.

And the third film? I don't even know where to start...

And as for the TV shows and fourth movie, if I get started I'll either blow a gasket or I'll ramble for hours incoherantly. Suffce it to say that it also completely shits on the first film, destroys every bit of mythology it created, descimates its storyline, and rapes the remains. GGrr......

There can be only one, dammit!! They should have left it that way.

[C Roberts]

Okay, at the end of the first movie Connor was apparently able to read minds. That was ignored in everything afterwards. I believe this we all agree on.

The second movie was the worst offender to the continuity as it made them aliens and time travelers.

The third movie actually had the right idea, but executed it poorly. They ignored the second movie and only the mind reading part of the first. That there were immortals trapped in a quickening for centuries was acceptable from a scifi/fantasy standpoint. The smart thing was subtitling it the "Final Dimension", which leads me to believe that all the Highlander incarnations happen in different dimensions from each other.

The tv series chose to pretend the 2nd and 3rd movies didn't happen and altar the storyline of the first. Instead of Connor and Kurgan being the last two immortals the tv series claims they were the last two in NY, but more immortals would come later as the Gathering was only starting.

The 4th movie not only craps all over fans of the original Highlander, but it was a bad movie too. The animated series was better and that's saying something.

The 5th movie I'm going to go out on a limb and say it'll be really cheesy. Yes, I'm pre-judging it before knowing anything about it.


If I had to pick which "sequel" I liked the best it would be the tv show as that had at least some cool ideas and characters. But as the original movie wasn't meant to have any sequels I don't think any will ever be fully accepted by fans.

[reapersaurus]

wow - I'm kind of shocked that this 'experienced' of forum would have members welcoming this DVD release with anything but utter contempt and scorn.

Reaver's got it completely right, and I really don't know of too many people that would dare defend "the film that shall not be named".

It's so bad, many Highlander fans make believe it doesn't exist.

Yeah, re-doing the VFX is like putting a dress on a pig covered in mud.
And the Renegade version wasn't much better. Simply changing a caption from saying "Planet Zeist" to "A Long Time Ago" doesn't fix jack squat.

In fact, it utterly destroys timeline continuity, since someone comes back from "a long time ago" to the present, IIRC....

[Brikar99]

I've never seen the "Renegade" Version and the TV series was one of the most inept series I've ever watched.

But I do love the first movie. I really do.

this is the second time they've tried to fix Highlander 2......ummm guess what....no matter what CG advances we have ....in the end....you cant polish a turd

[elwood731]

Originally Posted by Reaver

Ideas and concepts? How's this for an idea: THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE! There is an idea for you. And what does the sequels and TV shows do to that idea? They shit all over it, stomp on it, and then pour lighter fluid over it and burn it to a crisp. The entire premise of the initial movie was that there was a race of immortal beings, and throughout time they would engage each other in mortal combat, generally cutting off heads left and right, only only one remained standing, and he (or she, though the initial film never showed female immortals) would be THE ONE, THE LAST, the recipient of all their combine powers and la de da de da. Fini. Very cool and epic.

But then along comes the sequel to say, "Naw, fuck that noise, these aren't immortals, they're alien criminals, and there are a whole planet of them out there still, so Conner isn't THE ONE, the first movie meant absolutely nothing, so let's piss on it and make a dollar or two." Pfft.

And the third film? I don't even know where to start...

And as for the TV shows and fourth movie, if I get started I'll either blow a gasket or I'll ramble for hours incoherantly. Suffce it to say that it also completely shits on the first film, destroys every bit of mythology it created, descimates its storyline, and rapes the remains. GGrr......

There can be only one, dammit!! They should have left it that way.

SO after all of that, what's your point? I mean, seriously, you like the first movie, then fine. They realized they ahd a franchise and didn't know what to do with it. Make a series that was all flashback? Sorry, too many budget issues really. So what that they changed the ending for continuity sakes? The series was still fun. That's like complaining that the next Batman film won't go along with the previous four. Who cares? I personally liked the series, as well as the original film. No, I do not really like parts 2, 3, and 4 (though the rough cut of 4 isn't TOO bad). The series is fun to me, and it does raise a lot of issues that the first movie never touched on. If you're that sensitive over this, then might I suggest staying clear of any and all Highlander threads?

[smurdleman2000]

As a sequal it was piss poor. But taken on its own, its a pretty fun movie. I had a lot of fun with it (though I've never seen the theatrical cut). Sure it's horribly overacted, and sure, the story is a jumble, and sure, the effects are iffy sometimes, and sure, Sean Connery is sorta wasted. But its fun. Fun like the fun I had with Battlefield Earth, 3,000 Miles to Graceland, and Supergirl.

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by elwood731

SO after all of that, what's your point? I mean, seriously, you like the first movie, then fine. They realized they ahd a franchise and didn't know what to do with it. Make a series that was all flashback? Sorry, too many budget issues really. So what that they changed the ending for continuity sakes? The series was still fun. That's like complaining that the next Batman film won't go along with the previous four. Who cares? I personally liked the series, as well as the original film. No, I do not really like parts 2, 3, and 4 (though the rough cut of 4 isn't TOO bad). The series is fun to me, and it does raise a lot of issues that the first movie never touched on. If you're that sensitive over this, then might I suggest staying clear of any and all Highlander threads?

You say they realized they had a franchise, and I say they had no such thing. Highlander, as it was shot and as the story went, was it. The end. There could be only one, and there was only one. The story had reached its logical and satisfying conclusion. That, in my honest opinion, is not what franchises are made of. Highlander 2 and all that followed aren't the building of a franchise, but are instead shining examples of studio executives trying to make a quick buck. I'm sure they were looking around for a film they could make a sequel to, they looked at Highlander, saw it had a bit of a fanbase, and decided to jam in a sequel somehow, no matter how badly they had to mangle the original story. Now, had Gregory Widen been involved with it, the man who created the story and wrote the first film, then perhaps I would have given it a fair shake. But he wasn't. Not in the least little bit. They stole his work and completely bastardized it for their own ends, and badly at that. It's like they didn't even try.

Ugh, I give up. Yeah, this topic gets me hot under the collar somewhat, so perhaps I should stay away from it. Then again, had I known coming in that people would actually like this movie (I still find it hard to believe), I might not have. Anyway, I'll try to calm down on it from here on out, but I make no promises.

[elwood731]

I just don't get why you're so angry Reaver. Ignore all the movies and the series if you don't like them. How do they hurt the original movie? As stated, I like the original movie and the series. Does the series change the movie to fit it? Yes. But so what? It's a good series that I enjoy. I am happier that they made it then I would be if they didn't. I am pretty sure Widen is still making money off the franchise.

Now, do I feel like the first two sequels are cheap cash-ins? Yes. They don't anything to really advance the mythology, but the series really expands and creates a whole mythology for the immortals. It's more interesting that there are these people out there instead of all of them being gone but Connor. Like I said, if you only want to believe in the first film, then fine. If it really upsets you so much, then fine. But there is a really cool series out there that expands upon Widen's original ideas and I like it for doing so, while still very much enjoying the original film.

I dunno, I am not a huge Star Wars fan. However, I know some were angry because oone of the books changed/erased the death of a major character in Return of the Jedi, but they did so because people wanted more of that character. As a fan of only the movies, that's fine because it doesn't effect me. My life goes on.

[Reaver]

elwood, on the whole you're right, but I cannot make myself forget that those films and the show was made, and everytime I watch the first Highlander the memory of those travesties sit at the back of my mind, eating away at my enjoyment of it.

If I could make myself forget Memento-style my memories of them, I'd do it and be the happier for it.

[reapersaurus]

Reaver - I, for one, appreciate someone passionately stating their objections to unwarranted sequels of a beloved film.

You aren't over the line - please, feel free anytime to loose your invective at such things...

[Notoriousaurus]

Allow me to get as unelitist as possible.

1. I never seen Highlander at the time I seen Highlander 2... so the story made sense to me. (No previous continuity to be fucked up)

2. It had Sean Connery in it.

3. It had swords in it. Swords to this, I think I was 10 at the time, are badass.

4. I still think swords are badass.

5. I will buy Highlander 2 as it has a special spot in my heart.

[slateman]

My basic problem with the movie was that all the mystique from the first film was totally stripped away with the notion that the immortals were aliens or whatever. The idea that at their death, this thing would happen to some people to make them immortal was just cool. The second movie was like a bad X-Files explaination... it was as if Chris Carter was asked to write the script. Also not helping was Sean Connery's sudden "I gotta go" exit that made no sense. Obviously, they didn't have the budget to keep him the whole film.

That being said, I hope that newer edits of the film will fix these problems...

[Sid]

I'll have to agree Highlander 2 is utter shit, but its contagious and it will grow on you. But I consider my self a pretty big Highlander fan. The 1st movie rules, the show is good, Endgame was OK, could have been better, but it could have been like 2, or the god-awfull Highlander remake called Highlander: The Sorcerer/The Final Dimension

[Newbomb Turk]

Originally Posted by Reaver

I refuse to buy this travesty piece of shit. God! Every time I even think about Highlander 2 my blood starts to boil and my collar vents steam. Highlander, the original film, was such a fantastic piece of fantasy, and then the sequel comes along and completely shits over all of it, damn near ruining it for me entirely. The only way I've maintained my sanity with it is by putting up a mental block so thick it would take large-yield nukes to open it, and it also covers the other movies and that crap TV show. As far as I'm concerned, Highlander 1 is it. That's all. The rest is just a figment, a bad dream...

Don't mince words. Tell us how you really feel.

Originally Posted by Sid

I'll have to agree Highlander 2 is utter shit, but its contagious and it will grow on you.

So's jock itch...

[chicken_hawk]

I own all of them, in one form or another. I agree Highlander 2 isn't a very good movie. :flush: But its probably safe to say that everyone that has talked about this movie will watch it, or even buy it.

[C Roberts]

But its probably safe to say that everyone that has talked about this movie will watch it, or even buy it.

I don't think that's safe to say. I've been talking about it and have no interest in owning it or even watching it again...ever.

[chicken_hawk]

I don't think that's safe to say. I've been talking about it and have no interest in owning it or even watching it again...ever

Than why talk about. It sounds like me like you would stand in line for it. Besides it will probably sell for cheap.

[C Roberts]

Than why talk about.

I come to this forum to discuss movies. Don't tell anyone though.

It sounds like me like you would stand in line for it.

First, that's the most pathetic troll I've ever read if that's your intent.

Second, that you think there'd be a line for this is hilarious.

Third, I order my DVD's online anyway.

Fourth, I already posted I wasn't buying it as well.

[chicken_hawk]

thank-you, your opinion is noted.