Highlander
 

Didn't see a thread posted for this but there's a big collector's edition of Highlander that is coming out on 10/31/2022:
http://Blu-ray.com/news/?id=31213

https://images.blu-ray.com/news/upload/15021.jpg

Re: Highlander
 

Pre-ordered from Amazon UK. Very happy with my They Alice set from a few years ago and this one is well worth the price.

Re: Highlander
 

https://static.thcdn.com/images/larg...4266707307.jpg
https://static.thcdn.com/images/larg...4266644493.jpg

Highlander Zavvi Exclusive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook (Includes Blu-ray)

https://us.zavvi.com/4k/highlander-zavvi-exclusive-4k-ultra-hd-steelbook-includes-blu-ray/13953379.html

Re: Highlander
 

That’s a really nice steelbook. I can’t resist the box set but may have to get that too.

Re: Highlander
 

No US date yet? Will go Zavvi if nothing.

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Looks like Best Buy will have the US Exclusive Steelbook

Re: Highlander
 

DiabolikDVD has the big box set up for pre-order. If you order it directly from Amazon UK it's cheaper by about $7 - $8 shipped. It's $57 and some change, while DD's is $59.99 plus shipping. FYI

Re: Highlander
 

RocShemp, where the hell have you been?! You've been missing for about five years. We even asked a fellow Rican, james2025, to knock at your grandma's house.

Re: Highlander
 

Right, 7 years I brought it up in another thread too.
I can’t believe no one has been pushing Roc for some answers.
We need to know.

Re: Highlander
 

Agreed, but perhaps he wishes not to speak of the lost years.

Re: Highlander
 

US edition from Lionsgate is due 12/13: https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=31431

STANDARD:
https://images.blu-ray.com/news/upload/15195.jpg

LIMITED STEELBOOK:
https://images.blu-ray.com/news/upload/15196.jpg

Re: Highlander
 

Nice thread bump, I have ordered quite a bit from the U.K. this year, but it is always nice to know I can sit tight and grab this in December off Amazon. I like the U.K. look of the Steelbook a bit more, but since I am not a Steelbook collector, and even meh artwork on a title I really want does not drive me nuts, I will get this in December. I just hope the 4K bump in PQ is really noticeable compared to the blu ray, which is actually not that bad and a noticeable bump in PQ compared to the DVD.

Re: Highlander
 

The biggest problem with the previous blu-ray was the horrible compression. Hopefully the compression on the 4k is much better, but I don't believe Lionsgate has the best track record.

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I’ll still get the import box set from Diabolik.

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Steelbook preordered!

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I'm sticking to my Amazon UK pre-order.

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Steelbook was a good price on Best Buy so I went ahead and pre-ordered.

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The number of UHDs with compression issues can probably be counted on one hand. HEVC is just such so much better than the options on BD that every encode turns out fine. Don't worry about that issue.

Re: Highlander
 

It obviously depends on how sensitive you are to such things, but I think you underestimate the number of UHDs with subpar encoding/compression. Shout, Lionsgate and Studio Canal are probably the biggest offenders.

Re: Highlander
 

I know there are a couple encoding issues with the Halloween UHDs from Scream Factory.

Re: Highlander
 

My UK set arrived today. This is the most honest presentation I've seen of the movie on disc. The 5.1 mix is essentially an upmix of the included 2.0 track, but with some tasteful surround use. This is the theatrical mix in both cases, so the music cues are all intact and there are none of the TV series "swooshing" sounds (a.k.a. the "buzz") that were added to the US director's cut back in the VHS and DVD days. Although I do miss the revised sound effects editing of the Immortal Edition director's cut DVD, the quickening sequences sound good (though certainly not amazing -- you won't be using them to showcase your home theater) considering their age. Although be forewarned that the opening rendition of Princes of the Universe sounds like it's playing through a speaker enclosed in a tin can (as has always been the case with this movie).

As for the video, it's a grain hater's nightmare but true to the source. Given the nature of how this is shot, it ranges from super grainy and murky (the opening wrestling match) to super grainy and detailed (the Scotland flashbacks). I think this is the best the movie has ever looked, but don't expect it to look other than as a product of its time. At least there are no traces I've yet to spot of DNR.

For those who care, since this is the UK director's cut it retains the pointless back flips during the opening sword fight.

Re: Highlander
 

It's no longer the UK director's cut. This cut is now THE only cut there is (officially). It'll be the same cut when it's released next month by Lionsgate stateside - back flips and all.

Re: Highlander
 

Really? I thought the US version still ommited the lines "I'll slice you in half" and "Macleod, this is the Quickening!"

Re: Highlander
 

Not sure about "I'll slice you in half," but my stateside Lionsgate BD has the second line. It also has all of the footage that was in the UK version. If anything, as you say, it may come down to foley effects and lines possibly being omitted, but footage wise, it's still exactly the same.

Re: Highlander
 

I haven't watched the BD in a few years so my memory of it is a tad hazy beyond the differences between it, the DVD, and the VHS. I can't believe I got that VHS at Sam Goody. When did I get so old?:(

Re: Highlander
 

https://www.avforums.com/reviews/hig...-review.20210/

Re: Highlander
 

I watched this recently. I gotta say, I didn’t love it as much as I thought I used to.

Re: Highlander
 

I bought the U.S. 4K disc from Amazon over the holidays for like $12.99. Even though this movie is considered a cult classic, I've never seen it from start to finish. Same goes with Part II The Quickening/The Renegade Cut. Have always been meaning to over the years. I have seen The Final Dimension, Endgame and the God awful The Source.

Well, back to this movie. I watched it from start to finish the other night. I wasn't really impressed with the new 4K image. It looks like a 37 year old movie. But, I have to attribute that to it being shot on film and it's budget. And I didn't love it to be honest. It has not aged well. Definitely shows in the special effects too. I know it would have been cost prohibitive to re-do the effects. The fight choreography wasn't really good in my opinion. Sean Connery's appearance was really small. Maybe it's just that this movie was a product of it's time and is now dated.

I did however start checking out the new 2021 produced Studio Canal documentary on the 4K disc on the making of the movie. They have new interviews with surviving participants who made the movie, including Lambert. Russell Mulcahy said that Lambert didn't even speak English when he was cast. He had a dialogue coach to help him. He was cast based on Mulcahy watching Greystoke and Lambert was dubbed in that movie. I'll probably try to finish the doc over the weekend.

Re: Highlander
 

Funny I love the film more every time I see it.

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It hasn't aged well but still very watchable.

I would like to see a revival of the 1990s TV series.

Re: Highlander
 

I'd be inclined to make a snarky comment about Chuck Norris or Cannon Films, but I'm too busy crying into my Cheerios. The fact that you'd even suggest the idea of redone special effects is why we can't have nice things.

Re: Highlander
 

:shrug: My opinion on Highlander is probably unpopular, but it is what it is. I didn't hate it. But, I didn't like enough to think it's super rewatchable. But, I can see how it would have developed a cult following. And that's why I said it would have been cost prohibitive to touch up the special effects. It was a low budget B movie from the 80s. And the purists would have been angry that it should be left alone. It's a product of it's time.

Re: Highlander
 

There will always be a warm fuzzy spot in me for Highlander. It's one of those movies that doesn't lose any of its magic over time. Sfx might be dated, The Fabulous Freebirds might be dated, but it doesn't mean I think any less of the movie because of it.

Re: Highlander
 

To be fair, Highlander had been tinkered with (on the audio side) before having the original sound mix restored for the BD release.



And don't get me started on Highlander II.

Re: Highlander
 

It's probably a nostalgia thing for me in terms of the audio -- I can still vividly remember the special edition laserdisc that came out in the late 90's that featured the new DD 5.1 mix -- when the Kurgan gets Ramirez's quickening - the Kurgan holds his sword close to his chest and you can hear the "power blasts" going from left to right in the discreet channels. It sounded great. I've never heard those effects again outside of that LD release.

Re: Highlander
 

I'm just giving you a hard time. You're welcome to your opinion. Even if it is wrong. I mean come on. Queen soundtrack, Clancy Brown and a scene where Christoph Lambert explains haggis to the world's most famous Scotsman. A Scotsman who, by the way, is playing an Egyptian named Juan Sanchez Villalobos Ramirez. That's gold, Jerry!

And for the record, Highlander was most definitely not a low budget film. I've seen estimates online suggesting something in the range of $15-$20 million. That's not Star Wars money, but it is Back to the Future or Aliens money.

Oh I'm well aware. They also tried to update some of the effects back in the 90's. And it sucked. Thankfully that version hasn't been seen in 20ish years.