WEBVTT - Weirdhouse Cinema: Highlander II, Part 2 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:06.120 Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:15.360 Hey you welcome to Weird House Cinema. 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:18.200 This is Rob Lamb and this is Joe McCormick, and 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:21.440 we are back today with part two of our discussion 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:24.759 of the nineteen ninety one sci fi fantasy action movie 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:31.280 Highlander to the Quickening, starring Christoph Lambert, Sean Connery, Virginia Madsen, 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:35.120 and Michael Ironside. Highlander two is a movie that is 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:41.640 infamous for its awfulness and positively anathematized by most Highlander fans. 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:45.000 Highlander fans, a lot of them will say, don't watch 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:48.160 this movie at all if they If they do tell 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:50.320 you to watch it, they'll usually say, you know, prefer 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:53.480 one of the like recut versions, such as the Renegade 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:56.160 cut or whatever. We'll get into those in just a moment. 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.640 But Highlander two the Quickening in its original theatric release 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.880 is a film that I love, and I have loved 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:07.560 for years. I have watched it so many times, more 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:10.160 times than I can count, really, and I'm actually worried 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:13.080 for the physical integrity of my legacy VHS tape. I 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:15.840 fear that one day the tape may snap. 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:18.880 Yeah, Yeah, they've got to put it back out. They've 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:22.280 got to make the theatrical cut, the seist cut, available 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:26.640 for everyone so they can experience the true broken, weirdness 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:30.760 and an awesomeness of this picture because you know, like 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:34.200 a lot of like awesome flawed films, Yeah, there is this, 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:37.039 there is this nagging question what could have been? How 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:40.840 could you make this better? And it's often i mean 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:43.240 the legacy of even great films that get a lot 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.480 of recuts. You know, I'm thinking about Ridley Scott getting 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.160 in there and tinkering a lot with some of his pictures. 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:54.200 You know, it's I feel like, I mean, there are cases, yeah, 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:56.640 where a fan seem to have a consensus about, Okay, 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:58.160 this is the best cut, this is the best way 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:00.600 to watch particular film, certainly, but a lot of times 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:02.640 you just end up with this kind of ambiguity, like 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:06.760 there is no key picture. So I really admire some 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:08.600 of those filmmakers out there who are like, no, no, 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:11.680 there's just one cut that is the director's cut, and 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:13.480 of course there are a lot of moving parts there. 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:16.200 You know, you have to have a position where the 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:19.640 director has enough to say that they feel like that 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:22.200 is their cut. But anyway I digress. 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:25.560 Well, maybe we should start. But because in the last 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:29.680 episode we did a significant segment talking about the different 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.320 cuts of the film available, because that will come up 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.840 again in today's episode, maybe we should do it, just 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:37.720 a really fast rundown of what they are again. So 0:02:37.960 --> 0:02:41.720 you've got the original American theatrical release. This is the 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:44.720 one we're watching, the one we're talking about today. This 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:48.480 is the one that is most generally hated by Highlander fans. 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:52.320 It's like eighty something minutes long, and it preserves the 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:56.040 big plot innovation from the script, which is that the 0:02:56.080 --> 0:03:00.560 immortals from the original Highlander are actually aliens from the 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:04.760 planet Zeist. So it takes something that was originally mysterious 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:08.760 fantasy just kind of magic with an unknown source, and 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:13.799 makes it concrete science fiction. Then there's also the British version, 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:18.160 which preserves these main details, but it's also longer. It 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:22.440 includes some extra character development scenes and rearranges the edit. 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.880 It also has the so called fairy tale ending, which 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:28.280 we'll talk about at the end of this episode. Then 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:32.160 there is the home video release known as the Renegade version. 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.600 This is even longer. It includes more scenes and some 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:39.560 different takes. I believe also includes some additional footage that 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:42.400 was shot after the production, like I think they actually 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:46.680 got Christoph Lambert, Virginia Madsen, and Michael Ironside to come 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:49.920 back to shoot like an action scene that was supposed 0:03:49.960 --> 0:03:51.920 to be a big set piece in the movie but 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:56.839 was never completed during filming. This version, the Renegade version, 0:03:56.840 --> 0:04:00.440 has a totally different edit. Most notably, it removed moves 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:04.760 all references to the immortals being aliens, and removes all 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:08.560 references to the planet Zeist, and also, in a rather 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:12.760 confusing move, removes all references to the Quickening, which is 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:15.480 in the title of the movie Highland or two the Quickening. 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:21.040 But it's largely thought that the removal of the immortals 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:23.680 being aliens and the planet Zeist and all that is 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:27.159 due to fan backlash. Fans did not like that, you know, 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:29.520 they were probably getting a lot of angry questions about 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.720 it at the conventions. So that that's just gone. 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:35.680 And I would love to hear from many Highlander fans 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.159 out there, of varying degrees, for for your take on 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:41.440 the franchise as a whole, because I think by and large, 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:47.000 fans of anything Highlander have at this point been presented 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:50.800 with numerous things to find lackluster, but also, you know, 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:54.080 some things to genuinely enjoy and find awesome. And they're 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:57.480 eventually going to get a reboot, so potentially even more 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:01.200 stuff to be perturbed or excited about. So yeah, write in, 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:03.880 We'd love to know your thoughts on it. Me. I'm 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:07.680 very much you know H one, H two, and I 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.400 enjoyed H three for what it is, And then I 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:13.120 have seen many, but not all, of the episodes of 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:15.960 the TV series, and I thought that could be quite 0:05:15.960 --> 0:05:16.640 good at times. 0:05:17.000 --> 0:05:19.599 Well, I'm the kind of person who thinks there's a 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:22.280 lot to love and enjoy in The Highlander two, as 0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:26.520 is especially in the most hated version, the American theatrical release, 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:30.800 which has lots of stuff that is immensely pleasurable because 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:35.320 it's good, and probably even more stuff that's immensely pleasurable 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:39.120 because of how bad it is. It's just a mix 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:41.760 of the best of both worlds. Oh. But then also 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:44.680 I think there is actually I alluded to this in 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:46.640 part one, but I wasn't sure. I think there is 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:50.640 another home video release after the Renegade version. It's called 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:54.080 like the Ultimate Version or something. I don't know much 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.640 about that one, but I think possibly it includes some 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:02.080 updated and supposedly improved visual effect. So, as we've said, 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:06.400 in defiance of conventional wisdom, we are watching the original 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:10.800 American theatrical release, which we will hereafter refer to as 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:14.039 the Zeist cut because it's where the Zeist stuff is 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:16.960 left in. Now, another thing I wanted to address is 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:20.240 that we don't normally split weird house cinema episodes into 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:22.479 two parts, but we've done it a couple of times 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:28.239 recently for deservingly massive and to us at least fascinating movies. 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:31.880 First of all, we did it for David Lynch's adaptation 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:35.000 of Done, and now we're doing it again for Highlander 0:06:35.040 --> 0:06:38.520 two The Quickening. And one thing I don't think we 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.880 pointed out last time is that while these movies are 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:45.600 in many ways quite different, they have some things in common. 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:51.039 They are both troubled, big budget English language sci fi 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:56.000 productions filmed in Latin American countries, and in both cases 0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:59.919 there were bitter struggles for creative control over the film's 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:03.200 contents and the final edit. So in the case of 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:06.000 David Lynch's Dune, this was a big budget sci fi 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:10.320 production shot largely in Mexico, and it was well known 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:14.880 that David Lynch was extremely unhappy with the theatrical release 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:18.120 of the film, which was strongly influenced to buy the 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:21.880 producers and the moneymen, and David Lynch has said that 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:25.000 his experience with Dune taught him that he would rather 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:28.000 not make a movie at all than make one without 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:32.440 having full creative control or full control over the final cut. Well, 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:37.560 last night I learned some interesting resonances between this story 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:39.920 and the story of the making of Highlander two because 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:44.000 I watched a making of documentary called I Think This 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:46.880 was a strange choice for the title, it's called Seduced 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:51.600 by Argentina. This is a featurette that's included on one 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:54.040 of the home video releases of the movie. This has 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:58.920 interviews with the director, Russell mulcahe with the producers, with 0:07:59.040 --> 0:08:02.560 Christoff Lambert, and with many of the crew, and it 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:08.640 explores the strange, wonderful and also somewhat cursed process of 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:12.080 making Highlander two. So the film's production was moved to 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:15.320 the country of Argentina for a number of reasons. One 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.520 of the major reasons just being financial. It was a 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:21.440 lot cheaper to make it there, and there are a 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:24.320 lot of stories about how the production sort of turned 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:26.640 into a big party. Like a lot of the cast 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:30.680 and crew got to Argentina, we're spending time in Buenos Aires, 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:34.120 and they sort of fell in love with the city 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:36.280 and with the culture, and we're spending a lot of 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:39.839 time like going out to nightclubs and just hanging out 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:43.920 and partying and drinking and doing whatever. And that this 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:48.600 created some kind of problems with like staying on task 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:53.040 with the making of the film. But also the movie 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.720 was this was a big production. This is a big 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:59.640 budget movie involving major talent in terms of set design, 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:04.400 costume design, visual effects, and so forth. And though there 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.679 was a lot of talent working on this film and 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:08.640 they put in a great effort in any ways, and 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:10.960 some of the sets and stuff, you can really see 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:15.960 that this is a a lavish production with with you know, 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:19.800 great intentions behind it. But a lot of these teams 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:24.680 also ended up working with weird logistical constraints and limitations. 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.679 And this included all kinds of different things like lack 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:31.880 of certain materials they needed, lack of access to crew 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:36.559 with certain kinds of industry know how to the fact 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:38.880 that I think they had. I could be wrong about this, 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:42.000 but I think they had a very tight window in 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:44.520 which to shoot all of Sean Connery's scenes. Like I 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.240 think he was only going to be in town for 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:49.280 like six days or something, and he is not a 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:51.840 cameo in Highlander two. He's a major character. 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:55.400 Yeah, yeah, I think they might have shot some of 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:58.040 his scenes in Scotland, like the initial Scotland scenes. 0:09:58.240 --> 0:09:59.720 Oh okay, yeah, but still. 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:01.680 Yeah, there's a lot of stuff with him in the 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:06.080 futuristic setting. So that's a lot ultimately to pack into 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:08.120 six days, especially in a big production like this. 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:13.400 Also sounds like this was not the safest set anyone 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.400 ever worked on, just like some of the footage you see, 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:18.800 like some of the crew they interview allude to this, 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:22.199 that they were kind of moving fast and cutting corners 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:25.520 and you know, doing things that were not would not 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:29.240 be considered, I don't know, taking optimal safety precautions that 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:32.960 you would and in a regular production. And by the way, 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:35.720 I love movies, and I can get really precious about 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:39.440 preserving a filmmaker's vision at many costs, but not at 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:42.640 any cost. Nobody needs to die or get injured making 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:45.120 a film, you know, that's just you know, keep it 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:45.840 safe on set. 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:49.400 Yeah, I've read that. One particular detail of all this 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:53.720 is that both Michael Ironside and Christoph Lambert apparently sustained 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:57.880 injuries in their sword fighting sequences, which you know is 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:00.600 always a risk if you have actors doing their own 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:04.480 action scenes and fight choreography and so forth. But you know, 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:07.719 looking back at like assuming for a minute, I don't 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:10.160 know if this is correct, but assuming that they shot 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:15.640 the final epic sword fight between General Katana and Connor 0:11:15.679 --> 0:11:19.160 MacLeod in sequence, by the end of it it looked 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:22.360 really looks like they're not able to do much. And 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:26.640 I've also read that like the General Katana ironically fights 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:30.080 with a broad sword, which was apparently difficult to wield 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:32.120 as well. So like, by the end of this big 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:35.440 epic fight scene with an amazing set, everything feels a 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:38.760 little clunky and kind of tired, Like they just look 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.400 like maybe they're out of steam, and if they're working 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:42.960 through injuries, you can understand that. 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:45.760 Yeah. I don't know what the source of this information 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:48.280 is because I didn't see this mentioned in any of 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:50.720 the interviews that I recall, but I know I've read 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:54.920 that like that. I think it was Christoph Limbert wanted 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.000 to work with real swords. He was like, I don't 0:11:57.000 --> 0:12:01.000 want this plastic crop, you know, I want to I 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:03.040 want to have like a real sword, and so they 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.920 were doing that. But apparently Limbert's eyesight is not great 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:10.680 and he you know, couldn't wear glasses for filming the scenes, 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.680 and so yeah, they were just Oh and also he 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:15.400 did a lot of his own stunts in the movie, 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:17.760 including us the scenes we'll talk about later with like 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:21.640 an elevator falling down an elevator shaft and flying around 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:25.360 on rocket boots and stuff. So like in some ways 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:29.800 it's kind of exciting, you know, stories of Bravado from 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:33.000 from the film Star. But also yeah, it sounds like 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:37.120 it was. It was not the safest set ever, but anyway, 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:41.480 all working with all these limitations, things keep happening. Also, 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:44.959 I think in the background here, uh, there is a 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:48.400 major inflation problem in Argentina while they're shooting it. So 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.360 like the money, the value of the money they're using 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:53.840 to make the movie is like all over the place, 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:57.040 and that's causing production problems as well. So they were 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:02.160 just like basic logistical problems and production financing problems and 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:04.959 the movie was apparently taking way too long and going 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:09.360 over budget. So, in a move that absolutely always goes 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:13.439 well more than halfway through production, creative control was taken 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:14.880 over by an insurance company. 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:17.120 Oh yeah, that does not bode well. 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:19.920 So for those of you who not familiar with the 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:23.920 film bonding process, there's a thing in the film industry 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:28.560 called a completion bond, which is essentially an insurance policy 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:31.840 for the film's investors. So if a movie is not 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:36.200 coming in on time or not staying within budget, the 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:41.400 bonding company that has been contracted can step in, supposedly 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:44.720 to protect the interests of the investors of the film, 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:49.480 to take over production and guarantee a completed film within 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.440 a certain budget and by a certain time. And this 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:55.600 is what happened with Highlander two. So things are not 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:58.120 going well, they're spending too much money, it's taking too long. 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.520 The insurance company steps in and says we're in charge. Now. 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:04.360 You can kind of imagine how cool that would be. 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:09.400 I mean, especially if you're dealing with with filmmakers they 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:12.040 want to take big swings that they want to you know, 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.720 go big or you know, or go home, and you 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:18.040 have the insurance people coming in and say, actually, it 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:19.960 is time to go home, It is time to wrap 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:20.360 this up. 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:26.200 So I think I think a lot of the deficiencies 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:28.120 of highland Er two, a lot of the things that 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:32.320 are very funny and bad about it can be chalked 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:37.320 up to the this thing that had the takeover of 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:41.640 the movie by the insurance company. But not all of 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.440 the funny stuff or the stuff that fans consider bad 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.520 can be can be chalked up to that. For example, 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:51.760 many fans apparently you know, the fans who thought it 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.680 was weird to introduce the sci fi elements and make 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:59.080 the immortals aliens. They would end up blaming that choice 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.960 on the creative takeover by the bonding company. But that 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:05.320 is not the case. The suits from the insurance company 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:08.840 did not make up the planet Zeist that's in the script. 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:11.520 From what I can tell, it seems like the choices 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:15.480 made by the Bonding company consists more of like wrapping 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:20.000 production without filming major scenes and then trying to paper 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:24.440 over those holes with a bizarre Frankenstein edit, and also 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.520 just like lots of choices of I guess like bad 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:32.480 takes and terrible looking visual effects shots and just you know, 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:36.240 late stage script rewrits to change things up to just 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:40.880 finish it faster, and so I think this is one reason. 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:44.280 Like in the documentary they show some examples of how 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.680 this is a movie that has some great looking visual 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:51.000 effects shots and some great looking effects and sets in 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:55.680 certain scenes, and those will be contrasted almost immediately, like 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:58.080 you'll cut back and forth between stuff that looks great 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:02.120 and stuff that looks terrible. And apparently the at least 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:04.280 some of the crew involved in, people who were working 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.720 on the visual effects for the movie, chalk this up 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:09.000 to the Bonding company. They say, like that they came 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:12.440 in and they commissioned the you know, completion of the 0:16:12.440 --> 0:16:15.240 film with these terrible looking visual effects and put those in, 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:17.760 so you've got those right next to stuff that looks 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:21.280 really good, and that would explain a lot of that 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:25.160 weird contrast when you're watching the movie. Apparently they also 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:27.320 cut out a lot of stuff that would have made 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:31.640 sense of the plot holes created by making the immortals aliens. 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:35.880 So you know, this movie it's like Swiss cheese. You 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.000 could poke a million holes and be like, none of 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:42.680 this makes sense with these plot innovations. Apparently it would 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:47.960 make more sense if we had a full film based 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:50.600 on the original script, because some of the differences are 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.800 actually explained, some of the gaps are actually explained, but 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:54.840 we just don't get that. 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:59.120 M Yeah, and like you've been saying, like ultimately the 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:03.320 filmmakers themselves run from the Zeist concept. So yeah, we 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.360 just get even further and further away from some sort 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:09.600 of like concrete vision of what this film was meant 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:09.800 to be. 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.080 But anyway, the fact that the planet Zeist stuff does 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:17.040 not come from the bonding company that is originally there, 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:19.480 it's just more proof to me that to take out 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:22.600 the Planet Zeist is to excise the beating heart from 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:26.640 this film. So Highland or two people, the people who 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:29.199 are behind making all these cuts, you've already made like 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:31.480 four or five of them, or however many there are, 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.479 give us the ultimate Zeist cut, you know, give us 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:37.080 the edit that the release that looks great, has the 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:40.160 updated picture and sound and all that, but keeps all 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:44.800 the Zeist content and has the nice looking, the better 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:48.159 selected visual effects shots. Give us the ultimate cut that 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:52.240 still has Zeist, unless you've already done that and I'm 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:54.480 simply not aware of it, in which case I'm sorry. 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:56.480 I don't think they have, because I feel like we've 0:17:56.480 --> 0:18:00.440 wasted a lot of time looking for it. But but yeah, 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:02.639 and I'm up into open to whatever. Like put it 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:04.480 out as a single disc, I'll buy it. Put it 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:08.159 out as like the third disc in a multi disc 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:12.320 release like Ultimate release of Highlander two. You know, I'm 0:18:12.320 --> 0:18:15.280 fine with that. You can even have an optional commentary 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:17.119 track where you you know, rip into it and talk 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:19.199 about everything that went wrong, as long as I have 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:22.600 like just one version of this that I can watch 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:25.679 and you know, in inacceptable quality, and like you know, 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:28.159 you know, we we've already touched on some of the 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:30.199 problems with some of the effects. But yeah, just just 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:39.320 give me a solid ice cut, that's all I Askay. 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:43.679 All right, Rob, Now we just started talking about the plot. 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:48.520 In the previous episode, we talked about the prologue with 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:50.919 the shield. Do you want to jump back into the 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:52.879 plot or do you have anything to address first? 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:54.840 No, I think we just jumped right back into it. 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:58.200 We established the zeis well or did we What did 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:01.720 we establish? You established just the building of the shield, right, yeah? 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:04.720 Yeah, yeah, So we'll do a real fast recap of that. 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:06.800 So the opening of the film is in the year 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:09.679 nineteen ninety nine, when the human race is in dire 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:12.840 peril due to the depletion of the ozone layer and 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:16.480 the resulting exposure of the Earth's surface to deadly radiation 0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:20.520 from the Sun. Connor McLoud, the main character of Highlander one, 0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:24.000 the victorious age old warrior who won the game of 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:28.080 Immortal Combat and achieved human mortality and the ability to 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:30.119 have children at the end of the first movie. He 0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:35.040 uses his centuries of wisdom and presumably also his magical 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:37.879 ability to read minds, though the movie doesn't really address this, 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:42.880 to organize a team of scientists to create the Shield, 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:47.400 which is a giant geoengineering project that forms a sort 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:51.159 of laser net over the Earth's atmosphere and protects the 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.520 surface of the planet from the Sun. It looks kind 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:58.000 of like a gigantic lightsaber blade blasting out of a 0:19:58.080 --> 0:20:01.560 huge concrete pyramid and then forms a laser net in 0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:04.480 the sky, sort of connects with a satellite somehow, and 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:08.320 it shields us from the Sun, and Connor and his 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:13.320 scientist friend Alan Nayman they celebrate their accomplishment they have 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:17.200 saved the world. This surely was a good use of 0:20:17.240 --> 0:20:18.040 the prize. 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:21.439 Yeah, what morchy do you ask for? Seemingly save the 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:25.080 world and to some degree helped in sure peace. 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:28.720 Yeah, happy ending, right at the beginning, But then we 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:34.000 cut to twenty five years later, two eight year twenty four. 0:20:36.640 --> 0:20:39.000 That's right, I mean, this is this was the perfect 0:20:39.040 --> 0:20:42.119 time to really jump in and discuss Islander two on 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:42.680 Weird House. 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:46.600 So we see Christophe Limbert driving a car. He's driving 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:51.520 a convertible down a dark, wet street in what looks 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:54.560 is not great makeup and terrible old man makeup. His 0:20:54.600 --> 0:20:58.080 face looks like a bowl of porridge. It's not great. 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:03.399 But we hear his voice over McLeod says, the shield 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:06.719 twenty five years ago it was our savior. But now 0:21:07.080 --> 0:21:12.320 no sun, no stars, only heat and humidity. It drains 0:21:12.440 --> 0:21:17.200 the energy from the whole world. We're falling apart, going backward, 0:21:17.640 --> 0:21:22.760 old cars, old planes, old dreams. The cure is worse 0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:23.600 than the disease. 0:21:24.359 --> 0:21:26.640 Now already we have so much unpack like, well, why 0:21:26.720 --> 0:21:29.320 are they using old cars, old planes and old dreams 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:31.600 because of some sort of energy shortage? I mean the 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:34.400 real answer is it lets them do this, this kind 0:21:34.480 --> 0:21:37.439 of neo noir look for the film, which I do 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:40.400 quite like, but it doesn't really make any sense where 0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:43.560 it's like, we can't use a car that was made 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:45.440 post nineteen fifty three. 0:21:45.520 --> 0:21:48.120 Now. I think they wanted to use some of these 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:52.040 beautiful old building facades from Buenos Aires, and they were like, 0:21:52.680 --> 0:21:56.879 let's see what everything looks old. Now we'll say for 0:21:56.920 --> 0:22:00.280 some reason, yeah, we're using old cars and planes. What 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:01.560 would that have to do with anything? 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:05.600 We also, when we're panning past, does some statue or something. 0:22:05.680 --> 0:22:08.320 There's a plaque that commemorates the shield and it has 0:22:08.359 --> 0:22:11.080 the dates nineteen ninety nine through twenty twenty four on there, 0:22:11.359 --> 0:22:14.520 and I was wondering, do they just update it every year, 0:22:14.760 --> 0:22:18.000 like it's like, okay, it's a new year, twenty twenty four, 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:20.400 let's add that, like it's say, you know, no work 0:22:20.480 --> 0:22:23.360 injuries for X number of days sort of a thing. 0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:26.000 I don't know. Yeah, because there's no indication that there 0:22:26.000 --> 0:22:28.040 are no plans to bring the shield down in twenty 0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:31.680 twenty four, as well, as we'll discuss and as we'll see. 0:22:31.880 --> 0:22:34.399 Okay, so we see Connor driving as convertible through this 0:22:34.960 --> 0:22:39.239 dark city, and we gathered that the world here is 0:22:39.320 --> 0:22:44.600 now squalid, polluted and dark. The sky is always covered 0:22:44.640 --> 0:22:49.720