There can (still) be only one: Highlander is 40

The final gathering

Relatively unknown as an actor at the time, Lambert was cast in the lead role after Mulcahy noticed a still from Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (1984) and decided Lambert (who played Tarzan) had the look he wanted for MacLeod. The French actor didn’t even speak English but learned it quickly; it does account for Lambert’s odd accent in the film—Brenda actually comments on it—and his rather stilted performance, although how much can an actor do with that clunky dialogue? Yet Lambert was able to bring a wry humor to the character and a lingering optimism despite everything he’s suffered, which was a marked departure from the original draft script.

The Kurgan also changed significantly as a character, essentially becoming a one-dimensional “cackling psychopath,” as Widen once described him. Both Brown and Widen wanted a more complex villain. “I envisaged him as a guy who loses everything over time,” Widen told The Daily Telegraph in 2016. “The only thing he could hold onto, to give him a reason to get up in the morning, was to finish this thing with our guy [MacLeod]. Otherwise, what is the point? Everything is impermanent, everything is lost. That made him much more serious—in a weird way, a sympathetic bad guy.”

Than said, as is often the case when a box office disappointment becomes a cult classic, the pros ultimately outweigh the cons. The sword fighting choreography is well done, there are some visually arresting shots, and Mulcahy deftly adapted the fast-cut style of music videos for his story. Plus there is that incredible soundtrack featuring songs by Queen, most notably “Princes of the Universe” and the haunting “Who Wants To Live Forever” (which plays when MacLeod sits by the deathbed of the now aged Heather). Heck, even  the scenery-chewing Connery’s ridiculous getup and Scottish accent—he’s supposed to be a Spaniard, although Ramirez hints at being significantly older than that—is more entertaining than annoying.

Above all, Highlander has a compelling mythology that captures the imagination and offsets the cheesier aspects. “I think its appeal is the uniqueness of how the story was told and the fact it had a heart and a point of view about immortality,” Widen said in a 2006 interview. That’s a theme that is timeless and can’t help but resonate with audiences through the decades.