A Kind of Magic
Making the Original Highlander
The story of an immortal Scottish warrior battling evil down through the centuries, Highlander fused a high-concept idea with the kinetic energy of a pop promo pioneer and Queen’s explosive soundtrack to become a cult classic.
When two American producers took a chance on a college student’s script, they set in motion a chain of events involving an imploding British film studio, an experimental music video director still finding his filmmaking feet, a former James Bond with a spiralling salary, and the unexpected arrival of low-budget production company, Cannon Films.
Author Jonathan Melville looks back at the creation of Highlander with the help of more than 60 cast and crew, as they talk candidly about the gruelling shoot that took them from the back alleys of London, to the far reaches of the Scottish Highlands, and onto the mean streets of 1980s New York City. With insights from Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor on the film’s iconic music, exclusive screenwriter commentary on unmade scripts, never-before-seen photos from private collections, and a glimpse into the promotional campaign that never was.
If there can be only one book on Highlander then this is it!
Jonathan Melville is a freelance arts journalist whose first book, 2015’s Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors, was called 'Informative, entertaining and, above all, a joy to read - 9/10' by Starburst, while Empire said 'This high-access tell-all...[is] an unexpected treat - 4/5'. He has contributed to The Guardian, The Scotsman, SFX and BBC Radio Scotland. He lives in Edinburgh.
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