| • |
Clancy Brown nearly turned down the role of Kurgan, concerned
that his allergy to makeup would prevent him from wearing
the prosthetics required late in the film. |
| • |
Christopher Lambert spent time with a dialogue coach,
developing an accent which sounded non-specifically foreign. |
| • |
Non-American versions of this film include a WWII flashback
sequence showing MacLeod rescuing Rachel (pictured left), where he tells
her "It's a kind of magic". The scene is included
on the "Immortal" edition DVD. |
| • |
A number of scenes were lost in a fire. Footage includes a sequence with Kurgan fighting
an immortal security guard named Yung Dol Kim in an office
building. Kim, tiring of his immortal life, yields to
Kurgan, who takes his head. CLICK HERE for images.
The Complete Director's Cut is available on video in the US, featuring all footage from the European version plus some still photos from the scenes lost in the fire. |
| • |
Christopher Lambert had just barely learned to speak English
when he took this role. The only other English-speaking
film he had been in at that point was Greystoke: The Legend
of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), in which he spoke
only a few words. |
| • |
In the scenes following Connor taking the Kurgan's head,
director Russell Mulcahy had originally envisioned an
animated dragon with the Kurgan's skull battle helmet
emerging from the Kurgan's decapitated body and challenging
Connor again. Only after Connor had defeated this Ghost-Dragon
would he have received the final quickening and subsequent
Prize.
This idea was eventually cut due to budget restraints.
|
| • |
The final fight scene that takes place at the Silvercup
studios (the sign is used in a few shots) used to be a
bakery for the Silvercup bread company that had gone out
of business a few years earlier.
|
 |
| • |
During the final fight sequence between McLeod and Kurgan
on the roof of the Silvercup Studios building, cables
can be seen in the foreground pulling the studio's neon
sign down. After filming had been completed, the production
discovered that they had done so much damage to both the
set and the actual roof of the Silvercup studios building
as to make re-takes impossible.
|
| • |
According to the computer screen where Brenda compares
the signatures on MacLeod's various birth certificates,
Connor's previous aliases were Adrien Montagu, Jacques
Lefebert, Alfred Nicholson, and Rupert Wallingford. |
| • |
Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert got along so well
during filming that they called each other by their characters'
names even when they were not filming and it was at Lambert's
insistence that Connery and his character returned for
the sequel. |
| • |
Among the many ancient artifacts in MacLeod's storeroom
is Ramirez's vest and hat. |
| • |
According to the director's commentary, the animated lightning
on Connor's shoulders when he receives The Prize was actually
supposed to disguise the wires -- ironically, this may
have just drawn more attention to them. |
•
• |
Reportedly a version shown at the Brussels film festival features a slightly different ending than the theatrical and video releases. In this version after the final battle, the demons circling around Lambert are clearly saying "thank you".
The final prize is only that Lambert is not an immortal anymore and that he can now have a normal life.
|
| • |
The quickening is a term for when a baby in the womb shows
its first sign of life, its first noticeable movement
within the womb. |
 |
• |
The church scene involving Kurgan (Clancy Brown) was filmed
at night time with the permission of the priests in charge.
Still, Brown's lines were ad-libbed and were reportedly
considered so sacrilegious that the priests off-camera
were making the sign of the cross as he said them.
|
| • |
Kurgan's quote "I've got something to say. It's better
to burn out than to fade away!" is from the song
"Rock Of Ages" by Def Leppard. This in turn
was a reference to the line "It's better to burn
out than to fade away" from "My My, Hey Hey"
by Neil Young, which was also cited in musician Kurt Cobain's
(Nirvana) suicide note.
|
| • |
All of Sean Connery's scenes had to be filmed in a week
due to Connery's schedule. |
|
| • |
During the film scene at Eilean Donan castle, the car
park by the castle had to be covered up with tons of peat
to disguise it, the house located by the bridge out to
the Castle was boxed in with hardboard and painted over
so that it looked just like real stone even when you stood
right beside it.
Extras were paid £25 a day with
a £10 bonus if they took their own horse. A lot
of the locals took days off work to do it.
|
