Highlander (1986), an immortal work?

IMAGE – Losing your mind!

Rugged and « Magic » (the optical SFX) by nature, this character photograph finally finds a weight ally in this neat UHD Dolby Vision transfer from a 4K scan of the original 35 mm film.

Attention, however, the imperfections related to the source such as the extreme granularity of some images, the VHS rendering of a plane (the battlefield of the past crossing MacLeod's eye in the present) and the softness of multiple passages are (happily) not solved. Without any unfortunate digital editing, artistic integrity was fully preserved. This is excellent news even if the followers of the « All smooth » You'll feel it coming through.

The compression is solid (the tinglings are ancient history), the master is as stable as perfectly cleaned, the (strongly) silver structure is divinely reproduced and the details are enhanced from everywhere (suits, decorations, faces).

The colorimetric palette is otherwise more nuanced and consistent (bye greenish drifts, hello weak magenta touch) with richer primaries (the Ramirez red velvet habit, the green meadows, the blue skies) and a healthier carnation (the epidermis is warmer), the contrasts are more balanced (blacks regain thickness and the whites of authenticity) with a slight shade of the frame (for a clear obscurity that appreciates better), and the light sources are now fully exploited (electric arcs, neons, reflections).

SON – Its A Kind Of Magic

Similar to the prestigious 2016 edition, these aging soundtracks with outdated effects and lean score (a peak for a rock opera) would have deserved a new mix or at least the reuse of track 5.1 certified THX (the best existing audio source with clarity, dynamics and modern additions) released on the US DVD by Republic Pictures in 1997.

The VO DTS-HD MA 5.1 with artificial surround activity (some environmental atmospheres plated on the rest of the spectrum) and with dry voices (sometimes suffering from an unpleasant echo) lacks cruelly body, where the stereo proposal (also encoded in DTS-HD MA) with the accented medium register is a little more dynamic with a partition and dialogues that gain in presence. For the LFE channel, which is poorly exploited, it is towards the multichannel track that it will be necessary to turn.

Very focused on the front and much more choked, the VF also suffers from a rough rendering and the disappearance of certain noises.

CONCLUSION – An immortal work?

For his 35th birthday, the first part of the saga Highlander Reborn from its ashes thanks to a 4K Ultra HD saving edition. The steelbook is superb, the bonuses abound (all videos are new) and the image is wonderful. A fantastic release (except for the soundtrack that remains unchanged) that fans should not miss under any pretext!