FREE ONLY WITH A HIGHLANDER PDF Janet Chapman | 384 pages | 02 Dec 2005 | SIMON & SCHUSTER | 9780743486323 | English | New York, United States Only With a Highlander | Janet Chapman Highlander is a fantasy action - adventure film directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a story by Gregory Widen. The film chronicles the climax of an ages-old war between immortal warriors, depicted through interwoven past and present-day Only with a Highlander. Immortals wage a secret war, fighting each other until the last few remaining will meet at the Gathering to fight for the Prize. Nevertheless, it became a cult film and inspired film sequels and television spin-offs. The tagline, "There can be only one", has carried on into pop culture. After a sword duel, MacLeod beheads Fasil and experiences the Quickening —the result of a one immortal killing another— a powerful energy release that affects the immediate surroundings, destroying many cars. After Connor hides his sword Only with a Highlander the garage's ceiling, NYPD officers detain him for murder, later releasing him due to lack Only with a Highlander evidence. Connor's history is revealed through a series of flashbacks. The Frasers are aided by the Kurgan the last of the Kurgan tribes in exchange for his right to slay Connor. In battle, the Kurgan stabs Connor fatally, but is driven off before he can decapitate him. Connor makes a complete recovery and is accused of witchcraft. The clan wishes to kill him, but chieftain Angus mercifully exiles him. Banished, he wanders the highlands, becoming a Only with a Highlander and marrying a woman named Heather. He explains that he, Connor, the Kurgan and others were born immortals and are destined to battle each other, save on "holy ground. MacLeod only wants a quiet life, having a family with Heather. Ramirez then explains the overriding belief of all immortals: "In the end, there can be only one". The Kurgan kills Ramirez and leaves the area. Years later, Heather dies of old age, prompting Connor to wander Earth. Init is the time of the Gathering, and the Kurgan is compelled to Only with a Highlander to New York, where Connor now lives as an antique dealer under the alias "Russell Nash," working with his confidant Rachel Ellenstein. Brenda Wyatt, a metallurgy expert working for the police as a forensic scientist, finds shards of Connor's sword at Fasil's murder scene and is puzzled they come from a Japanese sword dated around B. Brenda witnesses the Kurgan attack "Nash" and the two fight briefly before police arrive, forcing them to flee. She Only with a Highlander with "Nash" twice afterward, hoping to learn Only with a Highlander the paradoxical sword. Connor likes her, but tells her to leave him alone. Connor reunites with Immortal Sunda Kastagir, a friend who doesn't wish to fight. After they part ways, the Kurgan duels Kastagir, killing him. Brenda investigates Only with a Highlander and finds evidence he has lived for centuries. On Heather's birthday, Connor lights a candle for her in a Roman Catholic Churchas he has done every year. The Kurgan arrives and confirms he and the Highlander are now the last remaining Immortals. Disgusted, but prohibited from fighting on holy ground, Connor leaves. Brenda confronts Connor, who explains his true identity. After spending the night together, they part company due to Connor's immortality making him sterilebut the Kurgan finds Brenda and kidnaps her to draw out Connor. Connor decides it is time to leave behind the "Russell Nash" identity, regardless of his survival. After a long duel, Connor kills the Kurgan and earns the Prize. Connor returns to Scotland with Brenda and reveals he's now a mortal man who can age and have children. He is also now "at one with all living things," able to read the thoughts and feelings of people all around the world. He hopes to encourage cooperation, understanding, and peace among humanity. Gregory Widen wrote the script Only with a Highlander Highlanderas a class assignment while he was an undergraduate in the screenwriting program at UCLA. After reading the script, Widen's instructor advised him to send it to an agent. It became the first draft of Only with a Highlander would eventually be the screenplay for the film Highlander. According Only with a Highlander William Panzerproducer of Highlander: The SeriesOnly with a Highlander that's where everything fell into place — the idea that there are Immortals and they were in conflict with each other, leading secret lives that the rest of us are unaware of. Widen's original draft of the script differed significantly from the film. The initial story was darker Only with a Highlander more violent. Connor is born in rather than He lives with his mother and father. Heather does not exist; Connor is promised to a girl named Mara, who rejects him when she learns that he is immortal. Connor willingly leaves his village, instead of being banished. His alias is Richard Tupin and his weapon is a custom broadsword. He is not a savage, but a cold-blooded killer. Brenda is Brenna Cartwright. Other elements were changed during the rewrite. Initially, immortals could have children; in the draft Connor is said to have had In a flashback in the first draft, Connor attends the funeral of one of his sons. His wife in her 70s and his two sons, who are in their mid 50s, see him revealed as an immortal. In the early draft, there is no release of energy when an immortal kills another nor is there any mention of the Prize. Immortals can still sense each other and when Connor finally kills the Knight, he feels a sharp burning pain. As he sense another immortal nearby, the ending implies this is simply one of many battles the Game continues. Director Russell Mulcahy was flipping through a magazine and saw a photograph of Christopher Lambert from his recent role as the title hero of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. He couldn't speak English. But he had the perfect look. And he learned English very fast. Gregory Widen had originally envisioned Connor as a very serious, grim character following centuries of violence and loss. The film however portrayed MacLeod as a person who has suffers loss and fears new attachment but doesn't deny the possibility of love, maintains a sense of humor about life, and tells his adopted daughter to have hope and remain optimistic. In a interview with HeyUGuys, Lambert said part of what he found appealing about Connor MacLeod was the man still having humor and hope despite his long life and many losses. That is what amazed me about him the most How do you cope with that pain? How do you have the strength to keep on walking, to keep being positive and optimistic? To be capable of falling in love again when you know the pain it creates when you lose them. Widen also had a different vision of the Kurgan originally. He was much more tortured. The Kurgan in Highlander Only with a Highlander it is pretty much like Freddy [Krueger] — he's just a cackling psychopath. I envisaged him as a guy who loses everything over time. The only thing he could hold onto, to give him a reason to get up in the morning, was to finish this thing — finish it with our guy [MacLeod]. Only with a Highlander was more about that… it was just a reason to get up in the morning. 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. The budget was put up by Thorn EMI. Director Russell Mulcahy filmed Highlander using music video techniques including fast cutting and pacy music. In preparation, actor Christopher Lambert spent months working with a dialect coach four hours in the morning and sword-training with Bob Anderson four hours in the afternoon who had been a Darth Vader stunt double in the Star Wars franchise. On filming a scene underwater in a Scottish lochLambert said, "The first time it's a surprise. Only with a Highlander thought the water would be cold, but not that cold. The second time you know it is going to be freezing. The third time you turn away and you say, 'That's the last take you're doing. Smith said, "I stuck part of a drain pipe above Chris's kilt out of camera range, and fed live trout down the tube. Smith also had difficulties shooting MacLeod meeting the Kurgan. It was raining that day and the crew had to use umbrellas and hair dryers to Only with a Highlander water from hitting the camera lenses and appearing on the film. Smith also remembered that Lambert, who was near-sighted, "kept forgetting to take off his glasses as he came over the hill on his horse. The filming of the parking garage scene took place in two different places. The scene where the MacLeod clan sets off to battle is supposed to take place "in the village of Glenfinnanon the shore of Loch Shiel " in the Lochaber area, but was actually filmed at Eilean Donan Castle, which is in the same Only with a Highlander area but is really on the Only with a Highlander of Loch Duicha sea loch near Kyle of Lochalsh and the Isle of Skye. According to the DVD commentary, the film's climax was originally intended to take place on top of the Statue of Liberty.