Highlander 2: Renegade Version Blu-ray & DVD (Olive Films)

5 Responses to Highlander 2: Renegade Version Blu-ray & DVD (Olive Films)

1. Bruce says:

   December 5, 2012 at 2:06 pm

   Highlander 2 is an underrated cult classic that deserves this kind of release. I’ve got the 2004 2-Disc Special Edition and would double dip to see the extra footage without question!

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   • HKFanatic says:

     December 5, 2012 at 2:31 pm

     I’m inclined to agree with you. Most times I’d rather seen an ambitious failure (Highlander 2) over a sequel that plays it safe and boring (Highlander 3). In his prime, director Russell Mulcahy was really a master visual stylist. For me, it’s not Highlander without him. The elaborate tracking shot that opens “Highlander 2: Renegade Version,” with the slow pan over to the opera house, is one of the best opening shots of the 90’s, IMO.

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   • TheOneWithThePrize says:

     December 7, 2012 at 2:12 pm

     There is no extra footage apart from what you already have on your 2004 SE set. The 18 minutes of additional footage mentioned above is what was added to film already back in 1995 when the producers and Mulcahy put together the Renegade Version for VHS and Laserdisc. This is just a rehash of the BD issued by Lionsgate 2 years ago, although I reckon this will have less or even none of the extras included on that release. Don’t expect the Olive BD to knock your socks off PQ-wise either, the existing so called “HD” master of this film is a joke.

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     • HKFanatic says:

       December 7, 2012 at 4:19 pm

       “the existing so called “HD” master of this film is a joke.” Really now? Interesting. I watched the Renegade Version via Netflix streaming not too long ago and found the PQ wasn’t bad. I imagine the disc should look a little better. Not jaw-dropping but certainly acceptable-to-decent for a catalog title.

       I mean, half of Highlander 2 is matte paintings, which seem to be difficult to render in hi-def unless you’ve got Lucas kind of money.

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2. TheOneWithThePrize says:

   December 8, 2012 at 7:45 am

   The issues aren’t exclusive to footage incorporating matte paintings though. Some of it does look good, close ups can be really good. It is just that the quality drops dramatically from one scene to another, so much so that you would suspect that some of the source material used to piece together the Renegade Version was far, far removed from the negatives. Apart for that there are aliasing artifacts galore throughout the 2010 Lionsgate BD, a fair bit of print damage as well and blacks are inconsistent. I’ve seen better catalogue titles on BD, I’ve seen worse too but I wouldn’t categorise this as acceptable/decent as far as Blu-ray is concerned.

   I’d love to see this film get the respect and care it deserves, heck, a CEotTK/Blade Runner style edition with all the various, restored cuts of the film included on a set of Blu-ray disks is a wet dream of mine. A futile dream perhaps but I can still dream…

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