Highlander

Mahes · Jul 17, 2021

Henry Cavill will have to do some serious real acting to play this part right.

Conner Macleod is shown before and after he becomes immortal. Before he is immortal, he is very much the average human being who has some training from the clan, but no real experience as a fighter. He dies in his first Clan battle. Even after becoming Immortal, he is still weak in combat and very vulnerable to other Immortals. He is pretty much opposite of Superman. He complains of the hardship and pain associated with the training all the time. To play the part right, they actually need to tone Henry Cavill down into a figure that would just be in shape but not Super-Man shape. He does fine in Superman but I just do not see the acting range in him to carry this part. He has to be able to show a kind of deep sadness that only an immortal could feel.

That being said, I would love to be wrong.

Chukzombi · Jul 17, 2021

Cavill was miscast for this role. Yes he's a big nerd. He's still miscast.

Rajaah · Jul 24, 2022

ohkcrlho said:
Same thing with Kyle Reese.

Yeah. Terminator Genisys casting a beefy muscle guy to play Kyle Reese...demonstrated a huge lack of understanding of why Kyle worked in T1. He was a slight dude who had been through some shit, not a generic buff bald marine video game character.

Rajaah · Jul 24, 2022

Highlander Duncan Katana Sword - MartoSwordsToledo.com

Highlander Duncan samurai katana sword by Marto Toledo. Licensed Highlander movie sword. Famous Dragon Head Katana used by Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) in the Highlander series.

www.martoswordstoledo.com

Just bought one of these. When it arrives in a couple weeks I'll post some pictures. The show itself got swords from this manufacturer (they went through at least one in every episode).

Cutlery · Jul 24, 2022

You bumped the movie thread to post about your late night QVC purchases about a show from 30 years ago?

Examine your fucking life, man.

OneofOne · Jul 24, 2022

Rajaah said:
Highlander Duncan Katana Sword - MartoSwordsToledo.com

Highlander Duncan samurai katana sword by Marto Toledo. Licensed Highlander movie sword. Famous Dragon Head Katana used by Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) in the Highlander series.

www.martoswordstoledo.com

Just bought one of these. When it arrives in a couple weeks I'll post some pictures. The show itself got swords from this manufacturer (they went through at least one in every episode).

View attachment 423771

This is substantially cheaper and perhaps more solidly made? Highlander Duncan MacLeod Forged Katana Sword

I love Highlander too, even to the point of owning a few katanas myself. My favorite? The cheapest one - $60 Pakistani made with full tang and a wooden handle and wooden scabbard (I really dislike all the faux eel skin wrapped handles). In my youth I fucked around with it to see if it would break - hasn't yet, which has really impressed me. Wish I could pick up more, but I got it in person from a vendor over 20 years ago and I'll be damned if I can find them online. And too many of the ones online that are "full tang" really just have cheap tang welds.

Rajaah · Jul 24, 2022

Cutlery said:
You bumped the movie thread to post about your late night QVC purchases about a show from 30 years ago?

Examine your fucking life, man.

There's nothing to examine. My life is ass currently, how's yours?

I've been wanting a Highlander sword for a while and after many years, finally got around to it as a reward for getting a lot done this week. I'll take a gift to myself once in a while.

OneofOne said:
This is substantially cheaper and perhaps more solidly made? Highlander Duncan MacLeod Forged Katana Sword

I love Highlander too, even to the point of owning a few katanas myself. My favorite? The cheapest one - $60 Pakistani made with full tang and a wooden handle and wooden scabbard (I really dislike all the faux eel skin wrapped handles). In my youth I fucked around with it to see if it would break - hasn't yet, which has really impressed me. Wish I could pick up more, but I got it in person from a vendor over 20 years ago and I'll be damned if I can find them online. And too many of the ones online that are "full tang" really just have cheap tang welds.

I looked into that one as well, but I read a few reviews of United Cutlery that said the swords break easily because they have very limited tang. Low-tang swords can actually fly out of the handle if swung too hard, stuff like that.

The Marto replica sword is half tang, I think. Not ideal, but it seems to be as close as you can get to a replica of the show.

I also picked up this Connor sword, it'll be interesting to compare. It's much cheaper, but it has a carbon steel blade and is full tang so in theory this one should actually be a lot better at cutting:

43" Highlander Connor Macleod Full Tang 1045 Carbon Steel Samurai Sword Katana | eBay

43" Highlander Duncan Katana Full Tang 1045 Carbon Steel Samurai Sword New. Blade Material: High Quality 1045 Carbon Steel. Full Tang Hand Forge Sharp Live Blade. Overall Length: 43 ”.

www.ebay.com

However, given the price, I have a feeling this might be one of the cheap tang welds you're talking about.

It'll be interesting to compare these once they both arrive. We'll see if the one that costs 6x as much is actually worth that, or if the cheaper one punches above its weight. Maybe I'll re-create the Macleod fight from Highlander Endgame with a friend or something. We can get some asshole to play Jacob Kell.

My one wish for this upcoming movie is that Cavill uses something very similar to these. Probably his own unique design for the handle, but same ivory katana situation. If he's got some generic Medieval broadsword I'm going to be pissed.

Rajaah · Jul 27, 2022

The two swords with a more generic one for comparison. I definitely recommend the Marto (bottom) swords if you want a real Highlander replica. It feels spot-on. The more generic one (middle) has a slightly wider and stronger blade, and is probably a lot more durable. However it feels like it's made of much cheaper materials and feels more like a toy (outside of the sturdy blade). Both are about equally sharp. The middle one would probably seem fine if I didn't have the Marto to compare it to.

Not sure about the middle one, but I'll definitely keep the Marto sword. You can get 'em on Ebay for about half of what the Marto website has them listed at (and still brand new). I kinda wish I could transplant the middle one's blade onto the Marto sword, it'd be totally perfect then. That'd be impossible, since they have completely different handles and tang lengths.

Either way, A+ for Marto replicas. This is like a bucket list item for me.

Voyce · Jul 29, 2022

j00t said:
i think it's less about finding someone who has huge muscles to play conner macleod, and more about the person that is passionate about the project just happens to have huge muscles. same with geralt, he's never been portrayed with some herculean physique, but henry cavil is a HUUUUGE nerd and has enough clout behind his name right now to get projects like these some good PR

You know who’s also a HUUUUGE nerd?

Rabbit_Games · Jul 29, 2022

I just hope they make it fun.
My issue with the later movies (after the original) and TV Shows is the same
problem I have with the new Star Wars movies: Leave the mystery the hell alone.
We don't need to know why the Quickening, or Force, exists... or why certain people
have access to it. The mystery of it is part of the fun.

Burns · Jul 29, 2022

Rajaah said:
View attachment 424436
The two swords with a more generic one for comparison. I definitely recommend the Marto (bottom) swords if you want a real Highlander replica. It feels spot-on. The more generic one (middle) has a slightly wider and stronger blade, and is probably a lot more durable. However it feels like it's made of much cheaper materials and feels more like a toy (outside of the sturdy blade). Both are about equally sharp. The middle one would probably seem fine if I didn't have the Marto to compare it to.

Not sure about the middle one, but I'll definitely keep the Marto sword. You can get 'em on Ebay for about half of what the Marto website has them listed at (and still brand new). I kinda wish I could transplant the middle one's blade onto the Marto sword, it'd be totally perfect then. That'd be impossible, since they have completely different handles and tang lengths.

Either way, A+ for Marto replicas. This is like a bucket list item for me.

Durable? as in you want to hit shit with them?

Used to work in a knife store while in high school and we kept those swords in stock; all of them were for show only. They will fall apart if you try to hit things with them very much (how many whacks before destruction depends on the target). Had a guy come in to complain about breaking one because he was trying to hack some wood dowels or some shit with them. Hang them up on the wall and be happy with your decor. Please don't hit shit with them, or you will eventually break it and the blade will have a chance to rebound into your face (queue sound bite: IN THE FACE).

The store also special ordered high carbon spring steel swords (a couple Chinese style and a few European style) on a few occasions and the difference is palpable. Also, I have a Japanese officers sword (100-150 years old) that was brought home as a war trophy (by a family member), and again, the difference is noticeable before you even take it out of the scabbard.

The best place to touch/feel usable swords (European style), that I ever found, was at a renascence fair blacksmith, but that was 15+ years ago, so don't know how they are set up now (probably different at every fair). There are also various blacksmiths (around the world) that make useable Japanese style swords, but they are usually custom order jobs for 1000s of dollars, so don't know how one could feel the quality of those without buying them.

I don't really see a point in paying the huge price for a useable sword unless you are into reenactment or it is a historical military sword.

Hoss · Jul 29, 2022

Rajaah said:
Highlander Duncan Katana Sword - MartoSwordsToledo.com

Highlander Duncan samurai katana sword by Marto Toledo. Licensed Highlander movie sword. Famous Dragon Head Katana used by Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) in the Highlander series.

www.martoswordstoledo.com

Just bought one of these. When it arrives in a couple weeks I'll post some pictures. The show itself got swords from this manufacturer (they went through at least one in every episode).

View attachment 423771

I was at a comic convention once where Adrian Paul was a guest. He had an "Adrian Paul Experience" that I didn't get to do because you had to sign up before the convention and I didn't know about it. Anyway, he taught some movie fighting and you got a boken with the dragon handle as part of the price. I wanted one so bad. I sat outside the door and watched until they closed the door on me. Fuckers.

Anyway, those look nice but all I've seen are cheap and I aint got time in my life for cheap ass swords.

Cutlery said:
You bumped the movie thread to post about your late night QVC purchases about a show from 30 years ago?

Examine your fucking life, man.

I mean, his avatar is Kurgan, the original kimmie. We all already know what he thinks of that 30 year old show.

Burns said:
There are also various blacksmiths (around the world) that make useable Japanese style swords, but they are usually custom order jobs for 1000s of dollars, so don't know how one could feel the quality of those without buying them.

This is true and a good sword can be had for about 1000. That will be blade only. China has a lot of good forges that are pretty cheap but the shipping kills you. Unless you are a good woodworker you will probably pay another grand for the scabbard and handle. Although, I believe the 1000 swords come with a basic handle and maybe a shira saya. Handles only cost me a couple hundred in materials because my teacher likes to make them. I don't know what it would cost to get a pro to make one.

Hoss · Jul 29, 2022

Rajaah said:
Did you see Highlander: The Source? It leaves Highlander 2 in the absolute dust. However, way less people know it exists than Highlander 2, so I suppose H2 is still the go-to movie to bring up.

WW84 is pretty terrible, but I agree that it isn't as low on the tiers as those movies. It's the only superhero movie I've ever watched and not finished. I saw about half of it and was gonna get back to it later, then just never did. I'm someone who finishes almost everything I start, so that's pretty bad.

In other news...

RAJAAH'S CONTROVERSIAL HIGHLANDER TIER LIST:
S: HTS Season 4, HTS Season 5
A: Highlander 1, HTS Season 3
B: Highlander 3, HTS Season 2, Highlander: Endgame
C: HTS Season 1
D: HTS Season 6, The Raven
F: Highlander 2

Z: The Source

Edit: Fixed it OneofOne

I'm going to guess that F is where it actually gets bad because the Raven was pretty good. It somehow flew under my radar and I just found it a few years ago and I was amazed at how great it was. Supposedly only got canceled because she was such a cunt.

How is it possible that the source is that much worse than the movie that true fans try to pretend never happened? I guess I never saw it, but fuck I'm going to look for it tonight. Anything that bad must be seen.

Voyce · Jul 29, 2022

Burns said:
Durable? as in you want to hit shit with them?

Used to work in a knife store while in high school and we kept those swords in stock; all of them were for show only. They will fall apart if you try to hit things with them very much (how many whacks before destruction depends on the target). Had a guy come in an complain about breaking one because he was trying to hack some wood dowels or some shit with them. Hang them up on the wall and be happy with your decor, please don't hit shit with them, or you will eventually break it and the blade will have a chance to rebound into your face (queue sound bite: IN THE FACE).

The store also special ordered high carbon spring steel swords (a couple Chinese style and a few European style) on a few occasions and the difference is palpable. Also, I have a Japanese officers sword (100-150 years old) that was brought home as a war trophy (by a family member), and again, the difference is noticeable before you even take it out of the scabbard.

The best place to touch/feel usable swords (European style), that I ever found, was at a renascence fair blacksmith, but that was 15+ years ago, so don't know how they are set up now (probably different at every fair). There are also various blacksmiths (around the world) that make useable Japanese style swords, but they are usually custom order jobs for 1000s of dollars, so don't know how one could feel the quality of those without buying them.

I don't really see a point in paying the huge price for a useable sword unless you are into reenactment or it is a historical military sword.

Albion Products

www.albion-swords.com

Burns · Jul 29, 2022

Hoss said:
This is true and a good sword can be had for about 1000. That will be blade only. China has a lot of good forges that are pretty cheap but the shipping kills you. Unless you are a good woodworker you will probably pay another grand for the scabbard and handle. Although, I believe the 1000 swords come with a basic handle and maybe a shira saya. Handles only cost me a couple hundred in materials because my teacher likes to make them. I don't know what it would cost to get a pro to make one.

A traditional handle doesn't look that hard to make. The main thing would be getting the wrapping correct. It might just take a couple times or ten to get something that passes muster.

A good fitting pommel, guard, collars, and scabbard, on the other hand, is probably extremely difficult to make well without the proper tools. I would assume that's where most of the money goes when buying that part of the sword.

There are even various YouTube videos on how to do the wrap and showing pros wrapping handles:

Cutlery · Jul 29, 2022

Hoss said:
I mean, his avatar is Kurgan, the original kimmie. We all already know what he thinks of that 30 year old show.

Man, I love highlander too, and I still can't wrap my head around that livejournal thread bump bullshit.

Swords are a fucking meme at this point. What are you gonna do? Take sick tiktoks of yourself in the back yard slicing watermelons like the internet just came out and you're gonna get cool points?

To be a grown adult and buying a fucking sword is just peak retard. The zombie apocalypse ain't gonna happen. If it does, you're still gonna get fucking ganked, Indiana Jones style.

And besides all of that, you lack the lifetime of skill or physical fitness to use it effectively anyway.

Congratulations, you just spent $600 on a coffee table knickknack and are bragging about it on the internet. Holy shit.

Drinsic · Jul 29, 2022

Some people clearly forgot Trip Fisk's words of warning.

OneofOne · Jul 29, 2022

Hoss said:
I'm going to guess that F is where it actually gets bad because the Raven was pretty good. It somehow flew under my radar and I just found it a few years ago and I was amazed at how great it was. Supposedly only got canceled because she was such a cunt.

How is it possible that the source is that much worse than the movie that true fans try to pretend never happened? I guess I never saw it, but fuck I'm going to look for it tonight. Anything that bad must be seen.

I dare say I may be more of a Highlander fanboi than Rajaah, and The Source is so bad I've fallen asleep both times I've tried to watch it. I've never actually seen how it ends. It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

Cutlery · Jul 29, 2022

OneofOne said:
I dare say I may be more of a Highlander fanboi than Rajaah, and The Source is so bad I've fallen asleep both times I've tried to watch it. I've never actually seen how it ends. It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

I saw the Source in the fucking theater, so my fanboy status isn't in question either.

And it's fucking AWFUL. It's quite possibly the worst piece of shit ever possibly conceived of.

There can be only one....

...to have a baby.

What the fuck.

spronk · Jul 29, 2022

Highlander

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