“From the dawn of time we came, moving silently down through the centuries. Living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last….” — Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez, Highlander
Readers who have been following me for a while know that I have done a series of posts for each of the past 3 years celebrating certain iconic characters and stories. These were, of course, properties primarily in the sci-fi/fantasy and action/adventure genre(s) that were having significant anniversaries in those years — i.e., in some multiple of 5. I normally start putting them out in the first quarter of the year, but it is heading into mid-2021 already, so I better get movin’ on this year’s honorees. (You may note that two of them are films I included in this list.)
Highlander (1986): 35 years
It has been three-and-a-half decades since audiences were introduced to Gregory Widen’s tale of an immortal Scotsman (with a French accent, thanks to star Christopher Lambert, who barely knew English), Connor MacLeod, and his efforts to learn about his newly-found immortality and to survive the ongoing contest for power with other immortals. These include MacLeod’s mentor, an ancient Egyptian who goes by the name of Ramirez. (Even odder, Ramirez has a Scottish accent and wields a samurai katana, forged by his father-in-law in 592 BC.) The primary foe is a ruthless immortal, the Kurgan, who hails from the steppes of Russia (and currently sports a punk/skinhead fetish). In addition to a creative story concept, there are stunning visuals, intriguing camerawork, terrific swordfights (both in 1985 and flashbacks), and enjoyable performances.
Widen’s original draft of the script was much darker, with many differences in the characters, plot, and concepts than would later be seen in the film. I prefer what we got over what might have been, even if the movie was originally both a financial and critical failure in the U.S. However, international audiences loved it and it soon developed a cult following, one that exists to this day. Of course, much of that following was strengthened by four theatrical sequels/prequels, one made-for-TV film, two live-action television series, an animated television series, an anime film, a Flash-based web series, original novels, comic books, an audio production, video games, a collectible card game, and various other licensed merchandise.
The first TV series (1992-1998) introduced Connor’s relative, Duncan MacLeod, and most stories in the various formats revolved around one or both of them. The most frustrating thing about these later Highlander stories was the many inconsistencies with canon — i.e., histories and abilities established in the original movie. (The absolute worst was Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), which many fans now dismiss as a fevered hallucination by the film’s investors, who removed returning director Russell Mulcahy and changed the story to be a sci-fi retcon of established lore.) But, the franchise still has a huge fanbase, and a long-awaited reboot remains in “heavy development mode.”
Watchmen (1986): 35 years
The same year that Highlander came out, one of the most controversial and fan-favorite comic book “maxi-series” made its debut: Watchmen by Alan Moore and David Gibbons. Based in an alternate reality of Cold War-era 1980s (plus flashbacks), the tale centers around two generations of very flawed, morally ambiguous superheroes. It (along with Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) is considered to be instrumental in the industry’s shift into more grim-n-gritty storytelling and darker superheroes, though Moore regrets that, as he had no intention of making it a (sub)genre of its own.
Thematically, Moore said he was not pushing anti-Americanism but anti-Reaganism (and anti-Thatcherism), i.e., a conservative political approach which he saw as being quite dangerous. Many have called the work deconstructionist and postmodern, while Geoff Klock prefers the term “revisionary superhero narrative.” Stylistically, there was a lot of symbolism and imagery throughout, most notably the iconic, blood-stained smiley face. Structurally, the creators utilized some unusual panel layouts, coloring, and pacing for dramatic effect, all of which were designed by Gibbons to give the series a then-unique look.
Due to the graphic violence and adult themes, the series was a bit of a hard-sell, especially to advertisers. But, DC stuck with it. The series ended up being a commercial success, helping DC briefly overtake Marvel in the comic book direct market. It has had multiple printings in trade paperback (TPB) format, and it (again, along with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) helped usher in the use of the “graphic novel” term, which gave the medium more cred in literary circles (which led to more libraries buying them for people like me to read). The limited series appears on both Time‘s 2005 “All-Time 100 Greatest Novels” list and its 2009 “Top 10 Graphic Novels” list. Other top rankings have come from Entertainment Weekly and The Comics Journal.
Watchmen has had multiple sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, though with limited involvement by Gibbons and none by Moore. (There is a whole, ugly history of contested ownership rights that I won’t get into.) After several aborted attempts, a successful live-action adaptation premiered in theaters in 2009, directed by Zack Snyder. A decade later, HBO produced a single-season, TV series sequel, also titled simply “Watchmen”. And, of course, there have been various licensed collectibles, as well as non-fiction works about the property.
Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark) (1981): 40 years
Thanks to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, the Indiana Jones franchise starring Harrison Ford kicked off forty years ago with the theatrical premiere of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Wow! I don’t have a specific memory of going to see it, but I know that I absolutely loved it. I mean, Indy may not have been Han Solo, but Ford gave him a very similar sort of charm, minus some of the snark. He was an easy-going archaeologist with a penchant for jumping into action and pulling off some amazing feats. The adventure stories were loads of fun, with nasty baddies and pretty ladies — sometimes one and the same. Then there were the great comedic moments! And he had that cool bullwhip! And… and… yeah, you might say I’m a big fan.
The movie was essentially an ode to the B-movie serial films of past decades, but with higher-quality production. Besides Lucas and Spielberg, credit is due also to Philip Kaufman (who helped Lucas flesh out the concept) and writer Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back). After several years of fine-tuning the character and story, and finally armed with a screenplay, Lucas managed to negotiate a deal with Paramount Pictures. Producer Frank Marshall, cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, production designer Norman Reynolds, and editor Michael Kahn were all hired thanks to Spielberg, thus filling most of the upper ranks of the production team. Special F/X by Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) were supervised by Richard Edlund. (Lucas served as exec producer and second unit director.) And a great team it proved to be.
Ford’s tendency to remain aloof caused some frustration. And, of course, there were the usual issues with sickness suffered by cast and crew, overbearing heat, problems with animals, etc. Lack of script details led to a lot of improvisation on set, which made for some interesting, even great, scenes — e.g., the young student with “Love You” written across her eyelids. Spielberg managed to hold to time and budget restrictions (for a change), which he admitted kept the movie from becoming “pretentious”. Another plus was the remarkable lack of studio interference. Filming took only 73 days, followed by two months of post-production (mostly special F/X and pick-up shots).
All the hard work paid off, as the film became a blockbuster, as well as a critical success. In the U.S., Raiders grossed roughly $212 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 1981. International success led to a worldwide gross of $354 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 1981 worldwide. (There were several re-releases and video releases, as well, which brought in many more bucks.) Accolades included labels of “breathless and incredible”, “exhilarating escapist entertainment”, and “instant classic”. Raiders earned five Academy Awards, seven Saturn Awards, a Directors Guild Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, a People’s Choice Award, and a Hugo Award. (This doesn’t count the additional nominations, either.)
This was just the beginning of a huge franchise, too, spawning three more films (with a fourth planned for Summer 2022), a TV series, video games, comic books, novels, theme park attractions, toys, and an amateur remake. Raiders is preserved in the National Film Registry for being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Well done, Indy, my friend.
Hope you enjoyed the first part of our 2021 list. Part 2 will likely be in 3 or 4 weeks, so keep an eye out….
Heroes and Aliens 