Highlander - "It's Better to Burn Out Than to Fade Away!"

I’ve always been a bigger fan of villains than heroes in pop culture (just check out my villain rating scale that I used to use for reviews on this site). Aside from generally looking cooler, the villain gets to have all the fun, which means the actor gets to let loose and take some big swings. Because of this, my favorite movie villain is the Kurgan from Highlander, and this article will be primarily focused on my love for this character.

I have a strange obsession with the Kurgan. I don’t have a tattoo or anything, but any time I have to create a username for any kind of game I go with some variation of the Kurgan. If enough characters are allowed, I always go with theevilkurgan; if there’s a limit, then it’s thekurgan (you can drop “evil,” but “the” must always be included). It’s such a habit at this point that I don’t even think about it anymore. But when I go too long without watching Highlander, I start to doubt how awesome the Kurgan is. Thankfully, every rewatch confirms that he is the best villain. 

Clancy Brown definitely makes the role of the Kurgan memorable, but I want to get into the written character before I get into his performance. Simply put, the Kurgan looks fucking badass. When we first see him, he’s in full crazy motherfucker armor. His helmet is the skull of what looks like a tiger or sabertooth, and his chestplate looks to be made from bones, as well, but has somehow been sculpted to his form. His sword is easily the coolest in the film, too, which is saying something in a movie in which a bunch of immortals sword fight until the last one is decapitated.

Appearances can be one note, though. The downfall of most villains is that they have little to no motivation aside from simply being evil. At first glance, it would appear that’s the case with the Kurgan, but there’s more depth there than one might think. The basic plot of Highlander is important here: a race of immortals has existed throughout human history, and they are fated to battle throughout time until only one is left. The last one is rewarded with “The Prize,” though they don’t seem to know what it is exactly, and later films have changed things and subsequently been de-canonized, and it’s all way too complicated. The point is there is a goal for these immortals that requires them to behead each other.

So the Kurgan has motivation, but that alone doesn’t require him to be evil. The existence of Sean Connery’s laughably named Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez is proof of this. But Connery has a line that I never dwelled on until this viewing when describing the Kurgan: “The endless killing has driven him mad.” 

My love of this film is sincere though I am aware of how silly it all is. But Connery’s line makes me honestly think about the immortality of these characters and their fate (it’s an entirely other question as to how Connery or any immortal ever learned of the “The Prize” or the rule about holy ground, but I digress). The idea of immortality in general can be maddening. Connor seems to be enjoying himself, but most people would probably lose their fucking mind after a few centuries, especially if they were focused on The Prize. Connor’s life seems to answer the excellent Queen song’s question of “Who Wants to Live Forever?” with an emphatic “Me!” The Kurgan, even if he is unaware that The Prize turns him mortal, seems ready for things to end. There is a goal, and he wants it as soon as possible. He isn’t dragging his feet like MacLeod, who seems to only fight when challenged.

In his quest for The Prize, the Kurgan has been killing…a lot. Immortality alone would desensitize anyone; add constant killing and you have a recipe for the Kurgan. He becomes overtly evil to cope with what he must do. He certainly leans too far into it, but by then he is truly evil. In a way, the Kurgan is a bit of a tragic character, killing his way through the centuries while other immortals just want to hang out forever.

Whether or not the Kurgan is tragic doesn’t matter, though, because no matter why he has become so evil, it is undeniable that he has become entertaining. This is what Clancy Brown brings to the role. His distinctive voice does a lot of the heavy lifting, but he truly seems to enjoy playing someone so evil. His delivery of “Happy Halloween, ladies!” in the church is hysterical. Brown makes the Kurgan equal parts scary and fun, and that is a difficult balance to strike. 

Brown’s performance gives you the idea that the Kurgan enjoys immortality but is also okay with The Prize potentially ending it. His famous line (taken from the Neil Young song “Hey Hey, My My”) “It’s better to burn out than to fade away!” is not the line of someone wanting to live for very long, which makes it ironic that he’s saying this as a nearly 3,000 year old evil maniac. The Kurgan most likely has deduced that The Prize is actually the ability to die. What else could be awarded to an immortal than the gift of the ability to live a true mortal life? You’re also gifted the ability to know the thoughts of all mankind, which no doubt the Kurgan would use to evil ends, but he’s mortal at this point, so it would only mean a few decades of darkness for humanity rather than the “eternity” that Connery warns MacLeod of if the Kurgan should win. (Of course, The Prize of this film is rendered meaningless in the second film, but I’ll get to that in another article.)

All of this theorizing is quite messy (but the mythology of this series is even messier), but this is why I love writing about movies. My love of the Kurgan inspired way more thought than Highlander deserves. When a villain not only entertains me but also elevates the entire film, then he is a special character. Originally, I celebrated the Kurgan in a semi-jokingly manner. Now, I know this character is sincerely one of cinema’s greatest villains.

Random Thoughts 

Here are couple more facts that show my strange love of this film: I own a replica of MacLeod’s sword (a gift from my brother), and I’ve made multiple hot sauces with Highlander-themed names (one is simply a label with a picture of the Kurgan and the phrase “It’s better to burn out than to fade away” and the other is Jaun Sánchez-Villaloboso Ramírez’s Egyptian Scotch Bonnet Sauce).

I feel safe claiming this is the only movie to cross-cut a wrestling match with a battle in medieval Scotland.

Based on the energy level of the crowd at that wrestling match, it must have been free cocaine night at the arena.

I fucking love the dude next to Lambert just jabbering at him like a psycho.

Why did they have this duel in the parking garage during a wrestling match? I know I’m dwelling on this wrestling match, but seriously: why the fuck does Highlander start at a wrestling match? I suppose Mulcahy is trying to make some comparison like wrestlers are modern day warriors, but that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. A more apt comparison would be wrestlers to gladiators, but even that one is a bit flawed, since wrestlers don’t fight to the death, unless there’s an accident or an overdose or something.

Who’s the fucking dork wearing a hockey mask at a wrestling match?

Only a true Highlander can pull off the trench coat and sneakers look.

Back to the wrestling match. So I get that highlanders can sense when another one is around, but which one of these dudes was going to the wrestling match? Did MacLeod go there knowing Fasil was following him? If so, why there? If that location was planned, it sure caused him a lot of headaches with the police after. Wouldn’t both of these guys try to meet in a secluded area? And Fasil is wearing a full suit, so I doubt he was just at the wrestling match. I’m starting to think that MacLeod just likes wrestling, although not as much as the jabbering psychos all around him.

Fasil’s back handsprings through the parking garage garnered a well-deserved look of confusion from MacLeod. Why the fuck did he do that?

Also, the editing of this moment is atrocious. He starts flipping, then it cuts to him slowly jogging, then he’s flipping again. I watched the theatrical cut this time, and I think this is fixed in the director’s cut, but how did any self-respecting editor let this get released? It’s as bad as the director’s cut of Endgame that flat out re-uses fight scenes to make a fight seem longer. (By the way, I’m referring to the OG Endgame: Highlander, not Avengers.)

 Just a reminder: I love this movie. I make fun of it with love.

“I peed my kilt the first time I rode into battle!”

I can’t imagine the kind of depraved sex the Kurgan has with Candy.

I love how everything a Highlander’s sword touches blows up a little bit.

Cop in helicopter: “Hey! Hold it right there! Come back here!” And what, wait for you to land and arrest me, you stupid dildo?

“I’ll bloody well walk out of here!”

Pretty sure Kate wanted Connor dead long before his supernatural reveal. She was straight up horny at the thought of him being burned at the stake. You dodged a bullet there, Highlander!

How did anyone keep a straight face on set when Sean Connery announced he was a Spaniard in the most famous Scottish accent the world has ever heard?

And then he claims to be from Egypt!

His scenes take place in Scotland, just make him Scottish! Seriously, let him be all the bullshit he’s been through the years, including the chief metallurgist for King Charles V, but just have him claim to originally be from Scotland. 

Just another reminder that I love this stupid movie.

“If your head comes away from your neck, it’s over.”

I’ll take Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert frolicing on a beach any day over Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers.

“For amusement they tossed children into pits with hungry dogs to fight for scraps of meat.” Jesus…

Why is MacLeod gone in the scene in which the Kurgan kills Ramírez?

And why the fuck do they continue to live there afterward?

And why didn’t the Kurgan ever come back to check and see if MacLeod was there? Was he like me, and assumed there was no fucking way he would keep living at the site of such trauma?

“Happy Halloween, ladies!”

So they bang and MacLeod immediately takes her to the zoo? Who does he think he is? Rocky?

I guess they ran out of ideas for locations for the final battle, which is why they are straight up fighting at the studio the movie was filmed at. Fuck it, I like it. The destruction of the sign is awesome.

Whatever this immortal power is, it sure hates windows.

He becomes Professor X at the end, able to hear the thoughts of everyone.

“Don’t lose your head” is the last line of the film. Perfection.