[Released] Highlander II - European Theatrical Cut - Preservation - Version 2!

[MrBrown]

...

Once I'm don't with the US cut I was planning to take a break from Highlander 2 for a while to work on some other projects, but at this point it's looking like a Version 3 will be inevitable sometime in the future.

I really would like to see this (with the complete german dub), because, as you said the german Version was cut.

Btw. maybe I get the spanish DVD sometimes in the future.

[HippieDalek]

I really would like to see this (with the complete german dub), because, as you said the german Version was cut.

Btw. maybe I get the spanish DVD sometimes in the future.

My Version 2 release features the full German dub but with the cut bits replaced with the audio from the Hong Kong laserdisc. All the bits that were cut from the German DVD were scenes of violence, so because no dialogue is missing it was easy to patch it and bring it back up to full length.

The Italian dub is also on the Version 2 release but I had to patch a small bit of missing dialogue using the English soundtrack.

If you ever find a copy of the Spanish DVD I'd love to know about it. It seems to be pretty rare and expensive on eBay.

[MrBrown]

Seems as if the spanish DVD also is kind of odd.
Runnning time 89:15 min in PAL. (Despite mentioned 100 minutes on the Backside.)
No Zeist-Return ending.

[HippieDalek]

Seems as if the spanish DVD also is kind of odd.
Runnning time 89:15 min in PAL. (Despite mentioned 100 minutes on the Backside.)
No Zeist-Return ending.

So you managed to get your hands on a copy? Amazing. Does the DVD match the changes I saw in the low quality Spanish version I saw:

• It removes the same short bit of dialog between Ramirez and "Hamlet" as the Italian DVD.
  
• The computer conversation with Alan is the same as the US cut, just "The Ultraviolet Radiation Above The Shield Is Normal" and no discussion of "the old Service Tunnel in Sector F" like in the other EU cuts.
  
• The scene of Connor and Louise discussing blue skies has been removed
  
• The whole above the shield sequence has been removed! 
  
• The return to Zeist ending has been removed. The visual edit is the same as the second EU cut, but there is no Ramirez voice over. 
  

In the version I saw, after Connor visits Alan the film cuts all the above the shield stuff and goes straight to the fight between Connor and Katana in the warehouse.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the quality of the English soundtrack on the Spanish DVD. Even if it's just a cut down version of the EU cut it might be useful to have.

Thanks for the info!

[MrBrown]

It would be very helpful, if you would have posted the time codes of the scenes, because I do not have any clue where the scenes are. LAst time I really watched that movie in complete was years ago on television.

[deleted user]

Just started watching the European Theatrical restoration. Was wondering if you could make a better encode by any chance, with x264? I'm not sure where you exported this from, but most editing software has pretty bad H264 exporters, so the image ends up looking very soft/blurry, especially with grain.

Maybe you could try something along the lines of what spoRv wrote up here: https://fanrestore.com/thread-97.html

If you use Premiere, you could export directly to x264 via Voukoder plugin.

Edit: Nevermind, I once again should have read more thoroughly. Didn't realize that this was only an SD restoration.

[HippieDalek]

It would be very helpful, if you would have posted the time codes of the scenes, because I do not have any clue where the scenes are. LAst time I really watched that movie in complete was years ago on television.

I won't be back at my computer until Tuesday, I'll check through the poor quality Spanish version I have and get you some timestamps. I'll also confirm if the runtime matches the one you gave me.

[HippieDalek]

Just started watching the European Theatrical restoration. Was wondering if you could make a better encode by any chance, with x264? I'm not sure where you exported this from, but most editing software has pretty bad H264 exporters, so the image ends up looking very soft/blurry, especially with grain.

Maybe you could try something along the lines of what spoRv wrote up here: https://fanrestore.com/thread-97.html

If you use Premiere, you could export directly to x264 via Voukoder plugin.

Edit: Nevermind, I once again should have read more thoroughly. Didn't realize that this was only an SD restoration.

Yeah, it's just an SD restoration. It's upscaled from 576 to 720 as 576p24 isn't a widely supported format. Much of the EU cut isn't available in a HD form.

I'm using Davinci Resolve and it's encoded with x264. For now it's the best the film can look, but I'm exploring HD options.

I'll check out spoRv's thread, thanks for pointing it out to me. I'm always looking for ways to improve my projects : )

[MrBrown]

It would be very helpful, if you would have posted the time codes of the scenes, because I do not have any clue where the scenes are. LAst time I really watched that movie in complete was years ago on television.

I won't be back at my computer until Tuesday, I'll check through the poor quality Spanish version I have and get you some timestamps. I'll also confirm if the runtime matches the one you gave me.

that would be good, and some specifications what to look for.


The english audio is okay. Could be better, but could also be worse...

EDIT: at the insane train driving scene about minute 43 they have the classical musix cue. I think the UK and the australian disc had metal music.

EDIT2: The above the Shield Scene completely is missing.

Edit3: also the "sector F" talk is not to be found.

besides the missing returning end and no ramirez speech, I am not sure with the other scenes, because that might be small moments that could be missed.

[HippieDalek]

That sounds exactly like the low quality Spanish Version I've seen, so I think it's safe to say that the avi file I have is a rip of the DVD.

Thanks for confirming for me, I really appreciate it.