Highlander 2 - 35mm Scan

[HippieDalek]

Update 2020-05-29: https://fanrestore.com/thread-3199.html - The Grindhouse Version is released! 

Update 2020-05-18 : https://fanrestore.com/thread-2986-post-...l#pid61300 - The print is scanned!

Update 2020-01-28 : https://fanrestore.com/thread-2986-post-...l#pid58472 - The print is found! 

With the projects I've been working on I've obviously ended up with a reputation as "The Highlander Guy", especially when it comes to Highlander 2. Recently I've been getting a lot of messages here and other places from people who've found 35mm prints of Highlander 2 around the world and suggesting I should try and organise raising funds to buy and scan one of them. Some of these people have even offered to donate.

I am the first to admit that I am way out of my depth here, I've donated to projects like this before but never organised one, so I initially laughed these ideas off. I've only just entered the world of editing again after a very long break so scanning a 35mm print seems like a huge leap. However I got in touch with another user who has plenty of experience with film scanning and asked for their honest advice. They talked me through the process of buying/renting a print and even offered to put me in touch with a scanner they trust. As a result the whole process seems a lot more possible now, and also a lot cheaper than I had assumed it would be. 

It seems that prints for Highlander 2 aren't that uncommon, with prices mostly around the $200-$300 mark, though there is one currently on ebay for close to $1000! It also seems that they are mostly in excellent condition. 

For a while I've been thinking about trying to fix the colour grading of the Blu Ray and using it to reconstruct the US and EU cuts of the film in HD, then using the various DVDs to fix and patch the CGI shots. Obviously if we had a 35mm scan to work from this would give much better results. Also I believe one of the 35mm prints for sale is of the European Cut of the film; if it's intact that would allow for near perfect HD restorations of the US, EU and Renegade cuts.

I've not spoken directly to the sellers or scanners yet, I don't want to pester them for details now and back out later, but I've got a rough idea of how much the whole process should cost. Like I said, it would be a lot cheaper than I expected, but still much more than I could comfortably spend on a hobby project. So I thought I'd post about it hear to try and gauge how much interest there would be in this project, and how many people might be willing to donate towards it. This is not a request for money, just a post to see if this project might be feasible. 

So if you're interested and want to contribute in any way then please send me a message with your pledge, advice an/or recommendations. No amount is too small and I won't be asking for any actual money unless the project actually goes ahead. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to pledge publicly in the thread.

If there is enough interest then I'll start talking directly to the scanner and sellers and get specifics. At that point I'll ask for final pledges after I've been able to give full details of the print and scanner I'd be using.

I've got other projects I want to work on before this, and like I said it doesn't appear to be a rare print, so there's not urgency or time limit to this. I'm just curious to see if there's enough interest to make this idea a reality.

[HippieDalek]

Here's a few details on how I would see the project progressing if there was enough interest:

• Create quick HD version of US Cut using Blu Ray and list number of shots that will need restoring from 35mm 
  
• Create quick HD version of EU Cut using Blu Ray and list number of additional shots that will need restoring from 35mm
  
• Scan the print
  
• Stabilise the film and correct the aspect ratio
  
• Release 35mm scan in as is "grindhouse" cut
  
• Create "Grindhouse" US cut using Blu Ray and unrestored 35mm
  
• Create "Grindhouse" US cut using Blu Ray and unrestored 35mm
  
• Restore 35mm clips needed for US cut
  
• Release HD US cut restoration
  
• Restore additional 35mm clips needed for EU cut
  
• Release HD EU cut restoration
  
• Work through the rest of 35mm scan if further restored clips would improve on the Blu Ray. 
  

[CSchmidlapp]

Ill donate £20 to you sir.
Ive quietly followed your Highlander 2 project and respect the time and dedication you have put into it.

Im not a fan of the movie myself and would much prefer a Fan Edit that removes all refrences to Highlander lol.

[HippieDalek]

Ill donate £20 to you sir.
Ive quietly followed your Highlander 2 project and respect the time and dedication you have put into it.

Thanks! 

I've been rather surprised with the warm welcome my Highlander 2 projects have received. Even amongst Highlander fans the films isn't particularly liked so I just expected my projects to fly under the radar and disappear, but everyone has been very positive and welcoming of them.

Im not a fan of the movie myself and would much prefer a Fan Edit that removes all refrences to Highlander lol.

I do have rough plans for my own fan-edit somewhere down the line, it would be very different from the Zeist cuts that came out ages ago, and also very different from the existing cuts. Not sure it would be possible to remove all Highlander references, but it would be an interesting challenge : )

[CSchmidlapp]

I do have rough plans for my own fan-edit somewhere down the line, it would be very different from the Zeist cuts that came out ages ago, and also very different from the existing cuts. Not sure it would be possible to remove all Highlander references, but it would be an interesting challenge : )

That would be interesting to watch as you have become quite the expert on Highlander 2.
I doubt (beyond your thread) there are more than a handful of people who know the film or it's various versions as well.
If it could be cut to keep fully in line with the original's rules that would be awesome and well worth a rewatch.
I remember the 'renegade cut' attempted to remove the alien plot and change it to a ancient civilisation (?),
but from what I remember it really didn't improve much.

I think it works as a sci-fi b movie, and enjoyed it on that level as a kid.
I always wondered why they didn't just make it removed from Highlander.
"From the makers of Highlander" plastered over the marketing would have been enough to peek fans interest.
Which is why I think a Highlanderless Cut would be cool.

[Valeyard]

With the projects I've been working on I've obviously ended up with a reputation as "The Highlander Guy", especially when it comes to Highlander 2. Recently I've been getting a lot of messages here and other places from people who've found 35mm prints of Highlander 2 around the world and suggesting I should try and organise raising funds to buy and scan one of them. Some of these people have even offered to donate.

I'll check with my friend to see if there's any good prints available for sale, if there is I'll let you know. That will usually be better than grabbing a random print that comes up from an unknown seller.

[HippieDalek]

I'll check with my friend to see if there's any good prints available for sale, if there is I'll let you know. That will usually be better than grabbing a random print that comes up from an unknown seller.

Thanks. I've found a few sellers who've listed it for sale in the past on the 35mm forums, including one who's stock sheet still lists it for sale now.

Also as a big Doctor Who fan I love your username and avatar

[Valeyard]

I'll let you know if we find a print.

Yeah we could restore lost Dr Who episodes unlike BBC that requisitions the prints, if anyone with a print contacted me we'd work out a way to scan it discretely and safely and let the owner keep their print.

[Bigrob]

I'll let you know if we find a print.

Yeah we could restore lost Dr Who episodes unlike BBC that requisitions the prints, if anyone with a print contacted me we'd work out a way to scan it discretely and safely and let the owner keep their print.

Off topic but I use to work on the same site as the BBC archives back in the late 90's. Not sure if it's still there or not but it was in Brentford London.

I remember one of my colleagues who worked there that he saw a skip full of prints once that the BBC tossed away.

[HippieDalek]

I'll let you know if we find a print.

Yeah we could restore lost Dr Who episodes unlike BBC that requisitions the prints, if anyone with a print contacted me we'd work out a way to scan it discretely and safely and let the owner keep their print.

Off topic but I use to work on the same site as the BBC archives back in the late 90's. Not sure if it's still there or not but it was in Brentford London.

I remember one of my colleagues who worked there that he saw a skip full of prints once that the BBC tossed away.

I don't mind getting too off topic when it comes to Doctor Who

I know in the past the BBC was pretty draconian about requisitioning prints, but I think they're more understanding and compromising these days. Certainly with audio recordings I know they borrow the tapes, create high quality transfers then return them to the owners along with the transfers. I've heard they do the same with visual sources now too but I can't confirm that. No idea what third parties like TIEA do.