Highlander is a film and television franchise that began with a 1986 fantasy movie starring Christopher Lambert, who played Connor MacLeod, the Highlander. Born in Glenfinnan, in the Scottish Highlands in the 16th century, MacLeod is one of a number of Immortals. There have been five Highlander movies, two television series, an animated series, an animated movie, an animated flash-movie series, ten original novels, nineteen comic book issues, and various licensed merchandise.
The first of the series of films, Highlander, directed by Russell Mulcahy, was released on March 7, 1986, with the tagline "There Can Be Only One." The film features a number of flashback scenes establishing Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod's early history, and builds up to his final destiny among the last of the mysterious Immortals. Through a mentor and fellow Immortal — Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez — he learns of the existence of other Immortals, who appear spontaneously throughout history. An Immortal can die only after being beheaded, and Immortals battle one another in ritual single combat to the death, until the "Gathering," when the few remaining Immortals will fight until only one remains to take "The Prize." The Gathering occurs in modern-day (1985) New York City, when the Highlander, who has fallen in love again despite trying to distance himself from humanity, defeats The Kurgan, whom he has encountered repeatedly over the previous centuries, and who had slain Ramírez and many others. The movie was titled Shadow Clan in the earliest drafts. Upon its release, the film was not a financial success and was panned by critics. However, it gained a strong cult following, was a hit internationally, and is regarded by many as the best movie in the series.