By Travis Johnson
This is cool. Hideously expensive, but cool. The actual prop katana wielded my messrs Connery and Lambert in the 1986 fantasy film, Highlander, is going up on the block over at propstoreauction.com. Yes, that katana, the metal in the blase folded over 200 times,* used to decapitate the Kurgan.
Highlander is one of those films that divides audiences; you either love it (probably because you saw it when you were 10) or find its blend of murky mysticism and ’80s music video aesthetics risible (we are firmly in the former camp. Highlander fans tend to be pretty hardcore, though, so this item is expected to attract fierce bidding.
Here’s the description taken from the auction site:
Ramirez’s (Sean Connery) Katana
HIGHLANDER (1986)
Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez’s (Sean Connery) hero katana from the Russell Mulcahy fantasy-adventure Highlander. The Spanish-Egyptian immortal used his sword to train Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) to face The Kurgan (Clancy Brown), eventually falling to the barbarian and losing his head in the Scottish Highlands. The mysterious sword was passed to MacLeod, and was a key plot device throughout the series, becoming his signature weapon through the ages.
Custom-made for the production, this hero sword boasts a polished stainless steel blade, a machined aluminium guard, a cast resin grip and a red leather-covered wooden scabbard. The blade is blunt and smooth to ensure safety during use on set. The grip features relief detailing of Japanese dragons, lions and Japanese samurai and has a faux-ivory finish. The guard is finished in faux-gold, as are the scabbard’s cast metal side and end caps.
The piece displays some scrapes, pitting and corrosion across the guard, grip and scabbard from production use, with the blade clean and displaying minimal wear. Also included is an 11″ x 14″ lobby card used in the promotion of the movie. Dimensions (sheathed): 103cm x 10 cm x 10 cm (40 1/2″ x 4″ x 4″)
Interestingly, this isn’t the only Highlander sword out there (the TV series prop is also up for auction but, really, who cares?) Director Russell Mulcahy owns the modular broadsword used by Clancy Brown’s Kurgan, but don’t expect him to part with it any time soon.
Any prospective katana buyer, however. had best have deep pockets, though; the piece is expected to go for £10000 – £14000. If, through some miracle, one of our readers does mange to win through, be sure and send us a pic.
*According to the script Don’t hold us to that.
Thats alot of $ for a fake…
which auction house is it please?
my apologies, I should read more carefully
Sold of over $36,000.00…
Weirdly, Russell Mulcahy swears up and down that he’s still got the original!
Who auctioned the sword? I have Sean Connerys sword from Wind and The Lion, with Pretty, signed by John Milius Director
I was an extra in the film scene, there were several swords used in the film. I was given one as a gift after a days work in the church opposite my school (St Augustine’s, Kilburn, London). Oddly, it’s not curved as you’d expect but straight, and blunt. I don’t know what scenes it was used in but it has small chunks missing from the blade from being hit.
Would love to see a picture of you and the sword maybe ill recognize you from the movie. Did you hear that they are making a remake.
You say there are multiple copies? My dad was given one by his friend (a director who went to several film festivals) and he swears that it was from Highlander.
I have a sword that is almost identical to this including the scabbard but it does not have the dragon head on the end. Also, the suba is more square shaped than round. It appears to be quite old and has some scratches and is missing the golden parts.