Highlander goofs

In the opening shot of Eilean Donan Castle, as the camera lifts above the villagers, the sun glints off a car travelling along the A87. Briefly visible, it emerges from behind the fir trees in the top right-hand side of the shot as it follows the shoreline.

The Scottish scenes are nominally set in the 1530s, yet the clothing, weaponry and fighting methods shown are far more characteristic of the Dark Ages — roughly six centuries earlier. By the 16th century, most European armies were largely formed of pikemen and musketeers.

Ramirez claimed his swords were forged in 593 BC by Masamune, said to be the father of Princess Shakiko. However, at that time Japan was under the rule of Emperor Jimmu, who is not known to have had a daughter by that name.

Although some effort was made to make the bagpipes look as if they might've come from the sixteenth century, they are unmistakably modern instruments.

During Nash's police interview they label the sword a broadsword, yet the weapon — the Toledo Salamanca — is, in fact, a rapier.

When Brenda looks into Russell Nash's birth, Dr Kenderly discloses that he was born out of wedlock and died shortly afterwards. Such a disclosure constitutes a serious breach of medical ethics by doctors, including those who are retired, and violates doctor–patient confidentiality even after the patient's death.

Ramirez tells Connor that the Kurgan is so called because he comes from the Kurgans, a malicious people who purportedly flung infants into pits for amusement. In truth, a "kurgan" is a burial mound, and "kurgan culture" is a contemporary archaeological term for a wide range of Proto-Indo-European cultures known chiefly from the study of their barrows. People in past centuries would not have referred to him as a "Kurgan."

In the car park, Fasil is seen doing flip-flops. In the following shot he is running, and in the subsequent shot he is doing flip-flops again.

Fasil briefly misplaces his mirrored sunglasses, only to recover them shortly afterwards.

The speed at which Sean Connery's legs move while he runs along the beach is markedly different to that of his stunt double.

When the hotel receptionist remarks on the Kurgan's kinky behaviour, the inebriated man changes from standing to sitting between shots.

Connor and Kurgan have their final confrontation on a flat roof. After they fall through the skylight, the room beneath clearly has a sloping roof.

While Lieutenant Moran visits the injured man in hospital, the blue curtain on the right-hand side of the sick-room shifts position between shots.

Although only about a minute passes from the moment MacLeod enters the bombed-out building where Rachel is hiding to their exit, the lighting shifts dramatically: when Christopher Lambert comes in there is full daylight behind him, by the time a German soldier fires the sky reads as evening, and when he and Rachel leave it is unmistakably night. This continuity hiccup appears only in the US director's cut — the original theatrical release does not include the scene.

During the final confrontation between Kurgan and MacLeod, Kurgan kicks MacLeod's sword behind him and out of reach. After a couple of close-ups, the camera cuts back to the wide shot (the same angle) where MacLeod's sword is visible on the ground in the foreground. The sequence repeats twice: another set of close-ups followed by a wide shot with no sword, then close-ups again and a final wide shot that shows the sword.

Despite Kurgan striking several pedestrians, the vehicle bears no obvious damage or bloodstains.

After Ramirez hurls Kurgan off the lofty platform, Kurgan first falls head-first, then, travelling horizontally, smashes through a beam that has suddenly materialised, then plunges head-first once more before finally landing on his front.

During the police questioning of MacLeod, officers identify Fasil as the man who was beheaded in the garage. Later, while the Kurgan is shown driving and listening to a news bulletin, the report refers to the car park incident but says the severed head remains unnamed.

At 1h51m, while the Highlander is swinging between the roof and the floor, the suspension (safety) wire can be seen on his right shoulder.

Newspaper stall presented as "New York", displaying the "Have You Seen This Man" headline, was filmed outside the Sheraton Centre in Toronto.

During the fight beneath Madison Square Gardens, several car windscreens are smashed. In each instance the glass splinters into fragments, which would be impossible in reality, since all car windscreens are laminated with a plastic interlayer specifically to prevent this for safety reasons.

Immortals are endowed with restorative powers, yet the Kurgan still bears the throat scar inflicted by Ramirez — a wound that ought to have mended.

Immortals can "sense" one another's presence. However, in the zoo sequence MacLeod cannot sense the Kurgan, who is clearly visible and therefore not far away. This discrepancy occurs in all cuts except the US theatrical release, because that version omits the zoo scene (the sequence was added to the director's cut for the US release).

Connor hides his katana beneath his trench coat, yet he can move about, sit down and even take the coat off without any visible indication of the concealed blade. This later evolved into a recurring trope across subsequent Highlander productions, with fans humourously coining the colloquial term "katana space" as a tongue-in-cheek in-universe explanation for a production assistant slipping the actor a sword just prior to a fight scene.

Immortals are not invulnerable. Yet when Connor is shot in the back by a German wielding a submachine gun, there is no blood on the rear of his shirt, nor are there any bullet holes in the garment.

As the Silvercup sign tilts forward, the front support wires stay taut, indicating that the crew are pulling it down.

In the church scene, Kurgan's plastic headpiece appears to have become loose, coming away around his ears.

Sparks flying off the railing ahead of the car were reportedly responsible for them.

When Brenda and Connor converse in her flat, gazing at one another through her mirror, Christopher Lambert's eye-line shows he is plainly looking at his own reflection, not at Roxanne Hart (although she is looking at his reflection).