There was once a courage to movies (and tv), that is now . . . GONE. They once took on big issues (i.e. the first season of (gasp!) "Space 1999"). Movies (and tv) used to poke fun at themselves—in a way that actually worked, even (think "Kolchak: The Night Stalker") (I LOVED that show. (!)).
John Boorman has actually apologized, for making a "farrago". . . .
"When I see the film now, I'm astonished at my hubris in making this extraordinary farrago." –John Boorman in his 2001 director's commentary for Zardoz
The gun is good. The penis is evil. The penis shoots seeds, and makes new life to poison the Earth with a plague of men, as once it was, but the gun shoots death, and purifies the Earth of the filth of brutals. Go forth . . . and kill!
Zardoz . . . defies description. Zardoz . . . is unlike any movie you have ever seen. (One hears that . . . a fair whack (at least)—but in this case, it's true.)
Some Links About Zardoz:
This is more of a "roast," than a review. However, it is HILARIOUS:
This one is a bit better—and the Brian Blessed bit is HYSTERICAL:
denofgeek "Zardoz may well be the only sci-fi film to feature a cameo from a kestrel. A further sign of its greatness."
:) :)
366weirdmovies (GREAT oneliners :) :) ) (If you want more links, they're here.)
smartfellowspress Um. . . . Um. . . . Um. . . .
badmovies.org (Some good quotes/one-liners) (And be *SURE* and catch the link for Rollerball. . . . :) :) )
This is the best link:
And it has a GREAT quote:
"You know what kind of movie you're getting into right away when you've got flying stone heads saying things like 'The gun is good. The penis is evil.' Actually wait. You have no idea what kind of movie you're getting into with lines like this, because there is no example of a movie like Zardoz before or since. It's like in its own phylum of movie type or something. Like a platypus."
:) ;)
I disagree with a fair whack of what this guy says (and he's a little too clinical, for my tastes. . . .).
However, he does mention "Space 1999". . . . :) :) :) :)
Best "behind the scenes" I've been able to find: dangerousminds.net
Some anecdotes about Zardoz:
Here are some anecdotes about the filming of Zardoz. Normally I source these sorts of things very accurately; however, these are just some things that I picked up over the years—most of these are from memory.
I wanted to make *SURE* that I mentioned that (although I missed it) John Boorman makes a quick cameo appearance in "Zardoz"—he's one of the Brutals who gets shot. Speaking of "shot": Early sequences were shot outside of Boorman's house, in Ireland, 'n stuff. (Road trip? –Nah. . . .) Reportedly, the budget was 1,000,000 USD — 200,000 of which, was Sean Connery's salary. :) :) (Actually, this is not true: imdb.com.) ( :) ;) ) I also wanted to mention that Connery and Rampling were very upset, about having to do the final scene over, and over, and over. . . . I forget the particulars now, just a comedy of errors: stuff spilt on the negatives, etc.
My thoughts on Zardoz:
(Been to the stars, and back.) "–It was another dead end." Ya' have to be quick, but the movie out-and-out tells one, that they developed faster than light travel . . . and it led them . . . nowhere. . . .
Now just imagine that.
Wipe aside all the RIDICULOUS hippie crap, and Zardoz is . . . profound.
Zardoz has both the insight, and the courage, to ask questions about where we're going as a race. . . . And will we get to see Anne Rampling's nipples when we get there? (Knitted tops RULE!!) (Or Sara Kestelman's? –YUM!!)
:) ;)
I argue, that–in a certain mindset (and rarely, if ever, has a director asked SOO much of his audience—at least in an American film (. . . .))–ALL of Zardoz actually makes sense.
My Personal Experiences:
I first read about it in one of my Grandpa's Playboys (Yes—I actually read (at least one of the) articles. . . . :) ;) )—however I never even *imagined* I'd actually ever get to see it. . . . (Remember, this was a different age then—before even the concept (that is, being able to watch a movie whenever one wanted [instead of in the theatre, or on tv. . . .]) of a VHS tape. . . . (I just showed my age, didn't I? :p ;) ))
Bad weenie: At one point, a friend of mine vehemently denied, that Zardoz came down, and said: "The penis is evil!" (Apparently, this was censored out—in the American theatrical release. Go figure.) Well, to PROVE this, I was–at one point–playing this at ~incredible volume, and recording it through the microphone on my Mac laptop. (I remember really loving doing things like this. :) ;) ) My Uncle, downstairs on the couch, first thought he was dreaming.
:) ;)
For quite some time, when I was a grad student up in Alaska, we discussed simply "The Death Song." (This is also featured in The Fair-Haired Child—don't spend too much time, looking for that one. (. . . .)) It turns out, that this is the second movement of Beethoven's 7th symphony. . . . We never knew that.
QUOTES, 'n stuff:
Roger Ebert called it " . . . a genuinely quirky movie, a trip into a future that seems ruled by perpetually stoned set decorators . . . The movie is an exercise in self-indulgence (if often an interesting one) by Boorman, who more or less had carte blanche to do a personal project after his immensely successful Deliverance . . . Every once in a while, a movie like [this] comes along; a movie you've got to see so that you, too, can be in the dark about it."
–rogerebert.com (Make sure you check out the bit about "Last Year at Marienbad." :p ;) )
I watched this movie after it was first mentioned on Tor.com. You can stream it via Netflix! Anyway, all I can say I have no idea whether it was good or not because it was just was. It's like it's own pocket dimension. There is nothing else like it in the universe.
From: imdb.com:
128 out of 146 people found the following review useful:
Everything but the kitchen sink!
Author: Jonathan-May
26 September 2004
This movie is truly awful, but at the same time it's got to be one of the BEST SCI-FI MOVIES I'VE EVER SEEN!
There are so many concepts to digest: Civilization's end, immortality, genetic manipulation, artificial intelligence, time control, psychic power, space travel, and on and on and on. If you're the least bit interested in science-fiction, there's more for you in this one movie than you'll find in a year's worth of Star Trek conventions!
(I think the above above quote, makes very well, the point, that there is an ASTONISHING amount of real, thought-provoking science fiction in Zardoz.)
This is . . . as good as it gets:
Zardoz More at IMDbPro ยป
126 out of 145 people found the following review useful:
Oh yeah...
Author: DaJ from Outside the Vortex
10 July 2005
Without question, the most brilliant bad movie EVER made: Red man-panties, gun-vomiting hot air balloon stone heads, flying books on fishing line, neat-o dance numbers (or at least ballroom catharsis), magic marker facial hair, elitist-hippie government, inexplicable backward-masking (check out Friend in the kitchen), the ugliest bride in the history of cinema, cool jewelry, the Internet before the Internet was the Internet (or even computerized), Big Brother, HAL, and David Niven merged into one, lots of flowy sheer curtains, EXCELLENT decorating ideas, nifty forms of mass transit, a profound sense of anatomy, and, perhaps most chillingly, an apocalyptic warning that, if we do not change our ways, we face a future COMPLETELY DEVOID OF UNDERGARMENTS.
Genius. Simply genius.
The film was made in 1974, and is a triumph of visual style often at the expense of narrative coherence. Heck, Zardoz makes the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey seem as clear-cut and understandable as a Scooby-Doo episode. My guess is the narcotics budget for Zardoz far exceeded the visual effects budget. And while I myself have never taken anything stronger than Sudafed, I suspect the best way to appreciate this film is to be higher than a paper kite.
–(from) movie-mistreatments.com
Also from movie-mistreatements:
I never got this:
"Death approaches," says one woman. "We are mortal again." Get it?: Zed = Z = Omega = The End = Death. Cute.
Zardoz is quite possibly the weirdest film ever made. As 70s as prog rock, fondue and woodchip wallpaper, and mad as a lift full of wolves, it's a film full of intriguing ideas, pretentious chatter and incongruous images.
Zardoz—biding his time, while on vacation. . . .
:) :) ;) ;)
You'll either get this—or you won't:
:) :) ;) ;)
And I just couldn't resist. . . .
:) ;)
