Zardoz

[Chris Schneider]

Hey gang, if you don't get the intention of a movie in which a flying head appears out of the sky and bellows "The peenus iz eevil...it shoots seed..." in the first five minutes to a group of subhuman murderer/rapists, stop it, rewind, return and rent Pippy Longstockings.

[Thomas]

I remember first hearing about Zardoz about sixteen years ago.  We were at a mexican restaurant downtown and my father was in a particularly, er. . . esoteric mood.  He asked me what I thought the word 'Zardoz' meant.  So there I sat, stumped for about half an hour before he told me.  "It means: (Wi)Zardo(f)oz," he said.  "It was the name of a movie back in the seventies with Sean Connery; a really trippy one."  Wizard of Oz, eh?  Well, it sure as heck did grab my imagination, and after a somewhat accurate description of the movie's plot, I longed to see it.  

Coincidence of coincidences, within about a year (I think, but my memory is a bit foggy) it was to be shown on TBS.  I freaked out and made sure I taped that sucker!  I don't think I was home when it was on but I was sure to watch it immediately upon my return.  Was I in for a ride.  Maybe it was because I was only 13, or so, but I hadn't the foggiest idea of what the heck was going on!  I remember some stuff about "learning by osmosis" and that guy who reminded me of a jester bragging at the end, "It was I who told you about the Wizard of Oz!"  I do remember, also, how happy the immortals were when all those horse-riding barbarians came to kill them.  I don't remember, however, any nudity.  Guess ol' Ted Turner felt it wasn't appropriate for TBS viewers (though, at that time, they had to put up with watching a feeble Braves organization who hadn't won diddly since the Hank Aaron era).

At any rate, it's about 4:30 a.m. here in sunny California, and I was just browsing through a site called Half.com, looking for some DVD's, when I happened upon an advertisement for a Zardoz DVD.  Out of curiosity, I did a quick search on Google to see if anyone had posted anything interesting about the movie.  And, voila!  As groggy as I was (am), I decided to put in my two cents on this, uh. . . 'eccentric' film.  I still remember it fondly and now yearn to see it again; this time with much more knowledge of the world and a better understanding of thematic devices and how to interpret and pick apart a work.

To those who have seen this movie and liked it: Bravo!  There are indeed many things that make it entertaining and thought-provoking and you should pat yourselves on the back for having discovered them.
To those who have seen it and were puzzled or disgusted by it:  Well, this too I can understand.  It certainly was ahead of its (or any other) time and was quite hard to follow. So don't feel too bad. ;)

Well, I'm sure I'll rent it before too long, and who knows. . . maybe I'll get everything and be enlightened and share my newfound knowledge with everyone I meet.  Maybe that knowledge will help me end all wars and bring about world peace.  Or maybe I'll just sit in front of the television shaking my head, as confused and entertained as ever.

Peace. :)

[Douglas]

What a crazy, wonderful movie. After viewing it this past weekend, 30 years after I saw it as a little boy I was suprised how much I remembered and that it seemed riveting.

Of course people today are obscessed with CGI and all the other gimicks that become more important than the plot and they rarely take the time to think about the premises of the movie. Zardoz is the movie that tells us that all we really need is already at our fingertips.

If you ever thought about living forever on this planet with the same people you arfue with on a daily basis this
movie should make you appreciate among other things death.

[crazycat]

I saw this movie on TV, the moment I realized Connery was the man running garound in red fruit-o-the looms and black leather boots I was hooked. I bet he gets embarrased when peopl bring this one up. The death of zardoz (the floating head) was dramatic and heart wrenching. I recommend a good amount of beer to go with this movie. There are only about 2 really important scenes, the rest is sort of hazy.

[Spikslow]

It only has a few ideas, but they're all pretty unique, the brutality of the world and the susceptibility of civilization to violence, the mistaken divorce of life and death in the human mindset. full of incidental thoughts and lots of Nietzsche -the planned assassination of God!


ahh who am I kidding Charlotte Rampling is a fox! Phwoooaarrr

seriously, I saw this film when I was 14 and now years later and I'm grown up, I still want a Consuella to cuddle, I've lusted after her for years -interesting approach to sex in this film, not recreational (apart from some atypical scenes) but strictly procreational.

[Michael (the Netherlands)]

Zardoz was mentioned in a dutch TV-guide a few years ago. Its title appealed my attention, as well the fact that Sean Connery appears in it. So I decided to watch it. When I saw the first images of the movie - the flying head - I thought: "Oh God, this will gonna be like the usual crappy SF 70s-movies". But I continued watching and after a short while I started realising it wasn't so crappy after all. I agree with the person who wrote the review it's very artistic and creative. The story contains a mysterious dusky atmosphere which is pictured very well, and I think the atmosphere is essential for viewers to like this movie. I agree also the movie everything but accesable. You have to watch it several times before you'll get the full picture of the story, but that isn't always a bad thing, is it? The special effects are poor indeed, but I wasn't very bothered about that; you can't expect modern technology in an early 70s-movie. (By the way, the idea is more important then the special effect itselves.) Zardoz is one of the best movies I've ever seen. In my opinion it surpasses the usual big budget Hollywood movies.

Finally one last note to mention. The story contains two main female characters: May and Consuella. Consuella is far more attractive, however I prefer May. May's mysterious appearance and noticeable voice make her a very interesting character (and attractive on a different way). Consuella is nothing but a (penis-hating) b***h. So I was quite dissappointed when Zen chose Consuella to get old with during the end of the story.

[Friend]

This movie is bad! This movie is good! This movie is hard to forget, which in my opinion is good!

It was WAY ahead of it's time and not even that far fetched when you think about it. We are getting to the point where through genetic engineering and cloning that we may be able to extend peoples lives indefinitely. But of course not everybody's lives only the elite and wealthy, the rest will have to fend for themselves. And of course the "elite" will have to protect themselves from the "rest" most likely by erecting a barrier of some sort. Already gated communities are dotting the American landscape.

The way it was presented was cheesy but the ideas behind it were quite valid.

See it.

[M3]

Reading the  viewer comments may be enough Zardoz-inspired entertainment in itself to keep me smiling and confused without having to actually see the movie.  I had to laugh outloud and also snicker frequently while reading some particularly funny  lines.  Thanks to all.

The automatic revolver (Webley-Fosberry), although never actually shown in another movie, was mentioned in the Maltese Falcon when Bogart said to the S.F. detective that he had seen one in the war (WWI), but that they don't make them anymore.

Will I laugh more or become morose if I actually see Zardoz the movie?  I'll let you know.

[Zee Head]

Forget Rampling.  Sara Kestelman was the sexy one in this movie.  Hot hot hot.  The head has spoken.

[M. from germany]

Hmm, it's well known, that films with a brain have no chance to get any success in USA. I like this film very much - just like Clockwork Orange.

[Arthur Freyn]

An excellent film, which was years ahead of it's time. The plot regarding an elite society of eternals, who separate themselves from the masses, is clearly the way society is going.

The concept of the onmi-powerful tabernackle computer, using a crystal for infinite memory and storage, with lazer light to storeand access the data, is an incredible insight for a film from 1973.

Truely research is going on with crystals and stroage of data.

It's quite clear what this story is about, why people have trouble understanding it, i don't know. Stupid people probably!

No wonder they don't like it, they are just complete idiots.
For the intellectuals out there who enjoy it, just pity them.

[Zander]

This is my favourite movie of all time.  I think it is hilarious.  I could watch that giant floating stone head for hours.

[wavy]

Well having met with the sound eng. on the movie in Ashland Or. Mr. sound said this was a party down set.Probably what went down (literaly) during the making of ZARDOZ was the "real movie".Oh, the director John Boorman you must watch the Emerald Forest starring his son to get a better Perspective of Mr. Boorman, writer, director, producer.As far as the meaning of the movie this was Irland and they hated the eternal Enlish. No, Connery is Scotish. Kill me now Zardoz !

[Steve]

There were some good ideas here, but the execution seemed lacking.  Sean Connery was probably thinking to himself, "I gave up James Bond for *this*????"  And Beethoven was no doubt rolling in his grave over the abuse of his 7th Symphony (used no doubt because it was public domain; i.e., no royalties or licensing had to be paid)

[M.K. Young]

I had to watch snippets of Zardoz over three sittings because it was so hard to take.  I sort of got it and then after reading some postings here I'm feeling dumb for not understanding more of it.

I did wonder how long Zed was going to wear his red speedo and was surprised to see it throughout most of the movie.  And how many shots does a Webley hold?  I thought five but evidently 50.

I have to pick out minor points because I just didn't get the big picture.  I sure would have wanted to punch those self-righteous eternals though.  They were annoying.

Overall, I can't wait to make some friends watch this flick.  Until I can get them to commit, I'll watch Starcrash--not as trippy and just plain bad/good.