Maaaaaaaaan, I saw a great DVD today (you could watch movies too during the day if you didn't have a job... oh, wait, that IS my job... thank you Movie Show!).
"Zardoz" is an CLASSIC 1974 sci-fi film by John Boorman (Deliverance, Excalibur, The Tailor Of Panama) starring Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling.
"the gun is good, the penis is evil!"
It is the year 2293. A giant stone head floats through the sky over green, unspoiled hills. A band of masked men on horseback gallop to greet the head, which descends to hover a few feet above the ground. The riders begin chanting a name: "Zardoz!"—the name of their god. With a great, booming voice, Zardoz speaks, declaring that they are his chosen ones "raised up from Brutality." To these, he has given the "gift of the gun," with the declaration that "the gun is good, the penis is evil!"—a phrase that the chosen ones immediately begin chanting (no NRA jokes please). Zardoz then begins vomiting hundreds of guns and boxes of cartridges out of his mouth, and orders his chosen ones to "purify the Earth of the plague of men."
(from Scifilm's excellent review)
I loved this film. It has everything a good early 70's sci-fi film requires. To whit:
- Sean Connery running around in red hot pants (something for the ladies)
- Attractive, lithe female leads and hundreds of female extras running around topless (something for the gentleman)
- soft porn (something for liberated peoples of both sexes)
- girl-on-girl action (something for the boys)
- boy-on-boy action (you know who you are)
- wireless, speech-interfaced computers embedded in crystal pinkie rings (something for the geeks)
- immortals (something for immortalists like me)
- zany multimedia visuals (something for druggies)
What's not to love?! It's a little "2001" and a little "A Clockwork Orange" with a little "Silent Running" thrown in. Don't let the bad reviews dissuade you! Watch it today!
Hi Cameron,
When I saw 'Zardoz' in a US cinema a long-long time ago (just out of high-school) I was so amazed by it that after the credits rolled I bought a large popcorn and went straight back in to watch it again! For me the message was about the hype of religion, using the every-American-child-knows Wizard of Oz metaphor. It was one of those crystal clarity moments that I've never forgotten.
And Charlotte Rampling! What a babe!
All the best, Rick
Posted by: Rick Clise | Tuesday, May 03, 2005 at 09:53 PM