El Topo (1970)
"El topo" (original title)

El Topo decides to confront warrior Masters on a trans-formative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son, who must bury his childhood totems to become a man. El Topo (the mole) ... See full summary »

Director:

Alejandro Jodorowsky

Writer:

Alejandro Jodorowsky

Stars:

Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, José Legarreta

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alejandro Jodorowsky	...	El Topo
Brontis Jodorowsky	...	Son of El Topo, as a boy
José Legarreta	...	Dying Man
Alfonso Arau	...	Bandit #1
José Luis Fernández	...	Bandit #2
Alf Junco	...	Bandit #3 (as Alí Junco)
Gerardo Zepeda	...	Bandit #4 (as Gerardo Cepeda)
René Barrera	...	Bandit #5
René Alís	...	Bandit #6
Federico Gonzáles	...	Bandit #7
Vicente Lara	...	Bandit #8
Pablo Leder	...	Monk #1
Giuliano Girini Sasseroli	...	Monk #2
Cristian Merkel	...	Monk #3
Aldo Grumelli	...	Monk #4

Storyline

El Topo decides to confront warrior Masters on a trans-formative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son, who must bury his childhood totems to become a man. El Topo (the mole) claims to be God, while dressed as a gunfighter in black, riding a horse through a spiritual, mystical landscape strewn with old Western movie, and ancient Eastern religious symbols. Bandits slaughtered a village on his path, so El Topo avenges the massacred, then forcibly takes their leader's woman Mara as his. El Topo's surreal way is bloody, sexual and self-reflective, musing of his own demons, as he tries to vanquish those he encounters.

---

Plot Keywords:

el topo | bandit | horse | desert | dark hero | 

---

Taglines:

The Definitive Cult Spaghetti Western

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Re-release Official site [gb]

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

15 April 1971 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

El Topo

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Producciones Panicas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Klangfilm)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Used sets left over from Day of the Evil Gun.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
El Topo: [to his son] You are seven years old. You are a man. Bury your first toy and your mother's picture.

---

Crazy Credits

The closing credits in the English-dubbed version of El Topo state that ABKCO Films copyrighted the film in 1967; however, ABKCO didn't purchase (any rights to) it until June of 1971!

---

Connections

Referenced in The Fear of God: 25 Years of 'The Exorcist' (1998)

User Reviews

Holy Crap

To say that Jodorowsky uses symbolism in this film is an understatement. There is no plot; it's all symbolism, a Biblical allegory exploring themes that only Jodorowsky and his fans can appreciate. The script, if it could be called that, is amateurish and pointless, featuring random acts of violence, which veers from silly to repellent. The self-indulgent Jodorowsky may be called a poor man's Sergio Leone, but doing so would be an insult to the Italian master. The acting is uniformly terrible, including Jodorowsky himself in the title role, a la The Man With No Name. Films like this give surrealism a bad name.