Zardoz (1974)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

John Boorman

Writer:

John Boorman (written by)

Release Date:

6 February 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Beyond 1984, Beyond 2001, Beyond Love, Beyond Death

Plot:

In the far future, a savage trained only to kill finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity's achievements.

Plot Keywords:

Future | Immortal | God | Stone | Head

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Zed
Charlotte Rampling	...	Consuella
Sara Kestelman	...	May
John Alderton	...	Friend
Sally Anne Newton	...	Avalow
Niall Buggy	...	Arthur Frayn / Zardoz
Bosco Hogan	...	George Saden
Jessica Swift	...	Apathetic
Bairbre Dowling	...	Star
Christopher Casson	...	Old Scientist
Reginald Jarman	...	Death (voice)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Canada:18 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

John Boorman Productions

Trivia:

Zed's revolver is a Webley in 455 caliber.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In a scene at the end, when Zed is shooting the mirrors, he has to repeatedly re-cock his Webley-Fosbury revolver by racking the upper frame like a semi-auto slide off camera. This is because this particular revolver was of a unique self-cocking design which used the force of the recoil to cock the hammer and rotate the cylinder for the next shot. Presumably, the blanks used did not have enough force to operate the mechanism, which required a stout powder charge and a firm, elbow-locked grip to function reliably.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Arthur Frayn: I am Arthur Frayn, and I am Zardoz. I have lived three hundred years, and I long to die. But death is no longer possible. I am immortal. I present now my story, full of mystery and intrigue - rich in irony, and most satirical. It is set deep in a possible future...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 7 in A, op. 92, 2nd movement

Brilliant

There seem to be a lot of people who didn't like this film. I loved it. It is a film for people who aren't perturbed by a lack of surface glitz in science fiction, and can take on the underlying meanings about immortality or the fear of death that other films rarely raise. Some of it doesn't make sense, but only if you are not paying attention. In my view, it gets straight to the point without any polish, which some people are uncomfortable about in any artform. It is not made for Star Trek fans. It is a bleak and powerful story about a cabal of ineffectual immortals who play God to an inferior but more vigourous race, and who long for death yet cannot die. They stealthily invite one of these inferiors (Connery) into their midst to solve their problems. The final scenes are extremely striking, and are set to the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th symphony. **You just don't hear this symphony enough in the movies***. I recommend this film to anyone who likes science fiction with a small sf.