Zardoz (1974)

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 | Head | Library | Stone

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daisy Boorman	...	Young Eternal (flashback scene) (uncredited)
John Boorman	...	Farming Brutal Shot by Zed / Zardoz Mask & Head Model (uncredited)
Katrine Boorman	...	Young Eternal (flashback scene) (uncredited)
Telsche Boorman	...	Young Eternal (flashback scene) (uncredited)

Directed by
John Boorman

Writing credits
John Boorman		(written by)

Produced by
John Boorman	....	producer
Charles Orme	....	associate producer

Original Music by
David Munrow

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Unsworth		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
John Merritt

Casting by
Miriam Brickman

Production Design by
Anthony Pratt

Set Decoration by
John Hoesli

Costume Design by
Christel Kruse Boorman

Makeup Department
Colin Jamison	....	hair stylist
Basil Newall	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Seamus Byrne	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Redmond Morris	....	second assistant director
Simon Relph	....	assistant director

Art Department
Martin Atkinson	....	assistant art director
Reg Bream	....	assistant designer (as Reginald Bream)
Peter McGoldrick	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Jim Atkinson	....	sound editor
Liam Saurin	....	sound mixer
Doug E. Turner	....	dubbing mixer (as Doug Turner)
Peter Maxwell	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Gerry Johnston	....	special effects (as Gerry Johnson)

Visual Effects by
Charles Staffell	....	process projection effects

Camera and Electrical Department
John Campbell	....	assistant camera
Jack Conroy	....	electrical supervisor
Paddy Keogh	....	grip
Peter MacDonald	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jack Gallagher	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Alan Jones	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Austin Gaskin	....	horse master
Robin Hughes	....	special projection material
Jean Skinner	....	continuity
Bill Stair	....	design and story associate

Production Companies

• John Boorman Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox-MGM Film (1974) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Fox-Rank (1974) (UK) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox (1990) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment España S.A. (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Fox-Lira (1974) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Key Video (199?) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)

Other Companies

• De Lane Lea  sound re-recording (as De Lane Lea London)
• Panavision UK  filmed in (as Panavision)
• La Tabard Boutique  costumes made by (as La Tabard Boutique, Dublin)
• Rank Film Laboratories  processed by
• Air Structures Design  inflatables (as Air Structures Design London)
• Deluxe  color prints
• Ardmore Studios  filmed at (as Ardmore Studios Ireland)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Italian | Swedish | Latin | German | French | Irish Gaelic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

John Boorman Productions

Trivia:

To make the shots of the stone head move into the mouth accurately, the camera was placed at the mouth and tracked backwards, and the film reversed in the lab.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the exterminators on horseback are killing the Brutals, tire tracks can be seen on the wet beach sand.

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 "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Operation Double 007 (#6.8)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

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

Red Diapers + Green Baguettes = Lots of FUN!

This movie just about defines what a Great Bad Movie is supposed to be.

It starts off with Sean Connery dressed only in red diapers and bandoleers sneaking into a giant levitating stone head, passes through a fruity utopian post-nuclear society, and then heads into post-modern literary references.

The film looks like it was cooked up at an LSD fuelled party in the 70's that I wish I had been at. I wonder if Boorman came up with Excalibur at the same party. Visually there is a similar thread in both films. One is just a whole lot more coherent than the other. At first viewing Zardoz makes no sense at all, but is so wonderfully weird, so out there that you stare at it in disbelief. How did they get James Bond to run around Northern England in his undies? Why is the bread green? What's with the magic marker mustache? These are the types of questions that come to mind and keep you wading through the mess on the screen. The questions keep your mind occupied while your eyes feast on state of the art 70's futuristic concepts. It's as brilliantly fascinating as a 10 car freeway pile-up and you can watch it with considerably less guilt.

Everything is so beautifully, perfectly confusing in this film that it was with a heavy heart that I had to admit after the 4th viewing that it DOES MAKE SENSE. I will not spoil the fun for anyone else but the whole thing really does come together. I can only say that you should enjoy the cacophony while it lasts because once you get the film's storyline it's not half as fun. Though there are still some great lines of dialogue left: "I'm voting for him, Monster" being my favourite.

In any case viewing the film from a 21st century perspective reminds me that back in the 70's some very original, idea based SF movies could be made with a fittingly large budget. Some of these films have become classics which is more than I can say for the big-budget, no-brainer crap that mostly comes out of Hollywood nowadays.

I wholeheartedly recommend Zardoz for those who can admit to cinephilic guilty pleasures!