Did You Know?
To help keep the movie cost down, Sean Connery used his own car and drove himself during the production. John Boorman then gave him half the money that had been budgeted to hire him a car and driver. The idea was Connery's, according to Boorman.
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Zed's revolver is a Webley-Fosbery in 455 caliber. Unique because it is semi-automatic. The recoil turns the cylinder and cocks the hammer.
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The exterior shots at the very opening of the movie were taken right next to director John Boorman's house in Ireland.
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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.
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The government initially refused to allow the production team to import the guns for the movie into Ireland because of terrorist attacks occurring at the time.
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According to John Boorman, Sean Connery found it incredibly difficult to get work when he abandoned the James Bond role a second time after Diamonds Are Forever. Thus, Boorman was able to hire Connery very cheaply for this project.
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This film is listed among The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book THE OFFICIAL RAZZIE® MOVIE GUIDE.
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John Boorman made this film on the rebound, after his project to film The Lord of the Rings was canceled.
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John Boorman used Irish Travellers as extras. He said that they were the best extras that he'd ever had, extremely pleasant and reliable. He cast them, because he thought they looked like people who'd actually lived an outdoor life.
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John Boorman's son Charley Boorman met tribesmen in Papua during filming of Charley Boorman: Sydney to Tokyo by Any Means, that wore masks similar to those portrayed in Zardoz.
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The Renegade's rest home was filmed inside the work canteen of Ardmore Studios in Ireland, with some minor modifications.
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Three of John Boorman's children appear in the flashback scene concerning the founding of the tabernacle: Daisy Boorman, Telsche Boorman and Katrine Boorman.
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Zed's revolver, a Webley Fosbery semi-automatic, is also the model weapon used to kill Sam Spade's partner, Miles Archer, in The Maltese Falcon.
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Director Cameo
John Boorman:
the slave forced into farming and shot by Sean Connery. Although Boorman was shot with a blank, he actually ended up with wadding embedded in his forehead, which took days to come out.
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Spoilers
The scene where Zed (Sean Connery) and Consuella (Charlotte Rampling) turn into skeletons had to be shot three times. The first time, the film was damaged, and the second time, a studio helper accidentally exposed the negatives. Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling were extremely annoyed, because of the time they had to spend having make-up done.
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