The Holy Mountain (1973)

Director:

Alejandro Jodorowsky

Writer:

Alejandro Jodorowsky (written by)

Release Date:

21 August 1974 (West Germany)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A Christlike figure wanders through bizarre, grotesque scenarios filled with religious and sacrilegious imagery...

Plot Keywords:

Holy Mountain | Solar System | Planet | God | Mountain

Cast

Alejandro Jodorowsky	...	The Alchemist (as Alexandro Jodorowsky)
Horácio Salinas	...	The Thief (as Hector Salinas)
Zamira Saunders	...	The Written Woman (as Ramona Saunders)
Juan Ferrara	...	Fon
Adriana Page	...	Isla
Burt Kleiner	...	Klen
Valerie Jodorowsky	...	Sel
Nicky Nichols	...	Berg
Richard Rutowski	...	Axon (as Richard Rutowsky)
Luis Lomeli	...	Lut
Ana De Sade	...	The Prostitute
Chucho-Chucho	...	The Chimpanzee
Letícia Robles	...	Bald Woman 1 (as Leticia Robles)
Connie De La Mora	...	Bald Woman 2
David Kapralik	...	Tourist

Also Known As:

La montaña sagrada (Mexico)
The Sacred Mountain (International: English title) (reissue title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Mexico | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (re-rating, uncut) | UK:X (original rating, cut version) | France:-16 | Netherlands:18 | Australia:MA (2007 re-rating) | South Korea:18 | West Germany:18 | Italy:VM14 (2001) | New Zealand:R18 | USA:R | Hong Kong:III

Filming Locations:

Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico

Company:

Allen & Betty Klein and Company (ABKCO)

Trivia:

During Axon's hallucination, the battling dogs were indeed real fighting dogs.

Quotes:

The Alchemist: The grave recieves you with love. Surrender yourself to the Earth. Return what was loaned to you. Give up your pleasure, your pain, your friends, your lovers, your life, your past, what you desire. You will know nothingness, it is the only reality. Don't be afraid...

Movie Connections:

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

jodorowoski's best work

This is one of a kind, only his other films come close to it. The drunks at the drive-in used to honk in protest over Holy Mountain, one of its few general release venues, because they couldn't make heads or tails of it. Jodorowoski describes himself as a game player or "trickster" not a film maker. Much of Holy Mountain does, indeed, play tricks on the viewer. While the movie seems to be telling a story of some sort of quest to find cosmic enlightenment, this is only a thread which ties together Jodorowoski's many strange and hallucinogenic images. Jodorowoski frequently makes use of grotesque and revolting scenes, as well as bizarre music, to startle and unnerve the viewer. At some level he challenges the audience to make sense of his movie, if that is what it you'd call it, though not many have succeeded. With much nudity, violence and sexual content this is not a family movie and certainly will not please every taste.