El Topo (1970)

A mysterious black-clad gunfighter wanders a mystical Western landscape encountering multiple bizarre characters.

Director:

Alejandro Jodorowsky (as Alexandro Jodorowsky)

Writer:

Alejandro Jodorowsky (as Alexandro Jodorowsky)

Stars:

Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, José Legarreta

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alejandro Jodorowsky	...	El Topo
Brontis Jodorowsky	...	Hijo / Topo's son
José Legarreta	...	Moribundo
Alfonso Arau	...	Bandido 1
José Luis Fernández	...	Bandido 2
Ali Junco	...	Bandido 3 (as Alí Junco)
Gerardo Zepeda	...	Bandido 4 (as Gerardo Cepeda)
René Barrera	...	Bandido 5
René Alís	...	Bandido 6
Federico Gonzáles	...	Bandido 7
Vicente Lara	...	Bandido 8
Pablo Leder	...	Monje 1
Giuliano Girini Sasseroli	...	Monje 2
Cristian Merkel	...	Monje 3
Aldo Grumelli	...	Monje 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.

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Plot Keywords:

midget | self immolation | written and directed by cast member | real life father and son playing father and son | revenge | 

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Taglines:

The legendary cult classic

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Re-release Official site [United Kingdom]

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

15 April 1971 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

The Gopher

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (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

The title of the movie and the main character's name are a metaphor of the underground cinema in the sixties. The mole digs holes so as to emerge from the underground to the surface. This was happening with some low-budget movies that quickly gained mainstream popularity.

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Goofs

The opening scene is of a man on horseback riding through the desert, although the horse is on deep sand the sound is of a horse on hard ground.

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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.

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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!

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Alternate Versions

Many Spanish and other non-English versions are censored, missing most of the sex and violence. Japanese prints on laserdisc have one piece of minor censorship (the scene with the Franciscan monks being ridden and humiliated).

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Connections

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

User Reviews

An obscure western with a difference

This was Alexandro Jodorowsky's first recognised cult movie in the early seventies. Shot in Mexico, El Topo (or the mole in English) is a gunslinger (played by Jodorowsky), who, dressed completely in black leather, rides on his horse with his seven-year-old son through the desert; until they come across a massacre of people. One of the survivors tells El Topo who the culprits are, and he then takes on the guise of God and seeks revenge. There is a lot of surrealistic imagery from then on as Jodorowsky explores violence, racism and religious themes, but it is absorbing and the ending is very obscure. An easy candidate for a cult movie.