Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Holy Mountain

Original title: La montaña sagrada
  • 1973
  • R
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
45K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,763
83
The Holy Mountain (1973)
AdventureDramaFantasy

In a corrupt, greed-fueled world, a powerful alchemist leads a messianic character and seven materialistic figures to the Holy Mountain, where they hope to achieve enlightenment.In a corrupt, greed-fueled world, a powerful alchemist leads a messianic character and seven materialistic figures to the Holy Mountain, where they hope to achieve enlightenment.In a corrupt, greed-fueled world, a powerful alchemist leads a messianic character and seven materialistic figures to the Holy Mountain, where they hope to achieve enlightenment.

  • Director
    • Alejandro Jodorowsky
  • Writer
    • Alejandro Jodorowsky
  • Stars
    • Alejandro Jodorowsky
    • Horacio Salinas
    • Zamira Saunders
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    45K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,763
    83
    • Director
      • Alejandro Jodorowsky
    • Writer
      • Alejandro Jodorowsky
    • Stars
      • Alejandro Jodorowsky
      • Horacio Salinas
      • Zamira Saunders
    • 184User reviews
    • 83Critic reviews
    • 76Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:38
    Watch Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 1:47
    Watch Trailer

    Photos110

    Horacio Salinas in The Holy Mountain (1973)
    Horacio Salinas in The Holy Mountain (1973)
    Nicky Nichols and Lupita Peruyero in The Holy Mountain (1973)
    Alejandro Jodorowsky, Horacio Salinas, and Zamira Saunders in The Holy Mountain (1973)
    The Holy Mountain (1973)
    Juan Ferrara, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Valerie Jodorowsky, Burt Kleiner, Luis Lomelí, Nicky Nichols, Adriana Page, Richard Rutowski, Horacio Salinas, and Zamira Saunders in The Holy Mountain (1973)
    Horacio Salinas in The Holy Mountain (1973)
    The Holy Mountain (1973)
    The Holy Mountain (1973)
    The Holy Mountain (1973)
    Connie De La Mora, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Letícia Robles in The Holy Mountain (1973)
    The Holy Mountain (1973)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Alejandro Jodorowsky
    Alejandro Jodorowsky
    • The Alchemist
    • (as Alexandro Jodorowsky)
    Horacio Salinas
    Horacio Salinas
    • The Thief
    Zamira Saunders
    • The Written Woman
    • (as Ramona Saunders)
    Juan Ferrara
    Juan Ferrara
    • Fon
    Adriana Page
    • Isla
    Burt Kleiner
    Burt Kleiner
    • Klen
    Valerie Jodorowsky
    Valerie Jodorowsky
    • Sel
    Nicky Nichols
    Nicky Nichols
    • Berg
    Richard Rutowski
    Richard Rutowski
    • Axon
    • (as Richard Rutowsky)
    Luis Lomelí
    • Lut
    Ana De Sade
    Ana De Sade
    • The Prostitute
    Chucho-Chucho
    • The Chimpanzee
    Letícia Robles
    • Bald Woman 1
    • (as Leticia Robles)
    Connie De La Mora
    Connie De La Mora
    • Bald Woman 2
    David Kapralik
    • Tourist
    Jacqueline Voltaire
    Jacqueline Voltaire
    • Tourist Wife
    Pablo Leder
    • Circus Barker
    Bobby Cameron
    • Fon's Working Girl
    • Director
      • Alejandro Jodorowsky
    • Writer
      • Alejandro Jodorowsky
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    El Topo
    7.2
    El Topo
    Santa Sangre
    7.5
    Santa Sangre
    Here We Go Again, Rubinot!
    7.7
    Here We Go Again, Rubinot!
    Dog Star Man
    6.2
    Dog Star Man
    Chelsea Girls
    5.7
    Chelsea Girls
    The Dance of Reality
    7.5
    The Dance of Reality
    Fantastic Planet
    7.7
    Fantastic Planet
    Eraserhead
    7.3
    Eraserhead
    ODM: A Legacy from the Past to the Future
    7.3
    ODM: A Legacy from the Past to the Future
    Dior J'adore: The New Absolu
    7.9
    Dior J'adore: The New Absolu
    Enter the Void
    7.2
    Enter the Void
    Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome
    7.0
    Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Before filming began, director Alejandro Jodorowsky spent a week without sleep under a Zen Master's direction and lived communally with the film's cast for a month.
    • Goofs
      The thief is tied to the Cross with the children stoning him. The "stones" bounce like rubber.
    • Quotes

      The Alchemist: [final lines] We began in a fairytale and we came to life, but is this life reality? No. It is a film. Zoom back camera.

      [camera zooms out, revealing equipment and crew]

      The Alchemist: We are images, dreams, photographs. We must not stay here. Prisoners! We shall break the illusion. This is Maya! Goodbye to the Holy Mountain. Real life awaits us.

    • Connections
      Featured in Come and Judge (1975)

    User reviews184

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Come prepared to chuckle
    If you liked "The Wall" (you know, the Pink Floyd movie), but thought it was a bit of a downer and suffered from the lack of a fat woman humping an excitable, legless, animatronic horse, this movie could be for you.

    Despite what you may have heard, "The Holy Mountain" is more absurd than surreal, more funny than disturbing. Don't worry if your tarot cards are gathering dust and you can't remember the difference between wands and swords--such occult knowledge might help you achieve a few "Oh I get that!" moments during the middle of the film, but the heaps of blatant symbolism aren't really the point. In fact, it may just be that the point is: there is no point. When you see a fat man dressed as the Virgin Mary handing out crucifixes under a sign that says "Christs For Sale", you can rack your brain trying to figure out what kind of statement that makes about society--or you can laugh. When you witness "The Government" indoctrinating children with a hatred for the nation of Peru by printing up comic books called "Captain Captain Against The Peruvian Monster", you can lament the plight of innocents being manipulated for selfish ends--or you can laugh! This film bombards the viewer with outlandish images and juxtapositions like these in rapid fire throughout, so it's easy to get bogged down or confused or numb. The secret to appreciating it all is to come prepared to chuckle--some things you'll "get", some things you won't, but most everything is twisted and absurd and, in some way, funny. Now when you get to the end and Jodorowsky winks at you, you can wink right back.

    Basically, if you can appreciate absurdity and profundity and the absurdity of profundity (not to mention enormous, colorful sets), you'll find a lot to like here.

    PS: If you do like "The Holy Mountain", head down to your local comics shop (or browse over to your favorite book/graphic novel e-tailer) and pick up a couple of volumes of "The Incal" or "The Metabarons", both of which were also written by Jodorowsky. They're like this movie--every bit as garish and violent and thought-provoking and funny--but they have actual plots (epic space-opera plots, no less).
    helpful•154
    47
    • abronaim
    • Jun 18, 2003

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ1

    • Why didn't they show all of the zodiac signs?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 11, 1975 (Mexico)
    • Country of origin
      • Mexico
    • Languages
      • Spanish
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Sacred Mountain
    • Filming locations
      • Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico
    • Production companies
      • ABKCO Films
      • Producciones Zohar
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $750,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $61,001
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,143
      • Jan 21, 2007
    • Gross worldwide
      • $104,160
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 54 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    The Holy Mountain (1973)
    Top Gap
    What is the Japanese language plot outline for The Holy Mountain (1973)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.