Zardoz (1974)
Blu-ray Company: Twilight Time
Starring: Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling,
Plot: In the distant future, a savage trained only to kill
finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity's
achievements.
My Review and Thoughts:
Film: 3.5/5
Behold one of the strangest, weirdest films. This is a
science fiction of the cult-ish following reality. An over the top visual
ecstasy, run rampant, without an end, to its effective visual reality. A film
that is in the eye of the beholder or more of less, something that grows on
you, or totally pushes you away. From its wild sets, twisted costumes and lets
all smoke some weed movie mentality, Zardoz is one of the most unique, visual
experiences you will ever go through.
This film leads the viewer down a thrill ride that’s hard to
explain unless you have seen it. Now Twilight Time has graced this cult film
with a beautiful, excellent transfer of high class quality on Blu-ray.
This is written, produced and directed by one of the
greatest film visionary’s to ever grace cinema. John Boorman is a passionate
and powerful example of allowing the visual, and the unique, to overflow in his
films. He has directed three of my favorite films, the wonderful fantasy drama
1981’s Excalibur, which I end up watching once or twice a year. The over looked
and underappreciated 1985’s The Emerald Forest and the one he is probably best
known for, the disturbing, powerful and twisted action survival, Deliverance. Boorman
is a cinema master. He has a visual reality inside his filmmaking and that
massively shows in the feature film of Zardoz. I think Boorman is an often
misunderstood director and visionary. His eye for spectacular or the inner
recesses of the mind, often came out in his pictures and Zardoz is that heavy
laced imagery of fancy and imaginative reality. Like I state, Zardoz is a film
you either love or you loathe.
Twilight Time picked a film that would shine and be all the
more unique on a Blu-ray. Zardoz’s home is a Blu-ray. The transfer and vibrant
colors worked flawlessly with this films trippy, drug like high.
Starring a wonderful actor that is able to control, build
and understand his characters in film, the one and only Sean Connery. Connery
plays the character of Zed. Zed is a Brutal Exterminator in a post-apocalyptic
earth. The year is 2293 and the population is separated into immortal Eternal's
and mortal Brutal's. The Eternal's live in what is known as the Vortex, where
they grow food and live in a kind of a happy, luxurious estate, yet basically
bored. Now the Brutal's live in a wasteland. Sean’s character is a Brutal
Exterminator, what that means is the Brutal's take orders from a giant floating
stone head, yes you read that right, go ahead and take another puff on the
doobie. The Giant Stone head known as Zardoz supplies the Brutal's with weapons
and orders to kill and torture the Eternal's. If you can take all that in, then
you can take this movie and be amazed at its total weirdness and trippy like
future.
The other reality the watcher must get by, is the insane and
utterly ridiculous outfits. Sean Connery’s character wears what really can’t be
described any better than what United Kingdom Channel 4 said about it. “a knee
high red nappy, knee high leather boots, pony tail and Zapata moustache.”
Basically put, he is wearing a freaking diaper, need I say more.
This also stars the beautiful and amazing Charlotte Rampling
as the character Consuella. Rampling is an amazing actress that is stunning in
anything she has ever done. Certain movies might be less than worthy, but her
performances are always flawless. She starred in one of my top 50 films of all
time 1974’s The Night Porter. She is a lovely woman that knows how to create
emotionally charged performances that leave nothing to the imagination, because
she becomes that character, breaths for that character, and the part of
Consuella is no different.
The best way to describe this film is The Wizard of Oz meets
Woodstock.
If you get passed the weirdness of the film, which is hard
to do, then the movie is something that you have never experienced before, if
that experience is good, is in the eyes of the watcher.
One cannot, not mention the cinematography after watching
this film. If ever there was a film that defined this department of film
making, it would be this film. The cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth is one
of the defining realities of this odd film. It’s simply put, breath taking
throughout this film. Geoffrey is responsible for some of the best
cinematography, in many wonderful pieces of cinema, such as 1958’s A Night to
Remember, the Sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. His two Oscar winning
films for cinematography 1972’s Cabaret and 1979’s Tess. He had a hand in so
many different styles of film, such as 1975’s The Return of Pink Panther and
1978’s Superman. He too, died very young, but left a great career and fine
examples of the art-form of movie making.
That is what makes this film stand out. It might be weird,
confusing and not your taste of cinema, but one cannot deny that the film has
solid, direction, acting, script and amazing sets. This film ultimately sends
the eyes and reality of the viewer, into a living form of imagination.
Audio/Video: 4/5
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 2.35:1
AUDIO: English 2.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
Twilight Time has done it again. Zardoz looks and sounds
like a brand new film. It never has been so vibrant in colors. Everything about
this Audio and Video aspect of this special edition Blu-ray gives off the
trippy vibe of pure perfection.
Extras: 3/5
This is different from most of the releases by Twilight
Time, instead of a 3,000 Unit production, this has a 5,000 unit production.
As in most Twilight Time releases, you get the Isolated
Score Track. One of the main music focuses is the musician and mastery of sound
David Munrow. He was a composer that gave the world great musical tunes, but
died at such a very young age. 33 years old. I cannot imagine what he would
have given the world of cinema, or music if he would have lived. His mastery
can be heard in this film. He is a prime example of the devastating horror of
Depression. His suicide still shocks. I feel, listening to his small career of
music, he knew and vibrated the very soul and recesses of what music was about.
He was only in the business 10 years, yet he gave the world of music so much.
On an interesting little trivia for everyone that might not know this, is the
Voyager Space Probe that was launched, selected one of his pieces of music to
be displayed upon the Voyager Golden Record, which is floating in the vast
recesses of space. He is a legacy and persona that brings tears to my music
loving soul. He was, as I consider one of the very few that knew what the
art-form of music was.
This comes with an amazing set of Audio Commentaries, one by
the master behind the camera, Director John Boorman
Also you get an Audio Commentary with Film Historians Jeff
Bond, Joe Fordham and Nick Redman which is a perfect listen, or at least an
important listen to fans of this piece of cinema. I think listening to these
film historian commentaries that are sometimes on Twilight Time Blu-ray’s is an
important concept and mastery in itself to the film buff and all things cinema
lover.
Radio Spots
Original Theatrical Trailer
Also a booklet by the mastery of film historian Julie Kirgo.
As I have often stated, an important special feature that I look forward every
Twilight Time release.
Overall:
A weird, trippy mind screw of a futuristic world, high on
imagination and the very recesses of the human dreamlike state. Twilight Time
blessed this odd film with a wonderful, beautiful transfer, awesome sound and
video quality that truly sticks out, and gives the movie world a whole new
experience. This is a required taste. The eyes of the beholder of this film
will know if they like it or not. I look at this film and see an imaginative
exploration of a one of kind feature film that lingers with you, long after
seeing it.
Twilight Time aced another quality product.
INFO:
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