Rating: Summary: NUTZ Review: I'm sure we can all agree that Sean Connery is one of the most respected actors of our time, but what in the world possessed him to do Zardoz? Maybe it was to escape the image of "Bondage," because this movie was way out in left field from where he originally was. Perhaps, this film would not have been as great without him, but either way you look at it, it will stay with you. From the mystifying opening to the disturbing climax, and all throughout the 1970ish special effects and camera tactics showcasing Connery in his knee high orange boots and orange underwear, there are different elements which can cause the brain to overload, but that is if you're not careful. Perhaps it is because of the mind altering substance that I always seem to be on when I watch it, but this still remains one of my personal favorites, because I cannot shake some of this movie's images no matter what--and I love it! "There's God in show business too . . ."
Rating: Summary: Once was not enough... Review: The local movie reviewer said, "There's a new way to spell trash - Z-A-R-D-O-Z." Having already become very familiar with this reviewer's whacked out judgement - and his tendency to give away the endings and punch lines, I read no further and headed for the theatre.I was confused and enchanted by my first viewing of this film. I went back four or five times (hey, it cost only $2 then!) before its run ended. Every time I saw it again, new layers of symbolism occurred to me. (And, god, didn't Sean Connery look great in a pigtail!) I recently made my husband watch the movie. He didn't get it. At all. But then, he doesn't think Dilbert is funny, either. I'm glad ZARDOZ is available on video so that I can keep watching it - again - and again...
Rating: Summary: This is your future Review: Gene therapy for the suspension of senescence and artificial computer intelligence, combined with supressed parapsychological research = Zardoz. Today's "gated community" is tomorrow's vortex. Only one question remains: will you be a brutal, or an eternal? There is a lot of profound symbolism in this (Boorman says, virtually trance-channeled) film - Connery as "bride," AI computer as "tabernacle," etc. (A is for apple...). Am I over-identified with this campy sci-fi romp? As the subgenii say: "The stupider it looks, the more important it probably is." One person's schlock (or political tract - HA!) is another's initiation document.
Rating: Summary: I saw it when it first came out and read the book. Review: I saw the movie at the theatre when it originally opened and loved it. The storyline is excellent and I admit I enjoyed the bare-breasted women. It is a distinctly different role for Sean Connery but I think he is one of the few who could have pulled it off and not become a joke. When I was finally able to find it on video in the 80s I happily paid the $50.00 price tag.
Rating: Summary: I first saw this as a teenager Review: This will be a funny kind of review, because I've only seen this film once -- in Richmond, VA, in the ornate movie palace known as the Byrd Theatre, during its original theatrical release. I was an impressionable teenager living in a buttoned-down fundamentalist family. At first viewing, I was disturbed and my gray matter was stretched from the very opening sequence -- the head of Zardoz moving around on the screen while a voice-over spoke about God in malleable terms the likes of which I had never heard. Then Sean Connery appeared and he exuded a virile, marauding energy that hooked me into the plot. After the bare-breated women inside the dome made their appearance, this film was destined to be a cinematic milestone in my life. I'm looking forward to seeing this film again for the second time as a 40-something adult with far wider horizons.
Rating: Summary: Science fiction the way it should be!!!! Review: I am always worried about a film I can't love and laugh at at the same time. Zardoz is one of the best of this sorts. You can take it to parties and bring down the house with it's many bizzare innuendos and pretentious if not prophetic lines: "The Voice of the turtle is heard in the land, an old man calls!" I don't know what it means, but it is great. I think I've seen this film ten times or so and it continues to grow on me. Perhaps I just enjoy Boorman's lush but rather odd productions a bit too much, but beyond all the jokes (why is Sean Connery in a big red diaper for most of the film?), Zardoz has a fascinating science fiction plot far better then all the star wars/trek nonesense, laser guns galore. Pretentious sociological commentary PLUS everyone dies at the end. What more can you ask for. The video equivalent of Russel Hoban's Riddley Walker!
Rating: Summary: Nightmarish Review: This movie had me doubting my sanity in the early 70's. Perhaps it was the drugs or my mental state - but the metaphors that were presented still haunt our society today.
Rating: Summary: Excellent, Upsetting, Exhilirating, Intriguing Review: One of my all-time favorites. Thoroughly enjoyed this story of the future. The Zardoz punchline was the best.
Rating: Summary: exceptional production for it's time, with lasting quality Review: Beethoven's 7th provides a stunning carrier wave for this 'future danger that may have already occurred' movie. Boorman does a fantastic weave of Marxist class concepts and technology to show how classes can be (are?) controlled. Sean Connery is cool as the Brutal who breaks down the electronic and psychic barriers to freedom...
Rating: Summary: Dumb Review: Incoherent. The flying ceramic head is striking, but the rest of it is a ludicrous mess. Worse yet, it's tedious.
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