8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
"The Alchemist" is a man who assembles a group of people from all walks of life and renames them for the planets in the solar system. Putting his recruits through strange mystical rites and divesting them of their worldly baggage, he leads them on a trip to Lotus Island to ascend the Holy Mountain and displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.
Starring: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Juan Ferrara, Richard Rutowski, Harry Cohn (II), David Silva (I)Foreign | 100% |
Drama | 68% |
Surreal | 31% |
Imaginary | 8% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 CD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Note: This version of this film is available as part of The Alejandro Jodorowsky Collection.
Some pundits along the way have said that there’s a very fine line between being a visionary and being a madman, and it may be at least arguable
that no contemporary
filmmaker has blurred that line so vigorously (and most likely intentionally) as has Alejandro Jodorowsky. Just listing some of Jodorowsky’s other
activities in addition to his filmmaking may give some indication of both of the characteristics listed above, at least in terms of how the combination
of them all being done by one person might be perceived by outsiders as indicating both visionary and mad aspects. Jodorowsky at various points
in his long life (as of the
writing of this review, he’s still with us at the venerable age of 91) has been a puppeteer, a composer, a mime, a writer of comics, a therapist and a
self-
described mystic with a penchant for magical realist and/or surrealist thinking. Jodorowky first came to at least some prominence on the global
cinema scene with El
Topo in 1970, though Fando y Lis, also included in this set, preceded it by two years, causing more than a bit of a scandal upon its
release, including being rather quickly banned in Mexico after its debut, something that probably kept it from greater renown at the time. El
Topo at least managed to screen internationally, including in New York City, where it caught the attention of none other than John Lennon,
who convinced Apple executive Allen Klein to fund further Jodorowsky efforts. This set also aggregates two other films from Jodorowsky, including
1973’s The Holy Mountain (one result of Klein's financing efforts), which, like El Topo, has had a previous release on Blu-ray
(more about the previous releases in the
appropriate individual reviews of those titles). Bookending the never before released on Blu-ray Fando y Lis, the first feature length film
from
Jodorowsky, is Psychomagic, A Healing Art, Jodorowsky’s most recent effort from 2019.
Note: Those who pay attention to things like menu designs and fonts utilized, or even to the look of the copyright warnings at disc boot
up may instantly recognize how these discs look like Arrow releases, with an identical boot up that is only different from an Arrow
release in that it's missing the Arrow masthead. That said, in fact Arrow's own masthead does show up here on occasion with regard to
some of the supplemental material. Arrow's UK
division has their own The Alejandro
Jodorowsky Collection Blu-ray release which came out about a month or so ago. That release looks like it has Region B locked discs (I
haven't received any screeners yet, and so can't confirm), but otherwise the releases seem to be identical.
The Holy Mountain is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of abkco with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:
The Holy Mountain was resetored in 4K resolution and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with 5.1, stereo and mono audio*. The original 35mm 2-perf Techniscope camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at OCN Digital Labs, CT. The film was graded and restored at Silver Salt Restoration, London. The audio mixes were remastered from the original optical negatives at Deluxe Audio Services, Hollywood. Review screenings for approval were carried out at Eclair Labs, Paris.Casey gave very decent if not overwhelming marks to the previous release on Blu-ray, but my hunch is even those who liked the Starz / Anchor Bay release are going to find this version an improvement on any number of levels. Both Marty and Casey noted some filtering in evidence on the previous Blu-ray releases they reviewed, and while there's a noticeable grain field on display here though, as I mentioned in the El Topo Blu-ray review, it can tend to ebb and flow a bit at times. Grain tends to resolve naturally for the most part, but there are a few isolated moments that struck me as a bit wonky or even "digital" looking, as in the white section of the "eye room" (see screenshot 2) and some other examples mentioned below. This is a very small qualm, however, in what is overall a nicely organic appearance that also supports Jodorowsky's hallucinogenic palette and weird textures and patterns. Like abkco's new El Topo, this release struck me as a bit darker than the prior release of The Holy Mountain, something that I think tends to support the perception of a more vividly suffused palette. Some of the effects work in particular is relatively soft when compared to the bulk of the presentation, and, as Casey mentioned in his review of the prior release, there are isolated moments where clarity can falter, including a brief section at circa 17:58 and a longer sequence starting at around 48:53, which suffer from a pretty noisy looking grain field and diminished detail levels.
The Holy Mountain features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks. The surround track nicely opens up the score in particular, giving some pronounced energy to the low end in particular that is especially noticeable in some of the drone effects that are employed. The film's sound design is quite busy, but actual surround activity tends to be limited to discrete placement of individual ambient environmental effects as well as the aforementioned widening of the score. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout.
- Production Stills (1080p)
- Posters (1080p)
- Set Panels (1080p)
- Awards (1080p)
- Papers and Ephemera (1080p)
Part of my misspent youth was taking several years researching and then beginning to write an eventually abandoned Masters Thesis on some similarities between the works of William Butler Yeats and Aleister Crowley, who some readers may know were "nemeses" of a sort throughout their lives. Both Yeats and Crowley were members of a "magical" fraternity called The Golden Dawn, and going down that particular rabbit hole in my research phase ultimately introduced me to a whole host (no church pun intended) of so-called occult material, including the Tarot (which Crowley famously redesigned) and even the work of Gurdjieff, which is so conspicuously referred to by Jodorowsky in The Holy Mountain. As such, this "little" piece of cinematic arcana may frankly be more my cup of tea than for the public at large, but I'd still encourage the more adventurous reader to check this film out, though that said, newcomers need to be prepared for some shocking and potentially even offensive imagery. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplementary package exceptional. Highly recommended.
La montaña sagrada
1973
La montaña sagrada
1973
Remastered
1973
Remastered
1970
Fando and Lis
1968
Psychomagie, un art pour guérir
2019
2001
La città delle donne
1980
El ángel exterminador
1962
Uccellacci e uccellini
1966
Sanatorium pod klepsydra
1973
Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie
1972
Det sjunde inseglet
1957
La voie lactée
1969
Djävulens öga
1960
La danza de la realidad
2013
Giulietta degli spiriti
1965
Fellini's Intervista
1987
Sedmikrásky
1966
Otto e mezzo / Federico Fellini's 8½
1963
Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache
1924
Remontons les Champs-Élysées
1938
El abrazo de la serpiente
2015