6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Two societies, one intellectual (The Eternals) and the other physical (The Brutals) live side by side but never meet. Sean Connery is a Brutal out to shake things up.
Starring: Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman, John Alderton, Sally Anne NewtonSurreal | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Do you consider yourself an articulate person, well versed in things like word games? Even those who know that it's not a complete dealbreaker to have a "q" without a "u" in Scrabble or Words With Friends might have missed a bit of wordplay hidden in the odd but captivating title of Zardoz. I'm fairly facile with word games myself, but I must confess until I had seen the film for the first time (and, later, heard John Boorman mention it in his commentary included on this new Blu-ray), I had never considered the fact that Zardoz's unusual title is a redaction of The Wizard of Oz. Like that immortal 1939 classic, Zardoz posits someone “peeking behind the curtain,” as it were, albeit now within the context of a dystopian future society (is there any other kind in cinema?) where the haves and have-nots are separated into different societies, in somewhat the same formulation that would be utilized in Elysium. Probably the most overtly “trippy” of the post-2001: A Space Odyssey films that appeared in the immediate wake of Kubrick’s masterpiece, Zardoz is undeniably weird, but also unusually watchable. The film marked one of Sean Connery's first forays into a post-007 universe (at least, that is, until Never Say Never Again came along a decade or so later), and it features the bizarre but somehow endearing sight of the iconic actor in something approaching an adult sized "onesie," not to mention an equally odd ponytail hairstyle. It turns out Connery's get up in the film is one of its least outré elements, for writer-director John Boorman, despite being supposedly hampered by a less than fulsome budget, throws a number of quasi-hallucinatory elements into the mix, making Zardoz, if not the "ultimate" trip (as 2001: A Space Odyssey's ad campaign proclaimed it to be), at least a weirdly psychedelic experience at times.
Zardoz is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Geoffrey Unsworth's intentionally hazy, mist strewn cinematography often gives the appearance of softness, but this high definition presentation is a heads and shoulders (floating or otherwise) improvement over previous standard definition releases, and in fact that very fog and mist provides one of the more salient examples. Instead of scenes being bathed in a kind of murky, inchoate grayness a lot of the time, there's a new precision to the imagery that helps to at least partially offset the obvious fact that Boorman was working on a fairly paltry budget for an "epic" of this sort. Textures of costumes are markedly improved and even aspects like the craggy surface of Zardoz himself show better amounts of detail. Elements are in very good condition, though there are occasional minor speckles and other signs of age. Colors are not overly vivid, with flesh tones looking a bit on the ruddy-pink side of things, but image depth is excellent and the in camera effects relatively impressive looking a lot of the time. Grain resolves naturally, even in the mistiest environments.
Zardoz is "advertised" as offering a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix, but my PS3 identified the soundtrack as a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. One way or the other, this isn't the "in your face" (and/or ears) experience that contemporary science fiction spectaculars tend to be, but it's a regularly immersive experience, offering good, consistent, if at times subtle, surround activity while concentrating the bulk of the information in the front and center channels. The rabble of the Brutals is well rendered, but even in the more staid, tranquil environment of the Vortex, ambient environmental sounds regularly dot the surrounds and help to establish lifelike sonics. Dialogue is presented very cleanly and clearly. One of the film's most notable (no pun intended) achievements is its wonderful score by early music icon David Munrow (combined with copious quotes from Beethoven's Seventh). The music is full bodied and vigorous sounding and helps to establish that weird retro-future feeling that Boorman was obviously going for. For anyone not familiar with Munrow's rather august recording legacy, I highly recommend checking out any of his early music albums, many of which are available on CD.
- Beyond 1984 - 60 Seconds (1:05)
- Third Death - 60 Seconds (1:04)
- Beyond 1984 Alternate - 60 Seconds (1:05)
- Third Death Alternate - 60 Seconds (1:05)
- Beyond 1984 - 30 Seconds (00:33)
- Third Death - 30 Seconds (00:36)
- John Boorman
- Jeff Bond and Joe Fordham hosted by Twilight Time's Nick Redman
Zardoz is kind of unavoidably goofy a lot of the time, but that's actually part and parcel of its distinctive charms. It may not ultimately make a whale of a lot of sense, but it's never less than interesting, if also not ever very emotionally involving. It's a hoot to see Connery in his absurd getup and ponytail marauding through the pristine "boredom" of the Vortex, and if the film's philosophical ruminations never amount to much more than a lot of sound and fury (and you know what those signify), Zardoz remains one of the more fascinating entries by the iconoclastic John Boorman. Technical merits are very strong and Boorman's commentary is in some ways more entertaining than the actual film. Recommended.
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Scanners bonus feature
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A*P*E / The New King Kong
1976
1983
1961
The Neptune Disaster / Conquest of the Deeps / The Neptune Factor: An Underwater Odyssey
1973
1957
Slipcover in Original Pressing / Bonus Movie: Ionopsis
1991
Slipcover in Original Pressing
1987
1967
Limited Edition to 5000 - SOLD OUT
1964
Where Time Began
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1974
1967
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1961
1989
Flight to the Future / Warner Archive Collection
1956
2+5: Missione Hydra
1966
Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis | Hercules Conquers Atlantis | Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide | Special Edition
1961
1989