Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Zardoz Blu-ray Movie Review

We're definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 27, 2015

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.

While L. Frank Baum’s timeless tale does in fact end up playing a “role” in John Boorman’s often fascinating if overheated screenplay, it takes a veritable winding yellow brick road to get to that revelation. Instead, the film trades on some amazing visuals in the early going, as a giant floating head named, yes, Zardoz is revealed to be a “God” of sorts to an atavistic horde called Brutals. Zed (Sean Connery, in that aforementioned onesie and ponytail) seems to simply be one of the rabble in the early going, though it’s ultimately detailed that his role in this feral society is something akin to that of a vigilante, keeping the Brutals in check for the sequestered ruling class, the Eternals. Zardoz supposedly dispenses instructions to Zed and his so-called Exterminator kin, but Zed is a questioning sort, hence his desire to “peek behind the curtain,” or in this case, the stone visage of Zardoz. That curiosity doesn’t exactly kill the cat, so to speak, but it does end in the demise of one of the Eternals (not so eternal after all, it would seem, at least for a little while), as well as catapult Zed into an adventure in a so-called Vortex (a kind of country club for the Eternals) which allows Boorman full rein to investigate a number of thorny philosophical, ethical and even religious issues.

Boorman evidently realized fairly early on that his terminology stuffed screenplay was a bit dense (evidently theatrical reviewers at the time of the film’s original exhibition were actually given a “glossary” to help them divine the dialogue). He jokes in his commentary about adding the brief prologue featuring a floating (human) head to help make everything comprehensible, coming to the perhaps obvious conclusion that it didn’t (help, that is). Zardoz is in fact almost hyperintellectual at times, something that plays appropriately well with regard to the “thinking” Eternals but which tends to grate a bit unnaturally when Zed’s decidedly physical presence interrupts the languid environment of the Vortex. That’s probably part of Boorman’s intentionally ironic stance, though, for Zardoz is almost like a Talmudic dialectic at times, ping ponging between opposing ideas like immortality and death, religion and rationalism, and the mind versus the body.

Zed becomes something of a research project for various Eternals, including two somewhat opposed females, Consuella (Charlotte Rampling) and May (Sara Kestelman) as well as a bit later by the strangely named Friend (John Alderton). Arthur Frayn (Niall Buggy) the Eternal Zed apparently dispatched early in the film (as well as the floating human head in the film’s prologue), also has a miraculous resurrection which plays into one of the film’s many subplots involving the supposed trials and tribulations of the immortal classes. Boorman’s screenplay is fairly talky and occasionally slightly risque (at least for a supposedly mainstream early seventies entry), especially when Consuella starts exploring Zed’s sexuality.

A lot of people claimed 2001: A Space Odyssey was all but indecipherable back in the day, this despite the fact that Arthur C. Clarke’s screenplay, while discursive, was actually quite cogent in documenting ideas of human (and extraterrestial) evolution (Clarke’s novelization, as well as the short story that sparked the initial idea for the film, are even more overt in laying out plot points). Whatever the narrative obfuscations of Kubrick’s science fiction masterpiece, they pale in comparison to the sometimes befuddling array of events on display in Zardoz. The film attempts to weave together ideas of a primitive futuristic society (kind of akin to the original Planet of the Apes) with more overtly philosophical ruminations that are fascinating if not especially emotionally compelling. Sometimes, however, it’s best to just enjoy the illusion and not wonder about the reality of the portly old man pulling all the levers behind that famous curtain.

Zardoz Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Zardoz Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Radio Spots:

  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)

• Original Theatrical Trailer (480i; 2:29)


• Isolated Score Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.


• Audio Commentaries:

  John Boorman

  Jeff Bond and Joe Fordham hosted by Twilight Time's Nick Redman

Zardoz Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.