In his 1977 book Exo-Psychology, the notorious Dr Timothy Leary – having a decade earlier told the world to Turn On, Tune In and Drop Out – attempted to coin another enduring catchphrase in SMI²LE, an acronym which equates as follows: “SM (Space Migration) + I² (intelligence increase) + LE (Life extension).” This, Leary proposed, was the future of mankind: that the brightest and boldest would depart from this dying rock to start a new way of life, and enter a higher state of consciousness, in outer space.
However, three years before Leary published these ideas, director John Boorman had already explored them in a fictional capacity in Zardoz. Both Boorman’s film and Leary’s ideas have been the subject of much mockery over the decades since, but both in their own way reflect the mixed-up place radical thinkers of the world were in after the fallout of the 60s dream. The key difference is, while Leary dreamed of a cosmic utopia, Boorman thought it through that bit further. Assuming the dreams of the era came true – mankind abolished government, explored space, achieved supreme consciousness, psychic powers and immortality – what then? What would become of those who would literally want for nothing ever again? And what, for that matter, would become of those left behind who were not granted those same privileges?
This, at least, is one way of interpreting Zardoz. Another way is to say it’s just a bunch of hippies messing around with a big pile of a major film studio’s money, staging a madcap psychedelic happening full of naked people, giant floating stone heads, and Sean Connery tarted up in an orange mankini with a long black braid hanging over his shoulder like some prototype hybrid of Borat and Katniss Everdeen, whilst spewing some acid-drenched mumbo jumbo that might vaguely resemble a coherent narrative if you happened to be on acid at the time, and they were able to get away with it because, y’know, it was the 70s. There’s a lot to be said for both of those interpretations, I think. But one thing I categorically do not agree with is the charge that Zardoz is one of the very worst sci-fi movies, or indeed worst movies overall, ever made. It’s a product of its time, for sure, and even by the standards of the time it’s pretty out there, but it’s way too fascinating to be a dead loss.
Connery, clearly more anxious than ever to shake off the shackles of James Bond, takes the lead as Zed, an Exterminator for the god Zardoz in the year 2293. Coming down to his followers in the form of the aforementioned giant stone head, Zardoz’s teachings to his primitive followers are simple: the penis is evil, the gun is good, and in Zardoz’s name the Exterminators are charged with killing as many of the common Brutes as they can. However, Zed one day enters the mouth of Zardoz and is taken back from whence the great god came, only to find himself in an idyllic, half-pastoral half-hi-tech setting peopled by an immortal upper class who have lived there, free from the ravages of age and infirmity, for over 300 years. For Zed, this will lead to a total overhaul of everything he ever believed about his existence; for the Immortals, the arrival of this strange, mortal savage will send shockwaves through their sheltered community, bringing to a head tensions that have been bubbling up for literally centuries – and, along with it, the realisation that they no longer desire anything aside from death itself.
This was John Boorman’s follow-up film after breaking big with Deliverance, which was itself a very challenging film in different ways – and one of the key things which to my mind makes Zardoz impossible to dismiss is that it was a product of an era when neither major filmmakers nor studios shyed away from unconventional, risky material. But then, how great a risk would Zardoz have necessarily seemed in 1974? Stanley Kubrick had made 2001: A Space Odyssey only a few years prior, which is every bit as obtuse and esoteric. A more arthouse sensibility had permeated the mainstream since, and though this wouldn’t last long (Jaws opened the year after Zardoz), it did produce some very interesting films. Zardoz is of course also noteworthy as a key film in Boorman’s body of work, paving the way for further heightened, otherworldly visions in The Exorcist II, Excalibur and The Emerald Forest. None of these films are particularly down to earth, but if you get on their wavelength you may find they all have striking aesthetics, and some interesting things to say. Indeed, it may be that the main problem with Zardoz is that it’s trying to express a little too much, imagining future states of social order, ecology, sexuality, art, religion and more besides in the form of the futurist visions of the day. Still, certain key themes definitely ring true, notably the broadening of the gap between the rich and the poor: watching this in the same week that pustulent drug company profiteer Martin Shkreli decided to bump up the price of AIDS medicine Daraprim from $13 to $750 per pill, it doesn’t seem too unreasonable to envisage a future where only the richest can afford to stay young forever whilst the poor languish in agony and despair.
Obviously Zardoz isn’t a film for everyone, but then our old friends Arrow Video specialize in films that aren’t for everyone, and once again they’ve put together a package that confirmed fans shouldn’t hesitate to snap up. Not only does the film itself look and sound great, but they’ve also got interviews with many of the key players including Boorman, actress Sara Kestelman, production designer Anthony Pratt, special effects creator Gerry Johnston, camera operator Peter MacDonald, assistant director Simon Relph, hair stylist Colin Jamison, production manager Seamus Byrne, and assistant editor Alan Jones. There’s also an interesting ‘appreciation’ from another British director with a taste for the unorthodox, Ben Wheatley, a commentary track from Boorman, some trailers, and more besides.
Zardoz is available now on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.