This 1974 John Boorman written and directed film stars Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling and a bunch of UK actors I don't know - which for me is saying alot.
Set in 2293, the world is set up like this: The "Brutals" live in a sort-of wasteland where they are either forced to work or killed by one of the "Executioners" Connery plays "Zed", an executioner that wonders what it's all about. He and the other executioners pray to their god, ZARDOZ, a giant flying stone head that arrives, decrees and - what I can only describe as - spews forth guns and ammo from it's mouth before it flies away. Stay with me, here.
Zed stows away in the head under a pile of grain (grown by the Brutals as an offering). Inside, he sees a man called Arthur Frayn, which he shoots - he is an executioner, after all. The stone head lands in a utopian society inhabited by the "Immortals", a group of intellectuals that, somehow, banished death by, from what I can tell, declaring death to be gone. The only way they grow older is as a punishment for a societal infraction. When Zed arrives, he is seen as a disturbance to the balance and harmony of the community by some and a curiosity that needs to be studied by others.
Now, Zed, being a mortal, fascinates the Immortals and his energy/lifeforce invigorates the Immortals to question themselves and existence itself.
So, there's a brief description. I watched this one, then restarted it to listen to the commentary by John Boorman. He explains alot - not all - of the story. He admits there may be too many ideas going on, and, during a long montage, tells the viewer they can fast forward is they want.
After my 1st viewing, I wondered why Connery would take on such a bizarre part. I found out - listening to Boorman - that in '73, after Connery quit being Bond...James Bond, he couldn't get hired. Looking back at Connery's career, can you imagine him not being able to get an acting job?
I recommend this one for a few reasons:
1) It's a great, overblown mind-fuck, which everyone can use once in a while.
2) It poses many questions about religion, existence, procreating, and the nature of life itself.
3) There are topless women in it (deal with it).
4) Guaranteed you've never seen a film like it.
There are 3 tag lines for this film:
1) Beyond 1984, Beyond 2001, Beyond Love, Beyond Death
2) I have seen the future and it doesn't work
3) Into a world of eternal life, he brought the gift of death
Definitely some good eye candy to boot.
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