Review of Zardoz (1974) by Vincent D — 09 Aug 2010

My very first review! Well, let's see if I can do this reviewing thing. There are elements of good and bad elements to Zardoz.

The bad: Well, I can see why a lot of critics rated Zardoz so lowly. There's elements of the truly bizarre, to the point where I feel like it was created under the impression that its audience would be high on drugs to get the full experience (considering that the characters in the Vortex are dressed up like an estranged and bizarre psychic hippy commune, I can see why). Some points were almost eye-rollingly bad, like when the Eternals turn on Friend, pushing at him with their "psychic powers" with their hands for far too long. Also, Sean Connery's red diaper-looking loin-garment was really not very flattering. Speaking of Sean Connery, his start in this film is rather surprising; he seems to be almost uncharacteristically calm and almost a little smug when being taken into a society that considers him barely above an animal, and may well be willing to get rid of him as soon as they lose interest.

Now, for the good, because surprisingly, I see quite a lot in this film. It's something that's difficult to explain though; something in this film clicked with me. Sean Connery seems to experience all of humanity, from its darkest moments of rape and murder in the name of religion, to the brightest moments of genius and mercy (even being incapable of killing people that really wanted to die). In a sense, there's a parallel to Forbidden Planet, where Zardoz himself is essentially the Id of the Eternals. The ending was especially emotional for me, seeming to summarize human existence so well in a handful of frames.

Overall, though, most of the good I can't really express in words; it just clicked with me. I can see if it didn't click with others. It was easy for me to overlook the bad, but if the good doesn't make up for it, it would have been an unpleasant (albeit slightly amusing) viewing experience.