Zardoz

John Boorman
1974

This sci-fi hunka hunka is a little too out there and heady to be all that good. While the vast amounts of gratuitous topless scenes help a bit, no amount of mammaries will save this navel contemplator from being utterly gimmicky and solipsistic.

Sean Connery plays a kill crazy futuristic barbarian thrown into a seemingly idyllic world where folks never die. Uptight Charlotte Rampling wants him killed while everyone else takes interest in the new guy. Relations get strained, and nutty revelations rock paradise to its roots.

There's a lot of great visuals throughout, but unfortunately one of the strongest futuristic visual motifs, the plastic bag aesthetic, is terribly tacky looking. The highly cerebral concepts presented are also easily trivialized when one spends time contemplating Sean Connery's red diaper and thigh high boots.

I was hoping Zardoz to be more light hearted due to Connery's uniform, maybe a male version of "Barbarella," instead it opted to take itself very very seriously. Don't get me wrong, its definitely a unique picture worth watching, but make sure you know what you're getting into.

Review by Brett A. Scieszka