A Second-Level Meditation on Zardoz
"The gun is good. The penis is evil." That statement is made by a giant floating stone head very early in Zardoz , a 1974 film by writer-director-producer John Boorman. That, and seeing the late Bond-era Sean Connery running around in essentially a red loin cloth should help set expectations for this film: that it's basically completely nuts. But lord help me, I do find this film enjoyable. Part of it is the sheer goofy spectacle, but the more I've watched it, the more I've come to understand it. Maybe I should be concerned for my mental health. But honestly, Zardoz is not a terrible movie. It's a victim of over-reach.There are some interesting science fiction concepts here, but they are buried under a sea of weird choices. It's a mess, but in the same way a plate of nachos is a mess - deliciously so. I'm not going to give a detailed description of the plot; I'm assuming many of you may have seen it, and if not, rather than re-invent ...