Zardoz (1974)

Note des utilisateurs:

5.6/10   

Réalisateur:

John Boorman

Scénariste:

John Boorman (written by)

Release Date:

6 février 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Accroche:

Beyond 1984, Beyond 2001, Beyond Love, Beyond Death

Plot:

In the far future, a savage trained only to kill finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity's achievements.

Plot Keywords:

Immortal | Future | Head | God | Library

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Avis des utilisateurs:

Everything but the kitchen sink!

Ensemble

Sean Connery	...	Zed
Charlotte Rampling	...	Consuella
Sara Kestelman	...	May
John Alderton	...	Friend
Sally Anne Newton	...	Avalow
Niall Buggy	...	Arthur Frayn / Zardoz
Bosco Hogan	...	George Saden
Jessica Swift	...	Apathetic
Bairbre Dowling	...	Star
Christopher Casson	...	Old Scientist
Reginald Jarman	...	Death (voice)
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
Daisy Boorman	...	Eternal (flashback scene) (uncredited)
John Boorman	...	Farming Brutal Shot by Zed / Zardoz Mask & Head Model (uncredited)
Katrine Boorman	...	Eternal (flashback scene) (uncredited)
Telsche Boorman	...	Eternal (flashback scene) (uncredited)

Réalisé par
John Boorman

Scénaristes
John Boorman		(written by)

Produit par
John Boorman	....	producer
Charles Orme	....	associate producer

Musique originale
David Munrow

Image
Geoffrey Unsworth		(photographed by)

Montage
John Merritt

Distribution des rôles
Miriam Brickman

Création des décors
Anthony Pratt

Décorateur de plateau
John Hoesli

Création des costumes
Christel Kruse Boorman

Maquillage
Colin Jamison	....	hair stylist
Basil Newall	....	makeup artist

Directeur de production
Seamus Byrne	....	production manager

Assistant réalisateur
Redmond Morris	....	second assistant director
Simon Relph	....	assistant director

Art Department
Martin Atkinson	....	assistant art director
Reg Bream	....	assistant designer (as Reginald Bream)
Peter McGoldrick	....	construction manager

Technicien du son
Jim Atkinson	....	sound editor
Liam Saurin	....	sound mixer
Doug E. Turner	....	dubbing mixer (as Doug Turner)
Peter Maxwell	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Effets spéciaux
Gerry Johnston	....	special effects (as Gerry Johnson)

Camera and Electrical Department
John J. Campbell	....	assistant camera (as John Campbell)
Jack Conroy	....	electrical supervisor
Paddy Keogh	....	grip
Peter MacDonald	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jack Gallagher	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Alan Jones	....	assistant editor

Divers
Austin Gaskin	....	horse master
Robin Hughes	....	special projection material
Jean Skinner	....	continuity
Charles Staffell	....	process projection effects
Bill Stair	....	design and story associate

Production Companies

• John Boorman Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox-Rank (1974) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment España S.A. (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (199?) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Fox-MGM Film (1974) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Key Video (199?) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• De Lane Lea  sound re-recording (as De Lane Lea London)
• Panavision UK  filmed in (as Panavision)
• La Tabard Boutique  costumes made by (as La Tabard Boutique, Dublin)
• Rank Film Laboratories  processed by
• Air Structures Design  inflatables (as Air Structures Design London)
• Deluxe  color prints
• Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest  orchestra: "Beethoven's Symphony No. 7" (as Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam)
• Ardmore Studios  filmed at (as Ardmore Studios Ireland)

Autre(s) titre(s):

Zardoz (France) [fr]

Durée:

105 min

Pays:

UK

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Son:

4-Track Stereo

Classification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Canada:18 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

John Boorman Productions

Anecdotes:

Burt Reynolds was the first choice for Zed, but he bowed out due to illness.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the exterminators on horseback are killing the brutals, tire tracks can be seen on the wet beach sand.

Guillemet:

[first lines]
Arthur Frayn: I am Arthur Frayn, and I am Zardoz. I have lived three hundred years, and I long to die. But death is no longer possible. I am immortal. I present now my story, full of mystery and intrigue - rich in irony, and most satirical. It is set deep in a possible future...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 7 in A, op. 92, 2nd movement

Everything but the kitchen sink!

This movie is truly awful, but at the same time it's got to be one of the BEST SCI-FI MOVIES I'VE EVER SEEN!

There are so many concepts to digest: Civilization's end, immortality, genetic manipulation, artificial intelligence, time control, psychic power, space travel, and on and on and on. If you're the least bit interested in science-fiction, there's more for you in this one movie than you'll find in a year's worth of Star Trek conventions!

Then why do I say it's awful? Well, within this movie's running time are some of the most cheesy moments ever captured on celluloid!

From the opening shots of the hairy-backed, leather-thonged, gun-toting Sean Connery (who at least manages to wear more than most of the rest of the cast), to the catch-cry of the Giant Hovering Stone Head ("The gun is good! The penis is bad!"), as it spews out a torrent of weapons and ammo from its mouth. What about the Eternal's predilection for studying erectile tissue function, by flashing up images of naked mud-wrestling? Or that crazy "wobbling-hands" thing that they do when in some sort of telepathic communion? Completely laughable!

Despite these moments of "cheesy-ness", Zardoz tells an utterly engaging and compelling story. The moment of revelation of the meaning of "Zardoz" took me completely by surprise, even though all the clues had been under my nose right from the beginning! (The Magritte painting "La chateau des Pyrenees", hanging in Frank's house, reminiscent of the hovering stone head, for example.)

If you like hard-core science fiction, and can put up with a few minor flaws, then I think you'll really enjoy Zardoz! It's weird, it's brilliant, it's unique! (Just make sure you watch it while you're wide awake, though, or you may drift off from time to time!)

9 out of 10!

jon :-)