Zardoz (1974): Sean Connery Does Sci-Fi

Another cult classic and one of Sean Connery’s post-007 movie gigs (in which he played a leading role), Zardoz is the epitome of corny ’70s Science Fiction. Firmly rooted in the visual styles of the ’60s and ’70s, Zardoz tells the story of a future so perfect (there are no diseases, no aging, people who die come back before very long, and every whim is provided) that the people have grown so bored that they can no longer copulate, and thus, have forgotten how to live.

It’s as weird as it sounds, but read on! In this “wondrous” future, a single man, Arthur Frayn, has constructed a giant floating (and bearded) head of stone that sails through the skies, carrying rifles that it spews out for the barbarian tribes in the “outlands” while claiming in a thunderous voice “The penis is evil! The gun is good!”

But not all the barbarians trust in the giant stone head’s wisdom. Zed (Sean Connery,) an outlander who has somehow taught himself how to read using only the old and moldy books preserved in the burnt-out hulk of an ancient city, has grown restless since the head began to tell them to farm instead of kill; risking his life to climb aboard the head and hide in the latest stockpile of grain, he discovers that the head is not the god he originally thought, but a vehicle, a flying chunk of stone that sets down in the middle of a significantly more civilized and prosperous world than the one he left!

But, within this more civilized and prosperous world, there is a growing state of unrest; immortality is slowly driving everyone insane, and as the film picks up in intensity, we see a trend in the people of the “vortex,” (The shielded, perfect world in which they live) a trend toward actively wishing for death, until the entire vortex explodes in a colorful and primitive hunt for Zed that is filled with everything from jealous lovers, insane elderly, and a three-man orchestra, playing a happy tune as they are cut down, one by one, by barbarian invaders from the outlands, who are only too happy to oblige them in their quest for death.

Though Zardoz features only one well known actor, it hosts a number of other actors and actresses that have had extensive film time, though primarily in international films. The three most famous of these are Charlotte Rampling, (Imperium: Augustus, Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction) Sarah Kestelman, (Mind Games, Anna Karenina) and John Alderton, (Calender Girls, Operation Crossbow) but you may also recognize the names of Niall Buggy (who plays Arthur Frayn) and Bosco Hogan, as most of these actors and actresses are still active in Cinema today.

At the very least, Zardoz is a supremely weird and inventive piece that tells a great deal about where society could go in the distant future, were we to isolate ourselves from life itself, and at most, it is a celebration of man’s right to die, of all things. It’s definitely worth a watch, as the philosophy behind it is brilliant, if hokey, and if you’re a fan of Sean Connery, it’s a must see. (he runs around in a loin cloth throughout the entire film.)