S3E10.5: Zardoz

I had an “oh wait he can act” moment with Robert Downey Jr in Oppenheimer. I was so used to seeing him in various marvel “avengers super mega ultra civil a24 age of war” movies I had forgotten he is actually an actor and not a breathing one liner delivery vehicle

I followed your instructions and watched it before coming back to listen (it’s available for free on the Internet Archive), and I was surprised at just how good it was.

Ok so someone has just written a book of academic philosophy on this movie https://www.amazon.ca/Against-Vortex-Degrowth-Utopias-Seventies/dp/1803416629 truly the zardoz renaissance is upon us

I FINALLY got around to watching this and have some notes: When the Eternals are studying Zed, trying to make him get an erection, he is indeed fixated on Consuela during this time. But, at least the way I was reading it, he only gets hard once she starts to get frustrated, agitated, maybe desperate. I was connecting this scene to the Apathetic who he was immediately interested in, but lost interest as soon as it was clear she would have no reaction. The way I was viewing it, he's only interested when he's winning and a woman is losing. I also thought one of the reasons for all the Eternals having small breasts might be (in addition to lack of surgery) to make them seem more adolescent/childish, in the same way that they (mostly, ostensibly) don't experience sexual attraction or arousal. I got a HUGE kick out of the one-sided massacre where definitely-bad guys kill everybody (happy ending)

Abi clearly hasn't read the Halimede tweet

Ok so this is the second time I've heard this podcast, and I've seen Zardoz 3 times now: Zed absolutely has a an outfit change several times and it's thematic. When he first enters the vortex he has the full outfit, but the gun and ammo are taken away once he is captured by the Eternals. This represents him starting on the path that takes him away from violence, (and in a flashback we see him wearing the Zardoz mask when he learns to read), so for most of the movie he is just in his pants. His outfit changes once again partway through the knowledge orgy when he begins to learn about the crystal tech. He gets a cute vest and some longer flowy shorts that are similar to the clothing the Eternals wear, but in his red colour. We see his old outfit one last time however, when he has penetrated the tabernacle and he's in the hall of mirrors he shoots dead the past version of himself with the Zardoz head and the bandoleres. We then see one final outfit change when he and Consuella are doing their family and aging montages where other of them are wearing big green wool over coats.

Confluence of a Folger's commercial & step sister xxx: "the best part of waking up, is seeing your step-sis stuck in a washer!"

out of all the movies you've reviewed, this is the one that you've convinced me to watch

Im a big believer in my own personal concept of sillyism (the belief that serious and silly arnt opposites that take away from each other but are in fact two lesbian anime girls fucking each other) - I think yall portray that beautifully in this episode

Ive listened to all the free episodes at least twice now so its about time I pay for some bonus episodes

Hello hogs

So, I saw Zardoz the first time at a Wizard of Oz film festival in Indiana 23 years ago. I thought I was going to see Dark Side of Oz, but instead got blasted with something far more psychedelic. No one else at the bar/theater was prepared either. Whole damn place was dead silent by the time we met the Renegades. Absolute fuckin' cinema. When this episode dropped I was so excited to hear an actual serious engagement with the film. That said, another technology that didn't exist at the time of release but is helpful to a viewer is to be 21-year-old Drama student trying to figure out why women are a source of both desire and jealousy expecting an entirely different film in a state you've never been in before with a crowd of Gen-X hipsters. Pint of porter and a cheeseburger are optional, but certainly not a bad choice.

I feel like this podcast is both introducing me to a series of new favorite movies and a series of unsettling factoids about being trans in Britain. Or maybe I just curate my tumblr experience too well to know what’s going on in the bowels of twitter. Regardless, so glad y’all advised us the audience to watch the movie first, Absolute Peak Film

watched the movie again after listening to the pod and, it sure was something. I don't know why but the end put me in a super bad moon lol. Not that the movie was bad, just something about it sent me down a weird mental rabbit hole. You absolutely can say the end makes you think and feel things. But rest of the film was a fun ride though, so I still give it 4/5 stars.

John Boorman also made Point Blank back in 1967, which is one of the best Neo Noirs ever made.

I finally subscribed so I could listen to this episode in preparation for tomorrow night, when I'll be watching it (not for the first time) in a theater, in costume.

Fantastic episode. I'd also like to add Alice is totally right about the incest kink being the in fashion kink at present

*Writes "New outfit for the next live show" on my desk planner*

It's such a breath of fresh air to hear people being earnestly appreciative of this film. I had the frustrating experience of rewatching this movie last year with three friends who insisted on doing the Nostalgia Critic thing and shitting on the movie for its superficial silliness. I felt like I was on crazy pills.

Okay, I stopped to watch it as suggested (have not yet listened to the episode) Definitely a good idea to watch it first, though I must admit I feel like the James Joyce Ogre meme.

This movie and this episode are excellent. I am so glad you lovelies forced me to rewatch this for the first time since childhood. What a treat.

"let us remake zardoz" should be a new patreon tier

No bush no push.

I watched this last night with 4 beers and 1 edible in my system, and it got much more enjoyable when the edible kicked in. I stopped being confused and enjoyed this movie. Now, after crawling out of bed the morning after, I'm calling this movie "Logan's Run on datura" because the pacing is so damn off lol. And the sheer 70s ness of it. That said, it was extremely funny seeing Connery in a dress.

This movie reminds me too much of egg me having to go to a Rudolf Steiner School. Noone had their tits out and everyone was 40-50 years old, but everything else was exactly the same including the schools being compared to spaceships.

Honestly would love to see you cover Swiss Army Man at some point. Surprisingly gay and has a lot to say about masculinity

My *achem* legal copy of the movie broke and I watched zardos with the directors commentary for the first five minutes and the director said they spend 250k on Connery

how is a kink in fashion. i thought everyone was just stuck with that shit

If you do have the opportunity to smoke the dank shit I highly recommend watching it blazed because the movie itself feels like you are following Zed's progression from brutal animalistic start to ultra powerful super human

And you should be action Ripley because Alien has a canon trans character

Oh God it's so much funnier if you are french Canadian. Tabernacle is a swear word in Quebec so every time they say FUCKING GOD in a very literal way

I stopped and watched the movie when Devon said so, and holy shit that was a wild ride.

ZARDOOOOOOOZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Broke: We need a hairy man in the form of Sean Connery to shake up our cucked society (Never Say Never Again) Woke: We need a hairy man in the form of Sean Connery to shake up our cucked society (Zardos) - Lucy

Alien has even more on the topic of repressed sexuality than whether they airbrushed Weaver. Giger’s original creature designs were MUCH more phallic. It was basically a walking penis. Even Devon would have been satisfied.

Don't we have a more modern remake of a scifi dystopian fiction (made by trans women) where humanity created a computer (machine) that takes over and creates an unrealistic utopia for the humans when are encapsulated within. The machine eventually creates a chain of events to result in the chosen One, who is given a choice to stay within the supposed utopia or destroy it and face the uncertainty of the world outside. The entire situation feels cyclical and inevitable. I'm not saying it's a direct remake but there are echos.

I think it's kind of inevitable that the director would be a bit embarrassed about this movie on a director's commentary, for multiple reasons. First there's the obvious reason that it is remembered as a famously bad/silly movie. But also, I think as you point out there's a lot of sincerity. And it takes A TON of courage to leave that much of yourself as an artist exposed and never distance yourself from it. Especially when it was received as it was. And to be fair, sometimes you don't always recognize the bits of yourself that came to the surface when you were very high.

5:50 BRING BACK DA QUAALUDES BABEY

for anyone wondering where the incest thing came from last year, look up "The Coffin of Andy and LeyLey"

This, Phantom of the Paradise, and Tommy are my holy triumvirate of weird 1970's films.

This is sci-fi Deliverance. It's also about suburbanites having their conception of the world exploded when they meet a rapist.

“the stepsister got stuck in the washing machine of our hearts”

if i had to guess the uptick in transfem incest kink is probably due to the coffin of andy and leyley

Not exactly a remake but if you want a story with similar themes and ideas written by a woman I suggest Too Like the Lightning

I feel like social media algorithms might be trying to incept an incest kink into Alice's brain. Because I have not noticed that becoming any more prominent.

Also, can I just say, I want to see y'all cover Alphaville

Fun fact Charlotte Rampling's sons inherited that neck

I covered this movie on my own film analysis podcast and the library scene is of special note to me because the posters on the wall sort of hint more strongly about what happened to the world. It was also very emotionally powerful to me. Sort of a "I searched for wisdom in the echoes of the past, but all I heard were sighs and sobs and screams" kind of thing.

Recommendation: Watch RRR (2022). Its a Bollywood Movie about the Fight agains colonial Britain in India. You would have so much to talk about!

Starving for a single upload? I see you too listen to AMCA

Regarding a remake, if only one of you was a content creator for a company that's shifting into making movies and is already actually making a movie for them.

Alice being an only child explains a few things!

It could be neat for the pod to do a bit of a sword season. Movies like Rob Roy and The Last Duel have some things to say about masculinity

This was simultaneously one of the best episodes that y'all have ever made, and one of the times that I have most disagreed with your philosophical reading of a film.

Truly the reveal of what Zardoz means is one of the all time great cinematic reveals. It was like the "The Prophecy is True" meme for me when I saw it the first time. But as for dicks in cinema, GoT absolutely failed at this. If you want to see the ideal world we could live in, go watch the Spartacus series produced by Starz. That's a show with about a 1:1 on-screen swinging dicks to tits ratio and it's amazing.

I haven't even listened to the free-feed-teaser yet, I just jumped right on here, because the promise of this episode is incalculable!* Also, time to trawl the Secure Communications Feed, to get me through 2024. *(Translation: "incalculable" equals a month's worth of subscription at the most-reasonably priced tier).

on a scale of Zardoz to Search for WondLa how whimsical is your [BOOK REDACTED]-influenced protagonist

Mhhh, having not seen the film or listened to the episode yet, I think, and this is just a guess mind you, that maybe, it's time to start the killing?

There's a philosophy tube video about brechtian art to be made about Zardoz I feel like.

I first watched this movie at the celebration for the first time I had grown and harvested weed for my friends and you are so so right about this being best experienced while smoking the shittiest weed you've ever had.

Gonna win a lottery and fund Zardozzers

also the airbrushing out sigourney weaver's bush thing is false, tumblr just made that up

FINALLY

Pickle out 2024 and beyond

FINALLY.

Honestly, if it's cock n balls you're after, watch anything in The Boys universe. Always comes with a nudity warning, and I've yet to see a pair of tits on display...

My partner and I watched this film not too long before visiting Highgate cemetery in London, and were delighted to see a close resemblance between the floating Zardoz head and the literal headstone of Karl Marx's grave. Most certainly an accident but philosophically *chef's kiss*

I've been looking forward to this episode since before you publicly executed James bond.

*pops popcorn* dis gonna be good

Yo is that a fucking Webley–Fosbery Automatic Revolver

The 'renegades' bit always reminded me of the Struldbrugs from Gulliver's Travels.

God do you guys get into to save money on Connery they had him stay over at the directors house

How did you not mention that the reason they had to airbrush Weaver's bush is because they told her to shave it and she said "no", and the director was very upset

fucking jumpscare at that opening drop

democracy has now failed us two times, there will not be a third

The fridge gun is good

YES!!!

been waiting for this one since abi brought it up previously lol