DVD's provide a very reasonably priced way for most families to see a film in which they are interested, but for some pensioners, single parents, or others with limited incomes they are a semi-luxury which can not be indulged in too often. Many who miss a film when it first comes out, study the comments in this database and, even more helpful, the user ratings of the film concerned before deciding to make a purchase. Naturally these ratings typically follow a normal distribution curve with a peak in the range 4-7 and very few ratings at the extremes of 1 or 10. For really good films we can expect this peak to be shifted upwards by two or three points, the reverse for poor or unpopular films. Double peaks are interesting, they show two very different groups of viewers with very different opinions have responded - surprisingly these different groups seem to almost never be gender based. Zardoz is quite unusual as there is the usual distribution, centered around a mid-scale rating, but with two - not one - other peaks occurring (one at each end of the scale) leading to ratings widely spread between 1 or 10. Clearly most viewers find it an interesting and challenging film incorporating both features of interest and significant faults, but there are also relatively small groups of viewers apparently either sufficiently thrilled by the intellectual challenge it offers to give it a rating of 9 or 10, or totally unable to relate to the message it attempts to convey and rating it at no more than 1 or 2.
To make some sense of this I finally purchased the DVD and watched the film. I quickly discovered from one of the bonus files on the DVD that its director, John Boorman, has recognised many faults in the film as originally released, this rather invalidates any ratings close to 10. Equally, after watching the film, I felt most viewers should have had no difficulty appreciating the many challenging ideas it presents with varying degrees of success; as well as the parallels between the story in the film and many aspects of society as we know it today, so I also decided to ignore the ratings of 1 and 2 made by those unable or more likely unwilling to do this. This left a fairly normal rating distribution with the bulk of those commenting on the film apparently commending the challenges it offers to its viewers but far from satisfied with the way in which these challenges have been presented to them. This film is far too complex to discuss fully in a relatively brief review, but with this background in mind it becomes relatively easy for anyone, whatever their personal beliefs, to assess the film and make their own judgment of its success in achieving its objectives.
Zardoz is often referred to as a science fiction work but this is most misleading. To me it is much closer to Jonathon Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" where the hero finds himself in unknown lands occupied by totally strange people, and by observing their lifestyles he is able to perceive many of the faults and failings of his own society. This film takes a tilt at many different windmills but those of greatest significance are probably the overburdening of resources through excessive population growth, attempts to account for anything unknown or unexplained by attributing it to a God which must then be worshiped, and yearning for an immortality which is not associated with any ongoing duties or responsibilities. These features of present day society are assumed to have gradually led to the highly divided future featured in the film, where our descendants have become split into three groups - the brutals who are forced to labour to produce everything needed, the exterminators charged with ensuring that the population of brutals does not rise too high, and the immortals who have discovered how to avoid death from natural causes, but have little to do and therefore suffer from a debilitating ennui. This fanciful framework provides the basis on which the film brings an astonishing number of very significant issues to its viewers attention.
For those merely interested in killing a little time this film will hold no attraction, but for those who occasionally enjoy having their minds challenged it has a great deal to offer. I am now sorry I did not see it long ago, and am finding my mind actively occupied in criticising or commending many of the scenes from it. It is likely to remain an ongoing and respected part of my personal collection of well regarded films for quite a long time, but it does not warrant an IMDb rating of higher than 6 stars and although it certainly deserves viewing more than once, I suspect doing so frequently would become unusually boring
To make some sense of this I finally purchased the DVD and watched the film. I quickly discovered from one of the bonus files on the DVD that its director, John Boorman, has recognised many faults in the film as originally released, this rather invalidates any ratings close to 10. Equally, after watching the film, I felt most viewers should have had no difficulty appreciating the many challenging ideas it presents with varying degrees of success; as well as the parallels between the story in the film and many aspects of society as we know it today, so I also decided to ignore the ratings of 1 and 2 made by those unable or more likely unwilling to do this. This left a fairly normal rating distribution with the bulk of those commenting on the film apparently commending the challenges it offers to its viewers but far from satisfied with the way in which these challenges have been presented to them. This film is far too complex to discuss fully in a relatively brief review, but with this background in mind it becomes relatively easy for anyone, whatever their personal beliefs, to assess the film and make their own judgment of its success in achieving its objectives.
Zardoz is often referred to as a science fiction work but this is most misleading. To me it is much closer to Jonathon Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" where the hero finds himself in unknown lands occupied by totally strange people, and by observing their lifestyles he is able to perceive many of the faults and failings of his own society. This film takes a tilt at many different windmills but those of greatest significance are probably the overburdening of resources through excessive population growth, attempts to account for anything unknown or unexplained by attributing it to a God which must then be worshiped, and yearning for an immortality which is not associated with any ongoing duties or responsibilities. These features of present day society are assumed to have gradually led to the highly divided future featured in the film, where our descendants have become split into three groups - the brutals who are forced to labour to produce everything needed, the exterminators charged with ensuring that the population of brutals does not rise too high, and the immortals who have discovered how to avoid death from natural causes, but have little to do and therefore suffer from a debilitating ennui. This fanciful framework provides the basis on which the film brings an astonishing number of very significant issues to its viewers attention.
For those merely interested in killing a little time this film will hold no attraction, but for those who occasionally enjoy having their minds challenged it has a great deal to offer. I am now sorry I did not see it long ago, and am finding my mind actively occupied in criticising or commending many of the scenes from it. It is likely to remain an ongoing and respected part of my personal collection of well regarded films for quite a long time, but it does not warrant an IMDb rating of higher than 6 stars and although it certainly deserves viewing more than once, I suspect doing so frequently would become unusually boring