Until now, I thought John Boorman’s “Zardoz” was the most peculiar use of Beethoven’s 7th.
France: Hold my wine.
Tag: Zardoz
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Zardoz COVID Ennui Sci-Fi Reappraisal
In “Zardoz” (1974), the Eternals, an immortal race, suffer ennui and even slide into catatonia, as each day bleeds into the next. No end, no passion, no inspiration, no purpose. Does this movie have added resonance in time of COVID?
In case you missed it (and I know you did), here’s my latest appearance on “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci Fi Corner.” Roy and I chisel away at John Boorman’s trippy, hopelessly pretentious, yet somehow oddly relevant parable, which riled critics and baffled audiences at the time of its release, but today seems surprisingly worthy of reevaluation.
New episodes of “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner” stream Fridays and Sundays at 7 p.m. EDT.
Join Roy this Sunday AT A SPECIAL TIME, 4 PM, for a conversation with special effects legend Brian Johnson, the Academy Award winning artist who worked on “Alien,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Dragonslayer,” “Space: 1999,” “Thunderbirds,” and “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Thanks again, Roy! See you next Friday, for “The War of the Worlds!”
Ross and Roy on “Zardoz”:
Watch Brian Johnson, Sunday at 4 p.m., here:
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Sinbad Zardoz Fashion Film Fest Tonight
If you’ve got a passion for fashion, have I got an “Ideal” double feature for you!
I hope you’ll join me, as I present “A Thousand and One Nights at the Movies” on “Picture Perfect” – with selections from “The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad” (Bernard Herrmann), “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger” (Roy Budd), “Aladdin” (Alan Menken), and “The Thief of Bagdad” (Miklos Rozsa) – at 6:00 this evening (EDT) on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Then at 7:00, I guarantee it will be all you’ll ever want to see of Sean Connery. The giant floating head wasn’t the only thing stoned in the making of John Boorman’s “Zardoz” (1974). Roy Bjellquist and I will engage in a spirited conversation about Brutals, Eternals, Renegades, and Apathetics, on the next “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.”
How catty will it get on the catwalk? As catty as we knead!
Catch it via Facebook live stream, and leave a question or comment!
https://www.facebook.com/roytiediescificorner/
For a hit of “Zardoz,” here’s the trailer:
And David Munrow’s arrangement of Beethoven’s 7th:
PHOTOS: Rocking the whole pony tail/red diaper thing, Rex Ingram as the Genie in “The Thief of Bagdad” (left) and Sean Connery as Zed the Exterminator in “Zardoz”
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Zardoz Typecasting Actor’s Extreme Lengths
Just how far will an actor go to avoid typecasting?
No need to ask Sean Connery, so desperate to get away from James Bond that he exploded his cash cow by strapping on red-hot bandoliers, fire engine mankini, and thigh-high kink boots for John Boorman’s inscrutable masterpiece, “Zardoz.”
Join Roy Bjellquist and me as we chip away at a giant stone head (floating gracefully to Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, then vomiting guns), explore the blurred relationships between myth, legend, and religion, and delve into the very mysteries of life and death, on the next “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.”
“Zardoz” is nothing if not ambitious. But did it – could it – ever rise to the level of its aspirations? When “Zardoz” opened in 1974, it was met by widespread confusion and scathing reviews. Is it possible that an overtly bad movie could actually mask a fairly good one?
46 years of brain bleach has been powerless to dispel the enduring WTF of “Zardoz.” I hope you’ll join Roy and me in slack-jawed wonder on the next Facebook live-stream of “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner,” this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT.
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Beethoven My First Love Symphony No 3 Changed Me
Beethoven was my first favorite composer. The Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” opened up a whole new world for me.
Of course, I was always something of dreamer. By high school, I was listening to all of the symphonies with regularity, sometimes on my trusty Walkman as I trekked to school on a crisp winter morn, or on the turntable while lounging on my bed, after completing my paper route, creating a kind of oasis before dinner.
The Beethoven symphonies filled my head with many strange and adventurous scenarios, though perhaps none were as outlandish as that offered by director John Boorman in his cult classic, “Zardoz” (1974).
“Zardoz” sported long, static shots of a giant, stone head drifting across the sky to the second movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. It also sported a hirsute Sean Connery in bandoliers and diaper. Just try to get that image out of your head.Then join me at 4:00 for a performance I discovered as a teenager and have cherished ever since.
I’ll be with you for Symphonies Nos. 7, 8 & 9, to wrap up our Beethoven birthday marathon, from 4 to 7 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
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