Tune in Tuesday: Zardoz Arrow Video Blu Ray

 

There are films, and then there are Films. John Boorman's Zardoz(1974) is the kind of cinematic fever dream that blurs the line between brilliance and madness. It’s a film that dares you to laugh, cringe, or maybe collapse under the weight of its own pretensions. And now, with Arrow's deluxe Blu-ray release, the cult classic returns in all its baffling, beautiful, bonkers glory. Strap in, kids—this isn't just cinema; it's an existential primal scream in a polyester diaper.  

For the uninitiated (or the masochistically curious), Zardoz is Boorman's post-Deliverance psychedelic odyssey into a dystopian future where Sean Connery struts around in a red bandolier thong, brandishing a pistol like he's auditioning for a forgotten Conan porno spin-off. The story, if you can call it that, involves floating stone heads vomiting guns, immortal intellectual elites bored out of their minds, and a lot of pontification about life, death, and the meaninglessness of it all. Arrow’s Blu-ray doesn’t just present Zardoz—it lovingly embroiders it in neon thread, inviting you to bask in its insanity anew.  

The restoration is pristine, showcasing Geoffrey Unsworth's cinematography like never before. Every sun-drenched meadow, every gaudy costume, every rubbery special effect pops with an almost unsettling clarity. You can practically feel Connery’s mustache bristle in 4K. And those extras? Oh, baby, they're the cherry on this hallucinogenic sundae. Boorman’s commentary, equal parts apologetic and proud, is a masterclass in auteur self-mythology. The making-of featurettes dive deep into how such a singularly insane movie got made, as if to reassure us that yes, humans were actually responsible for this.  

But what makes this Arrow release truly indispensable isn’t just the immaculate presentation. It’s the way it treats Zardoz with the reverence it deserves—while knowing full well it’s the cinematic equivalent of being cornered at a party by a ranting philosophy major high on mescaline. There’s a winking understanding here that Boorman’s magnum opus is both a profound exploration of humanity’s existential plight and one of the most ridiculous things ever committed to celluloid.  

Is Zardoz a masterpiece? That depends on your tolerance for chaos. It’s a kaleidoscopic mess of big ideas and bad choices, the kind of film that could only have emerged from the creatively unhinged 1970s. Arrow’s Blu-ray doesn’t just preserve it—it elevates it, enshrining Zardoz as both a cautionary tale and a glorious, unrepeatable accident.  

So, throw on your own crimson mankini (or don’t), pour yourself a stiff drink, and bask in the weird, wild world of Zardoz. The gun is good. The Blu-ray is better.