Subtitles (both):

• English (SDH), None

Extras:

1) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

Description: Writer-director John Boorman’s fabulously bizarre Zardoz (1974) is a visually stunning science fiction/fantasy fable starring Sean Connery as the spanner in the works of a dreamily languid future society. A primitive Adam, Connery’s Zed charges like a bull through the china shop of a civilization from which all signs of lusty humanity have been drained. Co-starring the fascinating Charlotte Rampling, and featuring spectacular production design by Anthony Pratt and stunning cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth.

 

 

The Film:

A resident of 23rd-century Earth becomes involved in a revolution after discovering the hidden truth about society's rulers in director John Boorman's sci-fi drama. Sean Connery plays Zed, the central rebel, who begins the film as a member of the Exterminators, a band of skilled assassins who exact a reign of terror over the lesser Brutals. The Exterminators answer only to their god, a gigantic stone image known as Zardoz. Haunted by doubt about Zardoz's true divinity, Zed chooses to investigate. His disbelief is confirmed when the god proves to be a fraudulent tool of the Eternals, a secret society of brilliant immortals who pretend to divinity in order to exploit the masses. Knowing the truth, Zed sets out to reveal the hoax and destroy the Eternals' unjust rule.

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Zardoz has arrived on Blu-ray from Twilight Time to the absolute delight of its niche fanbase.

It's another strong dual-layered 1080P transfer with a very high bitrate and looks marvelous. It's a film that visual subtleties weren't picked up well by SD. It advances significantly via this new HD transfer. There is texture, contrast layering and colors are richer and deeper than SD could export. It is very clean - almost no speckles, or compression-style artifacts, are visible. The Blu-ray shows the film's effects impressively and I think it's a great presentation.

In short, slight difference with Arrow coming out ahead. There is a minor framing discrepancy but I think the, more robust, UK transfer looks marginally better. It's a small difference but I think Arrow is actually smoother and negligibly superior.     

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

1) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

1) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

Twilight Time use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at 2976 kbps and the film's eclectic effects definiotely benefit from the lossless rendering with some subtle separations and enhanced mood. As well as the very moving (and building) Symphony No. 7 in A, op. 92, 2nd movement by Beethoven (also notable in Alex Proyas's film Knowing) we get a score by David Munrow.
From the interesting blog Mounds and Circles, we have taken this excerpt:
"The soundtrack for Zardoz uses a sprinkling of electronic noises woven into early chamber instrumentation, renaissance and Ligeti-modernist choral passages, Debussy flute suggesting Zed's affinity with Pan and Tibetan tingsha cymbals to top it off. On paper this looks rather confusing but the score works seamlessly with the sound effects and serves to enhance Boorman's visuals without dominating, possessing an almost timeless quality as it folds together styles from different periods to create the sound of futures past, as is only appropriate for the Eternals in AD 2293."   It sounds excellent via the uncompressed transfer. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles (sample above) and my Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE.

 

Arrow may notch ahead here with a DTS-HD Master 3.0 channel at 2478 kbps in 24-bit. This is an attempt to replicate the original 4-Track Stereo. It sounds excellent, IMO, and there is an optional linear PCM 2.0 channel choice. Beethoven and Munrow's score sound excellent - tight and very crisp and there are optional English (SDH) subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked Blu-ray disc.     

We get the past audio commentary with director John Boorman where he states (Wikipedia link) that the 'Zardoz world' was on a collision course with an "effete" eternal society, which it accomplished, and in the story must reconcile with a more natural human nature. It is very revealing - as is the second commentary - a new one with film historians Jeff Bond, Joe Fordham and Nick Redman who probe quite deep into the themes and meanings of Boorman's fascinating film. There are also 6 radio spots, an original theatrical trailer - the always present Isolated Score track (which is a very good 'listen' if you have the time) and the package has liner notes by Julie Kirgo and this is limited to 5,000 units.

 

 

Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

 

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Zardoz is a highly misunderstood effort by most audiences. I could watch it all over again as the post-apocalyptic science fiction milieu is always a favorite. I tried to think of what Zardoz reminds me of - maybe A Clockwork Orange in some respects. The Blu-ray has immense value with the two commentaries and the film - which can be revisited - seeing new details - for years. If you have any interest, I'd snap it up - as I suspect even at 5,000 units it may go out-of-print eventually. Beautiful, odd, and deep - strongly recommended!

 

The film continues to grow on you even after seeing it a dozen times. Zardoz is an incredible and unique cinematic event. Surprisingly, the Twilight Time is bested - I think the Arrow is the more accomplished Blu-ray package. Very strongly recommended!   

Gary Tooze

April 16th, 2015

September 8th, 2015

 

More Apocalypse-related films on Blu-ray and DVD reviewed (click review buttons to also see comparisons where applicable) from our article Films From The End of the World: