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ABOUT ZARDOZ ONLINE |
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I am Arthur Frayn, and I am Zardoz I am often asked what my fascination is with Zardoz, and why I have devoted so much time and energy promoting a film like this. The simple answer, in the words of Zed are "I don't know". What I do know is that there is a brilliant film whose presence exists as almost a secret, and the awareness and understanding of Zardoz creates an instant bond between those in the know. Is this your God's house?
You will have insight jumps... This film was also my first revelation of the art (sic) of network editing. It was probably my third chance to see Zardoz on TV on a US network that I noticed there were things missing from the movie. Zardoz' opening speech was cut, as were every scene with nudity. This was a vey major revelation, which began my quest for the ultimate version of Zardoz. This wasn't some all consuming fanaticism, just the hope that someday, I would experience this film as it was created. I could have shown you... Fast forward a decade or so to when I finally had the resources to buy my own personal copy of Zardoz on VHS. Although not censored as on TV, several key sequences were destroyed by the pan and scan process used in the transfer. Shots which played brilliantly even on the TV cut were misframed to the point where the focus of the scene was lost. A perfect example of this is the "Zardoz made us grow wheat" scene of Zed with the peasants (similar to the image above). Zed is on the extreme right of the frame, and a peasant falls down, and is shot casually in the head by Connery. The VHS version has Zed out of the frame, and the whole effect of the shot is missed. The location inside the stone head in the ending scene between Charlotte Rampling and Connery is unidentifiable due to the cropping - it seems as if they are in a cave. I will include demonstrations of these scenes at a later date on the site, but I digress... I still didn't have a perfect copy of the film. When you can see into the crystal ... Many years later with my assimilation into the world of the internet, I discovered that a widescreen version of Zardoz was available on laserdisc. With trepidation, I made my first online purchase, and subsequently had to buy a laserdisc player, which introduced me to the world of home theater. Zardoz in widescreen was a revelation - vibrant colors, and (almost) the full scope of Geoffrey Unsworth's magnificent cinematography. It was like watching it for the first time. However, this still was not the perfect experience. On further examination, I discovered that the laserdisc is also in the incorrect aspect ratio, with portions of the sides cut off, and due to miscropping, the splice marks between scenes causes a distracting flash at the edit points. Still no perfect Zardoz. With my newfound access to the internet, I decided to start up a website on the film, since information was nonexistent at that point. Thus, Zardoz Online was born. None of the events have yet occured, but they may... Continuing in the search for the ultimate Zardoz experience, I began campaigning for the release of Zardoz on DVD, which also had the benefit of the possibility of added content. I had the priviledge of working with Twentieth Century Fox, supplying much of the extra content included on the disc. There are, however, a few glaring ommisions, and if given the opportunity I would welcome working with Fox again to include the elements that would make a true collectors edition. Is God in show business too?
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I
first encountered Zardoz in 1977 or '78 when it was showing as a late
night feature on a local TV station. During this time I was watching
any and all Science Fiction I could find. From the opening monologue
to the arrival of the stone head and the immortal words "the gun
is good, the penis is evil" I was hooked. I had never seen anything
like Zardoz before, and as the tale unfolded I became more and more
fascinated by the intricacy of the film. Much of the underlying brilliance
was lost on me the first few viewings, but that is the beauty of this
film, that each viewing brings a fuller understanding and comprehension
of the depth of characters and plot involved in the script.