OpenTube

The Last-Minute Scene That Changed Zardoz (1974) Forever

Golden Flicker

80,012 views

Here is the strange, true story of how a last-minute studio edit ruined the ending of a sci-fi masterpiece.

In 1974, director John Boorman released Zardoz, a film famous for putting Sean Connery in a red diaper immediately after he left James Bond. But the real tragedy isn't the costume—it's the prologue.

Panicked by test audiences who didn't understand the film, the studio forced a "Floating Head" intro that literally explains the entire plot before the movie starts. In this episode of Golden Flicker, we fix the timeline. We explore the "Lost Lord of the Rings" that inspired it, the "Wizard of Oz" twist that was spoiled, and how this box office bomb predicted the future of AI and depression.

The Gun is Good. The Spoiler is Bad.

Subscribe for more hidden cinema history.

Chapters:
00:00 The Prologue That Ruined Everything
02:24 The "Lord of the Rings" Connection
04:57 The Brutals and The Vortex (Plot Summary)
06:40 Visual Style: Rejecting American Sci-Fi
09:28 Filming in the Crossfire
12:20 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
14:38 The Problem with Immortality (The Apathetics)
17:20 Tabernacle

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
Special thanks to Roger Mitchell and the "The Making of Zardoz" community.
Check out Roger's definitive book on the film: Zardoz Speaks to You!
https://amzn.to/44VR6Ls

#Zardoz #SeanConnery #SciFiHistory #70sMovies #JohnBoorman #FilmAnalysis #CultClassic #ZardozExplained

20 Comments

@TMK1001 8 months ago

It's a batshit crazy film, but it works. Better than it's reputation.

@chrispomphrett4283 8 months ago

The very ending of the film with them aging and the gun rusting as well as the music, has stayed with me all these decades.

@jamesheartney9546 8 months ago

It's safe to say that modern cinema would never, ever create a Zardoz. And therein is a big part of why modern cinema is dying - no one can make something this weird, daring and inventive. It's just endless sequels and reboots.

@kyokogodai-Doug 8 months ago

I have loved this film since I first saw it on the Saturday Afternoon Movie in the late 70's. Yes, it took a long time to see the entire film uncut, but it never really mattered to me. I loved it even in pan and scan while watching on a small black and white TV. After seeing it complete, I loved it even more. I own an original one sheet movie poster, that I cherish. I can never find anyone willing to watch the film with me, which is sad, but it never stops me from watching it. Thanks for a great video.

@ThunderWarrior01 8 months ago

Zardoz is risking taking, Zardoz is creativity, Zardoz is storytelling.
Zardoz is from a time, a time we will never see again. So many films from that era have gone on to be well loved and rightly so

@Truckngirl 8 months ago

I LOVE Zardoz! Am I the only one?

@waynecole7781 8 months ago

Just like Dune in 1984 with a lead in

@zverina 8 months ago

I remember going on a bad movie binge years ago and being disappointed that Zardoz was actually good. It's goofy in places, but compelling in its ideas and aesthetics (even when the seams show).

@librarian66 8 months ago

Zardoz is one crazy-ass movie but I still dig it today.

@pyenapple 8 months ago

This movie is way better than the critics would have you believe.

@DeanEdmunds-yv2uw 8 months ago

These films are so rich in history … should never be forgotten

@ericcancer7936 8 months ago

Zardoz is a brilliant, misunderstood and totally unique film that is now oddly prescient given what’s going on with AI. Anyone who can’t get past the costumes isn’t worth discussing the film with.

@Sir-Cuntington 8 months ago

Connery made the mankini cool decades before Borat! 😂

@backrowbrighton 8 months ago

I remember seeing this film as a teenager when it was released. The poster drew me in. Liked it then but love it now. It harks back to a time when science fiction films had great concepts.

@pioj 8 months ago

A David Lynch's movie before David Lynch.

@williamwright9079 8 months ago

Zardoz is an excellent film in my book!

@marena3511 1 month ago

One of my favorite movies of all time. Its a shame more people have not seen this masterpiece.

@NadgeAriffin 8 months ago

I first watched Zardoz when it happened to be screened at my boarding school (The Malay College in Malaysia) some time in 1979-1982 and I was in my early teens, but somehow I understood its message while being mesmerised by the story, the setting, Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling. Thank you for confirming my understanding, and bringing back good memories of those days.

@JacobShodin 6 months ago

Funny how some movies come out and their misunderstood for people to come back later and totally get it

@vana.johnson8845 8 months ago

I was 13 years Old and could not understand any messages within it. Years later I watched the Home Video and understood more than I thought I would...!