Zardoz (1974) Edit

A bore!

A crystal joins them. A crystal.

A face in the window.

A good death.

A higher form.

A much more complex program.

A receiver must be like a transmitter.

A spaceship.

About an old man who frightened people with a loud voice and a big mask.

Again, this is a key image.

Against.

Ah, yes. There.

All my powers have gone.

All right, let's stop all the nonsense, shall we? Where's Arthur Frayn?

All that I was is gone.

All this technology was for travel to the distant stars.

Already you have learnt to see my light wavelengths in the diamond.

Am I?

An end to eternity.

An end to the human race

An old man calls me.

And a magician by inclination.

And amused!

And I have looked into the face of the force that put the idea in your mind.

And I'm sick of pitting my bare hands against the blind, brute stupidity of nature!

And it's slowly creeping through all the vortexes.

And love.

And made an oasis here.

And makes new life to poison the earth with a plague of men,

And now we're trapped by our own devices.

And then we felt desire.

And there you will live for ever.

And we are no longer victims of this violent, convulsive act,

And when we look at him,

And why?

And you, poor creatures,

Another dead end.

Anyone else disturbed?

Anything at all.

Anything to relieve the boredom.

Apathetic or renegade... make your choice.

Are you looking for the head, Monster?

Arthur Frayn ceased transmission three days ago.

Arthur Frayn died. Reconstruction has begun.

Arthur Frayn.

Arthur! We've all been used!

As eternals achieved total consciousness,

As once it was.

As part of May's studies of this creature,

As the world plunged into a dark age.

As you examine my face and eyes, you will see that this is true.

As Zardoz, Zed, I was able to choose your forefathers.

At the mercy of its enemies.

Attention. Continuation of the trial of George Saden of Vortex 4.

Attention. Harvest produce report.

Attention. Harvest produce report.

Attention. Harvest produce report.

Avalow, what does it portend for the future?

Battle of wills.

Be circumspect. Make no disruption.

Be warned, lest you end as I.

Becomes this.

Bone.

Brain emissions refract low wavelength laser light

But death is no longer possible.

But even with infinite time and the help of the tabernacle,

But he falls into the hands of the poor old renegades.

But I am invented, too, for your entertainment and amusement.

But it's hopeless.

But nobody could quite determine how this

But remember the end of the story.

But the gun shoots death and purifies the earth of the filth of brutals.

But they leak out in second level through the head wound of my third death.

But they were middle aged, too conditioned to mortality.

But we discuss it endlessly.

But we need to determine the location

But you have no police, no exterminators.

But you must follow me. Obey me.

Can you tell us how things stand?

Careful genetic breeding produced this mutant,

Caution. You are approaching the periphery shield of Vortex 4.

Caution. You are approaching the periphery shield of Vortex 4.

Caution. You are approaching the periphery shield of Vortex 4.

Change.

Charge!

Come into the centre of the crystal.

Come to my centre.

Come, now. My brutal friends call me Zardoz.

Congratulations. You live.

Consuella.

Could do anything.

Cover the exits! Over there!

Cut ourselves off to guard the knowledge and treasures of civilisation,

Death comes closer for us all.

Death is banished for ever.

Death.

Death.

Death.

Define three weeks.

Destroy it! Tabernacle!

Did you ever see such mangled limbs?

Didn't Zardoz tell you about the apathetics?

Died of boredom.

Discover any new hereditary diseases that may have emerged

Do you hear?

Do you know me?

Do you know the next line? It's TS Eliot.

Do you mean he'd never seen a clock before?

Does it please you to sleep?

Don't be sullen. I'm gonna look after you.

Don't you remember the man in the library? It was I who led you to the Wizard of Oz book.

Each season Zardoz came down to take our harvest.

Each to each, and all to the tabernacle.

Eat this when the need arises.

Enlarged brain.

Especially me.

Eternals soon discovered that erection was impossible to achieve.

Ever hear the expression "if looks could kill"? Well, here they can.

Every society had an elaborate subculture devoted to erotic stimulation.

Final statement from the accused begins.

Final votes. For: Nine.

Find Friend. Take me to Friend.

Find May. Tell her that Friend needs her.

Food.

For the moment, keep you alive.

For the sake of science, I will keep this knowledge from the others,

For yourself, or for the whole vortex?

Four from Vortex 5.

Frayn. How did you get into the vortex? What is your purpose?

Friend is beyond redemption.

Friend, I cannot sanction this violence and destruction.

Friend, put that thing outside.

Friend.

Friend. I seek Friend.

Full of mystery and intrigue,

Gave you the gift of the gun.

Get a move on, you silly beast.

Get him! Get him!

Give you all we have.

Give your votes.

Go back to the beginning.

Go forth and kill.

Go in. Go on.

Go on, Monster.

Gods, goddesses, kings and queens.

Gray.

Grayler.

Guns! Guns!

Has found out thy bed of secret joy

Has found out thy bed of secret joy

Have you seen Friend?

He can mete it out, and he can die himself.

He can't see.

He didn't conform, so this is what his grateful people did to him.

He found he didn't like it for himself.

He is mortal.

He is no longer one with us.

He must be cast out.

He must do this without help as we all do.

He never discussed this in the vortex. He will have to be thoroughly investigated.

He said "no more".

He wore a mask. He led me on, like a game.

He's a fine, strong beast, dear May.

He's an artist. He does it with imagination.

He's blind.

He's dead.

He's disappeared into thin air.

He's gone. I saw him. He was here.

He's lying.

He's not here.

He's somewhere in these buildings. Smoke him out.

Help yourself.

Here is a list of surpluses and needs remaining.

Here is a list of surpluses and needs remaining.

Here is a list of surpluses and needs remaining.

Here, man and the sum of his knowledge will never die,

How could you do what you did to us?

How did it come about, the vortex? How did it start?

I am all seeing. I am everywhere and nowhere.

I am Ar...

I am Arthur Frayn.

I am innocent of psychic violence.

I am the sum of all these people and all their knowledge.

I bred you. I led you.

I cannot give information which may threaten my own security.

I confess to the charges, but plead mitigation.

I could have shown you.

I direct that the tabernacle erase from us all memories of its construction,

I don't know.

I hate all women.

I hate you all.

I hate you all.

I hate you all.

I have come for you.

I have destroyed what I set out to defend.

I have dreams.

I have lived 300 years, and I long to die,

I have my followers.

I have your voice print, Zed, and your genetic code,

I know what... I know what May wants with Zed.

I learnt what the world had been before the darkness fell.

I like you, you sly old monster.

I looked behind the mask and I saw the truth... Zardoz.

I love to see them running. I love the moment of their death,

I loved this girl once, Monster.

I manipulate many of the characters and events you will see.

I myself feel quite at home in there.

I present now my story,

I read everything. I learnt all that had been hidden from me.

I remember feelings such as those.

I remember now the way it was.

I see nothing inside except my own perplexity.

I see now why you are here.

I seek Friend.

I tell you, I'm sick of 200 years of washing up.

I think you're a crystal. In fact, this one. This diamond.

I thought at first you were the one to help.

I told you to analyse design growth across all makes of car,

I want to die.

I was imperfectly repaired.

I will invoke a community vote.

I will... I will not go to second level.

I wonder what's going on inside your pea brain?

I...

I'm in Arthur Frayn's confidence. I know more than you think.

I'm just an exterminator. I know nothing.

I'm now going to test its waking response to danger stimuli.

I'm ready.

I'm voting for him, Monster.

I'm with you, George.

I've ached for this moment.

I've seen men **** an old crippled woman

If I live, we will live together.

If you find the brutal, destroy immediately. He's trapped. It's only a matter of time.

In a wet ditch.

In any given phenomenon or thing, the unity of opposites is conditional...

In case he is injured and the body has to be recovered.

In here there is infinite storage space for refracted light patterns.

In hunting you, I have become you.

In this tale, I am a fake god by occupation

Inseminate us all, and we'll teach you all we know,

Insufficient data received.

Is capable of spontaneous and reflexive erection.

Is God in show business, too?

Is there data on sleeping patterns of primitive people?

It can earn its keep on the land, but it should not work as a servant.

It changed everything.

It feels. I sense that.

It is permitted only to show the accident.

It is set deep in a possible future, so none of these events have yet occurred.

It is the only path and passage into the vortex.

It is very fragmented.

It must die.

It was all a joke.

It was easy.

It wasn't, but we killed him anyway.

It won't do any good. Nothing ever does.

It's a miracle. We're apathetics.

It's a prison. A prison!

It's a prison. A prison!

It's astonishing that Homo sapiens spends so much time in this vulnerable condition,

It's better not to know. These images will pollute us.

It's blacked again.

It's Friend's day to make the food.

It's fundamental to our society that we do everything on a basis of absolute equality.

It's gone. Off on its endless journey from vortex to vortex.

It's too late, May. There's no going back.

It's too late. He's finished.

Jeg ville skape den eneste kvinne således,

Joined to us, a light shining to the future?

Kill him! Kill him!

Kill me! I want to die!

Kill the tabernacle!

Kiss the bride, dear Friend.

Kiss the bride.

Knowledge is not enough.

Let us renew it. A better breed could prosper here, given time.

Let's take yet another boringly democratic vote, shall we, Consuella?

Loamer.

Look at it. It knows its life is at stake,

Look at it. It's you.

Look into this.

Look.

Love us. Cherish the truth.

Macular area clear.

Man was born to hunt and kill.

Many hanged men died with an erection.

May has been given seven days to complete her study.

May is a great scientist, but she also has destructive tendencies.

May, for our love.

May, the scientist, wants him to spawn another generation to suffer our agonies.

May!

May!

May.

May...

Meat.

Meet this creature from the outside world.

Melancholy sight.

Merlin is my hero.

Morning, Monster. Time for work.

My father was chosen.

My mother was chosen.

Needs: Oats, barley, carrots.

No brutal has ever penetrated a vortex. It therefore requires study.

No man, woman or beast will ever desire you again.

No other memory image may be shown

No, it's an ark. A ship.

No!

No!

No!

No!

No!

No! No!

No! Zardoz!

No.

No.

No.

No.

No. No.

Not just a chronological list from one manufacturer.

Not long ago she was asking for new births, although we have no death.

Not permitted.

Now I see it. I am ready.

Now we can say "yes" to death, but never again "no".

Now we have given you all that we are,

Now we must make our farewells.

Now we're even.

Now you know all that we know.

Now you're beginning to show yourself.

Obscenely decaying flesh.

Obviously not.

Old Friend.

One gift remains which contains everything and nothing.

One million 814,400...

Only we could breed. Only the chosen.

Open your mind, your memory.

Or be broken.

Otherwise it would **** and kill as it always has.

Our minds were not up to it.

Passing through the crystal in the brain.

Perhaps it can tell us why Arthur has vanished so mysteriously.

Perhaps you can break the tabernacle,

Please!

Please.

Potatoes? Yes or no?

Praise be to Zardoz!

Praise be to Zardoz!

Quench it. Quell it.

Quietly do whatever work is given you. I will watch over you.

Refraction of light. Infinite.

Renegade.

Revenge.

Revenge.

Revenge.

Rich in irony, and most satirical.

Ride east. There you will pass through the wall.

Ride round!

Round and round, like me and the bread, for ever and ever.

Så om jeg ser at hun måtte våkne...

Second, maybe third generation.

Secure all arms, weapons and food supplies.

See how it disrupts our community.

See if there are evolutional changes since ours were analysed 200 years ago.

Sexuality declined probably because we no longer needed to procreate.

Shall I seek vortex consent for a longer program? Shall I seek vortex consent...

Show how you came into the stone.

Show me the whole image! What are you doing?

Show us more of your work.

Show.

Si bleu, si calme!"

Since Arthur was delegated to control them. It is proper that we investigate.

Sleep became obsolete, and second level meditation took its place.

Sleep was closely connected with death.

Sleep was necessary for man

So if you're bad often enough, you'll die.

So she made you.

So that was your plan... to stow away in the head.

So this is your scientific investigation.

So we can never destroy it if we should ever crave for death.

So you think you're dead?

Someone must know how to break it.

Something... I don't know.

Stay close to me, inside my aura.

Stop! It's useless. It's over.

Submit surpluses and needs for intervortex barter and exchange.

Submit surpluses and needs.

Success.

Such vanity.

Sweet death. Oblivion.

Tabernacle, what are you?

Tabernacle!

Tabernacle!

Take him to the east door.

Take this, and let your sons and daughters look into it.

Take your pick.

Take your pick.

Talk to May.

Tell me about the crystal transmitter.

Tell me. Show me. You must tell me.

Tell us how, please!

That has often served as a definition of God.

That has plagued this pretty planet for far too long.

That is the question we must answer.

That way! There!

That's an end to it.

That's why Zardoz made you grow crops.

That's wrong. It's wrong.

The book called... called...

The brutal is not here. I was mistaken.

The brutal is now in fourth hour of unconscious sleep.

The central nervous system no longer appears as a self contained organ.

The gun is good.

The gun is good.

The hunt is always better than the kill.

The invisible worm

The landscape of our long waking dream.

The memories are simple heroics. There are no abstractions, you will notice.

The monster is a mirror,

The penis is evil.

The place

The presence will dismay our tranquillity.

The shock of entering the vortex could be responsible.

The sweet scent of putrefaction already in the air.

The tabernacle is indestructible!

The tabernacle is...

The truth! The truth!

The vortex is an obscenity!

The vortex is an offence against Nature.

The world was dying.

Then Zed will be terminated.

Then, one day, I found the book.

There are 14 bodies for repair.

There is a stackup on some circuits.

There is no escape.

There is no exit.

There is no going back for me.

There seems to be a correlation with violence, with fear.

There's another word for it... bestiality.

There's no need to pretend innocence with me.

Therefore genetically stable.

They did it. They were the scientists, the best in the world.

They looked behind the mask and found the truth.

They make you old, but they don't let you die.

They stir in me.

They went renegade. We were their offspring and we were born into vortex life.

They're a code sent to you for interpretation and storage.

They're condemned to an eternity of senility.

They're malicious and vicious, so in and out fast.

Think of our equilibrium. Remember the delicate balance we must maintain.

This brutal, like other primates living unselfconscious lives,

This crystal shall join us,

This is a more recent memory. Cultivation has started.

This is a psychic disturbance.

This is the first visual contact with the outlands in years... as opposed to data...

This is where they live... the renegades.

This is where you'll be working for me each morning. Menial tasks. Nothing too taxing.

This is your fault.

This law operates universally... in the natural world, human society or man's thinking.

This place is against life.

This place is built on lies, and suffering.

This slave who could free his masters.

Three from Vortex 8.

Three months here, a year there. These sentences add up.

Three weeks.

Time enough has gone to finish your study, May. Destroy it.

Time?

To do this, we had to harden our hearts against the suffering outside.

To each other, to the sun and moon,

To feed these people. We can't support them any more.

To have squeezed the universe into a ball,

To kill the brutals who multiply and are legion.

To kill the brutals who multiply and are legion.

To penetrate the vortex? To find a way in for your friends to destroy us?

To roll it towards some overwhelming question,

To say: 'I am Lazarus, come from the dead'?"

To this end Zardoz, your god,

Total recall.

Trees and sky, earth and rock,

Truth or revenge?

Very good.

Vor... 4.

Vortex 4.

Vortex 4.

Vortex 4.

Vortex 4. Needs: Soap, apples, salt, leather.

Vortex 9. Surplus: Soap, apples, leather.

Wasn't eternity enough?

We all know the physical process involved,

We applied ourselves to the unsolved mysteries of the universe,

We are all mortal again.

We are custodians of the past for an unknown future.

We are gone.

We are perfectly stabilised. We said "no" to May.

We are the chosen ones.

We are trying to find once again the link between erotic stimulation and erection.

We can no longer quell him.

We challenged the natural order.

We failed.

We few... the rich, the powerful, the clever...

We got excited.

We have means of controlling it. We are not so vulnerable.

We have to shut ourselves off. We have to.

We look into our own hidden faces.

We must find out how it came here.

We must now become hunters and killers ourselves.

We provide them with food, but they are shunned.

We rode out. We roamed the outlands. We killed. It was enough.

We saw someone. We thought it was him.

We seal ourselves herewith into this place of learning.

We seal ourselves herewith into this...

We started chasing the brutal.

We took all that was good,

We want some, too!

We will touch teach you, and you will give us your seed.

We... we forced the hand of evolution.

We've got him trapped!

Welcome to paradise.

Well done! Well done! You've learnt your lessons well.

Well, get a move on, then.

Well, here we are.

Well, I've got time, and plenty of it.

What did you find in that book? Show it to me.

What do you see in the ball?

What do you see in the crystal ball?

What dread hand? And what dread feet?"

What has Arthur being doing out there all these years?

What is it you want?

What next?

What was a trick? Tell me.

What was the book? What was the name of the book?

What was your task?

What will become of you? Will you go back to your people?

What will you tell me?

When his waking and unconscious lives were separated.

When I am one with Zardoz.

When you can see into this crystal, then you will be ready. Only then.

When you see into the crystal, then you will be ready.

Whenever you're ready to, just ask me questions.

Where the sea meets the land.

Which might result in broadening our immunisation spectrum.

Which so debased women and betrayed men.

Who conjured you out of the clay?

Who lives here?

Why did you spare him?

Without me, you are nothing.

Work house to house, east to west down the valley.

Would you not rather be part of us,

Year 2293. Third harvest yield.

Yes or no?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes. A bit frightening, isn't it?

Yet I choose to be here.

You are a mutant.

You are the one. The liberator.

You are the price we now pay for that isolation.

You are within me.

You came here in the stone head.

You can meet him for yourself.

You cannot. You will not.

You come from the outlands. You were told about the vortex?

You could be anything.

You did well. I will take the bride.

You eat the bread.

You found the flaw in the crystal.

You have been raised up from brutality

You have brought hate and anger into the vortex to infect us all.

You have destroyed us.

You have given me what no other gave... love.

You have great strength, but there are times when that strength will fail you.

You have me in the palm of your hand.

You have penetrated me.

You idle apathetic!

You murdered your own god, by accident.

You must give the truth if you wish to receive it.

You must know that you're mentally and physically vastly superior

You see, our death wish was devious and deep.

You stink of despair.

You want to destroy us. The tabernacle.

You will make insight jumps.

You will see lines running into the future.

You will show me how you come to be here.

You will take our knowledge by osmosis, out of time.

You...

You're saying nothing. All right. We'll wait and see.

You've done it.

Your aim is to destroy me, isn't it?

Your genetic structure. Your life chart.

Zarde 312.

Zardoz has spoken.

Zardoz is pleased.

Zardoz made us grow wheat.

Zardoz speaks to you, his chosen ones.

Zardoz!

Zardoz.

Zardoz... The stone.

Zed is being kept here for scientific study.

Zed, the liberator,

Zed!

Zed!

Zed!

Zed!

Zed!

Zed!

Zed!

Zed.

Zed... for Zardoz.

21 days, 504 hours,

25 brutals exterminated.

30,240 minutes,

And Friend knows that perfectly well. Yes or no?

And reused! And abused!

And then? Then one day...

Are you not taking food with us, May? No.

Because you could destroy us. As you destroyed the rest of life?

But the suffering. You can't equate their feelings with ours.

But they're all dead. Dead?

Consuella, no. Wait.

Consuella... Don't.

Did you go? Yes.

Did you need wheat? No. We ate meat.

Do you know where you are? The vortex.

Do you know yet how the brutal came here? No conclusion.

For what? Decorative.

Had you seen a book before? Never.

Happily? Yes.

He can die! Die.

He made us killers. Revenge. You wanted revenge.

He told you to take prisoners? Yes.

How long did it take? It came easy.

How much time do we have? We will not work in time.

I can't remember. Who made it?

I don't know. Of course you know.

I think what I think. That's more like it.

I told them about the book. Show it. What is the book?

Is that a priority request? Yes.

Is this your god's house? It's God you're seeking, is it?

It is almost over. How can you speak such in front of Zed?

It'll burn you. Then burn me.

It's him! They none of 'em could catch him!

Look into the ring. No retina abnormalities.

Look! The stone head!

No more what? No more killing.

Nothing. Nothing?

One last trick. Oh! Ah!

Open. Zar...

Open. Zar...

Prison? Ageing.

Proper regard for irony. Yes.

Renegade. Cast him out.

Renegade. Renegade.

Shall we give him back to death? Yes!

She's taking her studies very seriously. She only has three weeks.

Silent death? Yes!

So that was it. "The Wizard of Oz".

So what happens to him then? He'll get six months at least.

So what's to stop you killing yourself? I do now and again.

The community will follow my intuition. Then I will go to the vortex.

The outlands have to be controlled. I've always voted against forced farming.

The renegades are all dying like flies. Dying?

This man has the gift of death. Death?

To cultivate instead of kill? Yes.

To grow wheat? Yes!

To make slaves? Yes.

We've met before, I believe. Arthur Frayn.

What exactly do you want to do with him? A full genetic study. Break its DNA code.

What is it? Flower.

What'd he say? Shut up!

Where are you? Not permitted.

Who was he? I don't know.

Will he be punished for that? Of course.

Yes or no? Not permitted.

Yes! It will take time.

Yes? ...something happened.

You can see the disrupting effect. Let's keep it.

You had a plot? Yes.

You have a name? My name is Zed.

You killed Arthur, didn't you? No!

You learnt to read? Yes.

You must be destroyed. Why?

You must tell me. No! No!

You'd better do something about this. Consuella is right.

You're hurting me. Consuella, this is an experiment.

Your breeding potential... Breeding?

Your friends were mutants, too? Yes.

Zed's not to blame. We destroyed ourselves. That's truer than you know.

...are foolish.

...in many different ways, by making compensatory changes...

...physical and geometrical assumptions.

...the law of the unity of opposites is the fundamental law of the universe.

...where it is assumed that E75 equals R over M74, R being the ratio...

"...you pass into the city of woe."

"And when thy heart began to beat,

"Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all."

"Could twist the sinews of thy heart?"

"He who fights too long against dragons becomes a dragon himself." Nietzsche.

"I am Lazarus, come from the dead."

"Le ciel est, par dessus le toit,

"The voice of the turtle is heard in the land."

"Through me you pass among the forgotten people."

"Through me you pass into eternal sorrow."

"Un arbre, par dessus le toit..."