Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51300 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-05-14
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Synopsis
An epic hallucination filled with weirdness and wonder. The story centres on a thief who joins a group of people who plan to storm The Holy Mountain and steal the secret of eternal life...

Customer Reviews

A monumental achievement of philosophy, mysticism and surrealist satire.
The Holy Mountain was director Alejandro Jodorowsky's follow up to the cult western El Topo; a violent and deeply mystical dream play about a mythical gunfighter cleansing himself of the violence of his past, only to find that the world itself had already been corrupted by the bloodshed of the present.

The mystical themes are fleshed out even further with The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky's second of only three films produced in the 1970's, which, much like the preceding El Topo and the director's very first film, Fando é Lis, unfolds through a series of surrealist vignettes rife with religion symbolism, sardonic satire and distancing cinematic shock tactics. To some, it remains a monumental achievement of philosophy, mysticism and surrealist satire; a film capable of changing the viewer's entire perspective on life itself through the wisdom of its central character and the potency of its imagery. To others however, the film has already become a dated relic, with some viewers arguing that extravagant pop-art production design, casual nudity and notions of questing for inner peace and tranquillity have become throwbacks to the late 1960's flower-power aesthetic; which is always easy to discredit through blind cynicism.

How will you react to it? I couldn't possibly say, though I would say it's best to approach the film with an open mind and with some familiarity with Jodorowsky's previous, and indeed, subsequent cinematic works, like El Topo, and in particular Santa Sangre, both of which offer an easier gateway into the filmmaker's heavily symbolic world than this epic rumination on life and the cosmos.

What surprised me most when viewing the film for the first time was the tremendous amount of depth that can often be lost within the giddy barrage of sights and sounds that burst from the screen in a vibrant vivid collage of philosophy, art, sex and religion. As a result, I often find it annoying when people discredit Jodorowsky as simply throwing images on the screen to shock and disarm the viewer for no apparent reason. I find similar arguments regarding the work of filmmakers like David Lynch and Miike Takashi similarly offensive. Simply listen to the audio commentary on this DVD to hear Jodorowsky taking the film apart image by image; explaining the incredible amount of minor details purged from every religion, steeped in every form of art and combined in an attempt to overload the audience's senses and perceptions to effectively change the very fabric of their own personal universe. It worked for me, though as you can possibly gather from the previous reviews, opinions are mixed.

Some will be more open to Jodorowsky's ideas than others. Some will enjoy the colourful scenarios of the opening 30 minutes, which depict the resurrection of a Christ-like character and his corruption by the modern world ravaged by war, dictatorship, organised tourism and the endless pursuit of money. The second half of the film introduces us to the other characters; a collection of evil, greedy business men, weapon designers, factory owners and foot-soldiers who, much like the Christ-like character we meet during the first chapter, decide to abandon the corrupt world in which they exist and quest with the mythical central character to the summit of the holy mountain.

As you can imagine from this sketchy plot outline, what follows is fairly episodic in design, sometimes tapping into the cinematic absurdity of Luis Bunuel and at other times reminding me of the epic opulence of early Ken Russell (in particular, films like The Devils, The Music Lovers, The Boyfriend, Mahler, etc). For the most part though, the film is pure Jodorowsky, with the central character (played by the director himself) tapping into the intensity of El Topo's iconic gunfighter, whilst the constant barrage of cripples, dwarfs, freaks and geeks cut adrift against a processions of skinned lamb carcasses, edible Jesus effigies, dog fights and the recreation of the conquest of Mexico, re-enacted with frogs that are later blown to pieces, all recalling the fevered insanity of El Topo, the warped fairytale-like quality of Fando and Lis, the gothic psychodrama of Santa Sangre and the empathetic compassion of Tusk.

Obviously, it's not going to be a film for everyone, but those already turned on to Jodorowsky's ideas will no doubt take away a great deal from the film's central message, and from the dizzying kaleidoscope of visual ideas, interpretations and sight gags that explode from the screen in a veritable barrage of colour and movement. The Tartan DVD features some fine extra features, most notably Jodorowsky's informative and fascinating audio commentary, while also doing a fairly great - if not quite perfect - job of re-mastering a film that has remained in the vaults for well over thirty years.

A mixed bag.....
This film has a legendary reputation and deservedly so but that does not necessarily mean it is a deathless classic like the other reviewers on this page seem to indicate ("the most important film ever made"? C'mon you cannot be serious). Firstly the restoration of the film is miraculous, the best I have ever seen considering it has been locked in a vault gathering dust for 30-odd years. The soundtrack is simply fantastic, moving all the way from vocal drones to searing rock guitar to cheesy muzak, and complements the images brilliantly. The film also contains some of the most searing, bizarre, memorable images every committed to celluloid, far too many to mention here. So what is the problem? Well after a roaring start for the first 45 minutes where the startling images and ideas pile on top of each other providing incontrovertible proof that Jodorowsky is some kind of genius the wheels sadly come off and the film loses it way, meandering for its final two thirds to an unsatisfactory conclusion (nicked off Bergman's "Persona" by the way). The bottom line is no matter how incredible the images on the screen are (and they ARE incredible) for a film really to succeed it needs a plot and a decent script (with characters you can become involved in), otherwise familiarity and boredom sets in after the initial "shock of the new" and indeed that is what happens here. This is a shame but that's not to demean Jodorowsky's achievement (it was only his third film after all, Bergman and Kurosawa made literally dozens before finally "hitting form") and as has often been said before regarding this film, it is a one-off and nothing of its ilk will likely ever be made again especially in today's anodyne film-making environment. Therefore definitely rent it / buy it and watch it but just don't expect the deathless masterpiece some say it is.

Real Life Awaits You . . . .
Having been a great fan of this film for many years, I was looking forward to this release with relish.

Holy Mountain is now crystal clear with rich sounds and deep colours. Those of us who have only seen the illicit (but Jodorowsky-sanctioned) bootleg copies are in for a surprise. It looks like a different film, vibrant and retina-burning.

It's great that this movie has been done justice. The Holy Mountain has some of the most incredible cinematography, dazzling sets and psychedelic stylings that I have seen, and all from an independent auteur on a limited budget but with great vision. From the opening moments, it is funny, baffling, surreal, mystical, horrifying, beautiful, touching and illuminating. Who cares that it flags a little in the final third?

You might think you've seen it all but believe me, until you've seen this film, you haven't. It isn't for the faint hearted but for those with an open mind, it will be an experience you never forget. This is also a movie which doesn't give up all of its secrets on the first viewing (in fact, the first time you see it, you will probably be quite overwhelmed by it all).

Scenes that will live with me forever include birds flying out of bullet wounds; protesting students being sprayed with red paint to symbolise their carnage; the thief (the image of Christ) attacking the meditating Achemist with a knife while scores of unseen chanting Buddhist monks rise to a deafening pitch; insane goings-on in the house of a man who turns out to be the Government's chief economic adviser and of course, the final audacious scene in which we begins to realise that the jokes on us . . .