The Holy Mountain (1973)

Director:

Alejandro Jodorowsky

Writer:

Alejandro Jodorowsky (written by)

Release Date:

21 August 1974 (West Germany)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A Christlike figure wanders through bizarre, grotesque scenarios filled with religious and sacrilegious imagery...

Plot Keywords:

Holy Mountain | Planet | Mountain | God | Solar System

Cast

Alejandro Jodorowsky	...	The Alchemist (as Alexandro Jodorowsky)
Horácio Salinas	...	The Thief (as Horacio Salinas)
Zamira Saunders	...	The Written Woman (as Ramona Saunders)
Juan Ferrara	...	Fon
Adriana Page	...	Isla
Burt Kleiner	...	Klen
Valerie Jodorowsky	...	Sel
Nicky Nichols	...	Berg
Richard Rutowski	...	Axon (as Richard Rutowsky)
Luis Lomeli	...	Lut
Ana De Sade	...	The Prostitute
Chucho-Chucho	...	The Chimpanzee
Letícia Robles	...	Bald Woman 1 (as Leticia Robles)
Connie De La Mora	...	Bald Woman 2
David Kapralik	...	Tourist

Also Known As:

La montaña sagrada (Mexico)
The Sacred Mountain (International: English title) (reissue title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Mexico | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (re-rating, uncut) | UK:X (original rating, cut version) | France:-16 | Netherlands:18 | Australia:MA (2007 re-rating) | South Korea:18 | West Germany:18 | Italy:VM14 (2001) | New Zealand:R18 | USA:R | Hong Kong:III

Filming Locations:

Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico

Company:

Producciones Zohar

Trivia:

Jodorowsky recalls that the chameleon and toad circus was difficult to prepare for and film. The toads themselves were hard to dress, as "their urine was like acid," and they'd keep filling up with air and then blowing it out, trying to escape. The chameleons, on the other hand, were incredibly sedate, and the cameraman would have to leave the camera rolling for long periods of time before they'd even flick their tongues or move their eyes.

Quotes:

The Alchemist: You are excrement. You can change yourself into gold.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Durch die Nacht mit...: Alejandro Jodorowsky und Daniel Pinchbeck" (2009)

Come prepared to chuckle

If you liked "The Wall" (you know, the Pink Floyd movie), but thought it was a bit of a downer and suffered from the lack of a fat woman humping an excitable, legless, animatronic horse, this movie could be for you.

Despite what you may have heard, "The Holy Mountain" is more absurd than surreal, more funny than disturbing. Don't worry if your tarot cards are gathering dust and you can't remember the difference between wands and swords--such occult knowledge might help you achieve a few "Oh I get that!" moments during the middle of the film, but the heaps of blatant symbolism aren't really the point. In fact, it may just be that the point is: there is no point. When you see a fat man dressed as the Virgin Mary handing out crucifixes under a sign that says "Christs For Sale", you can rack your brain trying to figure out what kind of statement that makes about society--or you can laugh. When you witness "The Government" indoctrinating children with a hatred for the nation of Peru by printing up comic books called "Captain Captain Against The Peruvian Monster", you can lament the plight of innocents being manipulated for selfish ends--or you can laugh! This film bombards the viewer with outlandish images and juxtapositions like these in rapid fire throughout, so it's easy to get bogged down or confused or numb. The secret to appreciating it all is to come prepared to chuckle--some things you'll "get", some things you won't, but most everything is twisted and absurd and, in some way, funny. Now when you get to the end and Jodorowsky winks at you, you can wink right back.

Basically, if you can appreciate absurdity and profundity and the absurdity of profundity (not to mention enormous, colorful sets), you'll find a lot to like here.

PS: If you do like "The Holy Mountain", head down to your local comics shop (or browse over to your favorite book/graphic novel e-tailer) and pick up a couple of volumes of "The Incal" or "The Metabarons", both of which were also written by Jodorowsky. They're like this movie--every bit as garish and violent and thought-provoking and funny--but they have actual plots (epic space-opera plots, no less).