Part of 1973 and Midnight Movies
Writer/director Alejandro Jodorowsky weaves a grotesque tale rich in allegory, sacrilegious imagery and existential symbolism. The Alchemist (Jodorowsky) assembles together a group of people from all walks of life to represent the planets in the solar system. The occult adept’s intention is to put his recruits through strange mystical rites and divest them of their worldly baggage before embarking on a trip to Lotus Island. There they ascend the Holy Mountain to displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.
“Witty, disgusting, eye-popping, and incomprehensible, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN is every bit as pop-philosophical as Jodorowsky's earlier work, but it also contains original visual ideas nearly every 30 seconds, from frogs in armor to crucifixes made out of painted bread.” —Noel Murray, The A.V. Club “So extreme in its sacrilege that it achieves a kind of sacredness, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN is a transcendental feast of the grotesque and the sublime.” —Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer “A landmark of visionary filmmaking pitched somewhere between magic ritual and surreal burlesque.” —Steve Dollar, Wall Street Journal
