Today's Oz-Related Comic

Today's edition of TrivQuiz is about that 1974 sci-fi classic (?) Zardoz. Now, no matter what you may think of this movie, it is definitely one fans of The Wizard of Oz need to know about, because there is a connection with Oz. Heck, the title alone comes from Oz. So check out the comic, and maybe eventually the movie, too.

Today's Oz-ish Comic

Technically, there's nothing Ozzy in today's Brevity. However, one of the characters does have a name based on the book The Wizard of Oz. Furthermore, the very first comment makes that even more explicit (in more ways than one)!

The Latest Oz Reading

I will make this entry brief: If you thought Zardoz (now at last available on Blu-Ray!) was odd, try reading the novelization! It's a pretty straightforward retelling of the movie, even it's non-linear chronology. The novel does clear up a few things from the movie, but it's still a hot mess of a story. Fortunately, there is a great representation of the book that gave the movie its name, and it turns out that it was even a first edition. If you are a very weird and/or completist Oz fan like myself who has Zardoz on some form of home media, you'll probably want the novelization, too. Shop around, there should be an affordable used copy somewhere.

Today's Oz Comic

It is, admittedly, not much, but today's TrivQuiz does have a reference to Sean Connery's Ozziest role.

Movies Update

A quick follow up to yesterday's post about Zardoz: Now there's a way to make it a lot funnier. Rifftrax, which is a little company run by some of the guys who used to do Mystery Science Theater 3000, has a fan-made soundtrack for Zardoz. You can buy it (for about the same price you'd probably pay for a used copy of the DVD) and see a preview right here. WARNING: Both the clip used and the riffers have some words in them you probably don't want your grandmother to hear, if you know what I mean. Plus, Connery's costume/lack of manscaping combination.

Also, take a look at rocketdave's comment in response to yesterday's post. Trust me, you're really not missing much if you never see all of Zardoz all the way through. I watch these things so you don't have to! But in response to John Boorman's other Oz-themed movie, it seems his computer animated version of The Wizard of Oz hit a major wall in terms of financing, and it's pretty much dead. I wouldn't put a lot of trust into those internet forums that say it's still ongoing. There were some legitimate news sources that were touting Drew Barrymore's Surrender Dorothy a few years ago as an active project, based on older news sources they uncovered. However, Barrymore herself says that the project is dead. The same may be true of the Boorman animated version, and all of the more recent news is just echoes of older, out-of-date sources. Still, if you want to see some of the test footage of that version, here it is:

LE MAGICIEN D'OZ - TEST DE RENDU VO by Mister3ZE

My Latest Oz Movie Rewatch

I've been a little lax on watching Oz movies lately, but that's because I've been pretty busy and/or stressed out, or had other priorities. I also have to squeeze my movie watching in around when Laura's home, in case she wants to see it with me — or when she's out if she doesn't want to. Such was the case last night, when I finally plugged in the DVD that I've had for a few years now of Zardoz.

Um...

Look, I get that the early '70s was one of the most explosive, experimental eras in movie history. The new ratings systems and new technologies meant that filmmakers could experiment more and really push the envelope in ways that had never been permitted before. But just because you can make a movie doesn't mean you should. Actually, I suspect Zardoz was a pretty wild, cutting edge movie in its day. But it just hasn't held up very well. It's wild visuals and not-so-linear storytelling just make for a confusing mess. Here, take a look at the trailer and see if this is something you'd actually want to see, even in 1974 (good grief, this film is now forty years old!):

It doesn't get much clearer than that! The R rating also meant lots of bare breasts (and I don't mean just Sean Connery's) and strongly implied sex, which may have been a big draw in its day, but now it just doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.

Now, if you haven't seen the movie, you may be wondering, what does this have to do with Oz? To spare you having to watch it, I'll reveal one of the big secrets of the movie: Zardoz, the big floating god head thing, takes its name from The Wizard of Oz, with a few letters crossed off, like this: The Wizard of Oz. See? As Sean Connery's Zed puts it, "A story about a man hiding behind a big head and making a lot of noise" (or words to that affect, I'm sure not going to go back and look up the exact quote). Kudos to the props department for using an edition of the book with W. W. Denslow illustrations, at least, although it's not one that I recognize. Maybe it hasn't been published yet.

I have a few extras I want to watch on it. The filmmakers' commentary ought to be interesting. I wonder how much of it will be John Boorman apologizing for this and that?

Let's play catch-up!

Wouldn't you know, just as I'm on the verge of posting a new Oz comic, my computer goes kablooey. It seems to have a power supply problem, and it's already in the shop, but that's put a crimp in my blogging. But I managed to dig out and dust off my old computer (the one that went out, causing my folks to give me their old one) and get it fired up enough to keep up and get a few things done. So, as I said in the title, let's catch up on some old business!

• First, that Oz comic! Check out Strange brew for August 28. Definitely a few Oz references in that one! (I'm not sure witches would want it to be called a roast, however!) As a reminder I haven't reminded you about much lately, these links to syndicated comic strips tend to be up and active for only thirty days, so I hope you get to see it quick. And since this went up almost a week ago now, you have considerably fewer than thirty days now! (My apologies to those readers in the future who just can't see anything at all on my comics links, since you're trying to view them more than thirty days after publication.)
• Next, this week's Oz comic, politics division! Maybe my all-time favorite political cartoonist is two-time Pulitzer winner David Horsey, formerly of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer — even though I was a devoted reader of the Seattle Times. Well, the P-I ceased paper publication and went to web only a few years ago, and so David eventually left for greener pastures, namely the Los Angeles Times. Thanks to the internet, however, I've still been able to enjoy his work (even though I live in neither Seattle anymore nor Los Angeles), such as this cartoon on the end of the Republican National Convention. Gee, Mitt Romney looks familiar there. (And I will add, as I frequently do, that all political cartoons presented on this blog are here for Oz content only. I do not claim to endorse or condone any views expressed by the cartoonists. Any comments anyone cares to make pertaining to said viewpoints will be completely ignored.) This is not Horsey's first brush with Oz, I might add. Check out the cover he drew for this collection of Ronald Reagan cartoons back in the '80s.
• Finally, a surprise Oz-ish reference on Futurama, of all shows. Professor Farnsworth is finally persuaded to buy new uniforms for the Planet Express Delivery crew, and they go to a local tailor's shop to see what they have. Everything they try on comes from a classic science fiction movie or television show, as you can see here: Recognize what the Professor (on the left) is wearing? Here, does this refresh your memory? Yes, that's Sean Connery as Zed in Zardoz. For those who have seen Zardoz, you know the connection to The Wizard of Oz. If not, maybe you should try — if the image of Sean Connery above hasn't totally scared you off! In Futurama, the tailor (seen above on the right — no, that's not Dr. Zoidberg, just a member of the same species) says something along the lines of, "The Zardoz doesn't work for everybody, but you pull it off." To which Amy (sitting down) replied, "Eww, don't pull it off!" That line made Laura laugh very hard. (Incidentally, where does Amy's costume come from? It looks familiar, so I think I should know it, but I can't place the show.)

And good news, everybody! I started a new job a couple of weeks ago, so I should finally be getting to a comfortable place where I can really start expanding my Oz collection (among other things) soon. However, it also means less spare time, so I may be doing more catch up blog posts like this on weekends between now and summer. But fewer posts here doesn't mean I'm not an Oz fan any more. I think that's going to be with me until the day I die, and even that may stop me entirely.