BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Micitype Pretty Good

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

adrianawebuhm I wasn't immediately convinced with this film, El Topo. The initial scenarios seemed too strange in an ugly sort of way... to put it simply. However it gradually became clear that this was the intended style of the beginning of the film and I decided to see the film for what it is, instead of what it wasn't. Then it continued to change. I was engaged by the Western element of the film. Jodorowsky himself played quite a stylish lead actor, and while the film was weird, it began to get weirder... in a good way. It had a unique taste. This wasn't your average Spaghetti Western wannabe. This was a truly unique film. Some of the images and montages that transpired were awe-inspiring and it started to become clearer that this was a real art work and not just an ordinary film. As the film went on it reached a metaphysical level, really mythical too. As with films like Embrace of the Serpent from South America, you feel that Jodorowsky is both critical of the bizarre Christian symbolism he mixes with the native peoples of those parts. He creates a unique fusion that I must admit, I don't know very much of how this all fits into the history and culture in Chile or South America... nevertheless I found El Topo to be quite a fascinating piece!

mikequinlan61 Saw this when it came out many years ago, and was appalled to find that so many of my friends considered this mess to be a 'good' movie. It is, in fact, a pastiche of art film clichés with a load of whipped cream, jimmies and a cherry-on-top existentialism for idiots. I commented at the time on how the visuals were perceived within the framework of drug culture stating that while stoned on pot and well under the influence, 'El Topo' becomes a violent, would-be erotic freak show, and that, I suppose can be very heavy for some viewers. For others, it is enough to make one yawn. So, take your drugs, let your jaw drop, and try to enjoy this watered down knock off of many better films. It certainly didn't work for me.Yes, it has some unusual imagery, designed to fascinate the clueless and titillate the TV hypnotized hordes, but in total, it is no more meaningful than an 'in depth' article in USA Today. A poor sensationalist film by a minor director whose subsequent career foundered badly.

Maleplatypus This movie (!?) reminded me of Monty Python, although it is not as nearly funny and clever. Apparently, in those days any number of shoots collected and somehow put together has been regarded as "movie". And got "cult" status instantly. This approach still has faithful followers nowadays (see - or don't - The Orphan Killer, paranormal Acticity, Blair Witch and such). And the less sense it makes, it is considered more "artistic". Like, acting is a shame, editing is something not worth bothering, and directing means (probably) explaining to the participants what they should do (or otherwise, if they do not feel like it) over a large amount of alcohol. Don't get me wrong: this movie (!?) has its moments and is a material worth remaking (by Terry Gilliam, for instance) but this... Jesus! Surreal? Introspective? Thoughtful? My ass! Plain stupid. Forget about it. It's that simple.

angry127 Those are a few of the things you will see in this movie. This film is hard to wrap your head around at times. There are scenes where characters change roles and appearance between shots, that change rather quickly. This isn't the reason the film is hard to wrap your head around. A lot of it has to do with the religious imagery. The film is filled with it as well as several bible verses. It seems as though different points are being made at different points in the movie, and that those points point to other matters which don't exist in the film. Starting to get the point? The film takes a more typical western feel near the beginning with the black gunman (EL Topo). This segment of the movie is action film and has a lot of the hooks of Western Genre Films (as well as 70's art house hooks). Later on the film takes a very different turn and feels a lot less like a western. Our main character acts and looks completely differently and his motivations are almost opposite in every way. We only feel the story cutting back together as El Topo reunites with a character earlier in the movie.The film has a superb visual flair and is littered with many types of religious imagery and symbolism. Whether it all makes sense to you or only some of it does, the film is well worth the journey.