El Topo vs. The Holy Mountain

admiralpiett

on 8/12/2010

How is there no comment for this matchup? Both of Jodorowsky's macho-surrealist masterpieces are fascinatingly laced with religious symbolism and vaguely reminiscent of Leone westerns (El Topo much more so). Both star the director as some sort of shaman; both create spaces, images and endings utterly unique, and both feel like they have something very important to say, but somehow I don't speak the language. All in all, I guess I'd have to take El Topo, just because I feel like it had fewer sequences that felt dated or goofy, but both are worth hunting down if you feel like crawling into the subconscious of an eccentric for a couple of hours.

ninjaraiden7777

on 6/26/2012

Man what a hard choice, two of my favorite films. Think El Topo takes it for me...

Eagleskywalker87

on 1/29/2018

I love El Topo. Great symbolism, a meaningful story and gritty filmmaking! It transcends what we're taught about filmmaking basically creating a genre of its own. The Holy Mountain just didn’t do it for me. It’s dull, pointless and ultimately dissatisfying. Even what it’s implying is kinda vague but I could’ve ignored it if it was engaging and had a good enough story built around the themes while also offering some visually interesting moments. Except, it doesn’t making for one of those "why am I still here" experiences!