El Topo Review

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Holy shit, there ain't nothing like "El Topo." I think as a viewer, if you ever find a copy of this obscure masterpiece without having to sell any organs, you better be prepared to take the most insane sober trip you can ever imagine. Written, directed by and starring Alejandro Jodorowsky, "El Topo" begins with the West's greatest gunfighter. He is a silent, bold, angry type, and he exacts revenge with chilling efficiency in early scenes, rescuing a small child and adopting him on his journey into the far west.

Eventually, some shit goes down involving these priests (it differs depending on exactly what version of this film you are watching) and the child is left behind in favor of a luscious, leggy lady who follows El Topo on his journey. Together, in between eliminating the competition, some of the West's finest sharpshooters, they roll around naked together in the desert, having wild, scandalous, violent sex. El Topo has an impure heart, and he will pay for living a life of sin.

*SPOILER* And indeed he does, drowning in a pool of blood shortly after killing the finest, and final, gunslinger of the West. At this point, he is reborn underground as part of a peace loving society of genetic mutations. *END OF SPOILER* You may be thinking, I suppose this is the part where things get batshit crazy, but that would only illuminate how much I've chosen not to say in this review. The fact is, it's far before this where the film began wallowing in batshit craziness.

The sad truth about the availability of this movie is you're bound to struggle to find it outside of America. If you're an American reader, though, start fishing. Allen Klein is the man keeping this film out of American distribution. Back in 1970, when John Lennon of the Beatles saw the film, he let Klein know of his desire to fund Jodorowsky's next film, which would be "Holy Mountain". Klein ended up negotiating a deal to also own the North American distribution rights to "El Topo", rights which Klein still has, long after Lennon's death. Klein has publicly claimed that he will not grant the film North American video/DVD release until Jodorowsky dies. Unfortunately, Jodorowsky is kept alive by the hope of making "Son of El Topo", a project in the works for years that, despite the one time involvement of Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson, cannot get financing, mostly because of the American unfamiliarity of the original.

Anyway, "El Topo" is a visionary accomplishment in film, perhaps the first and greatest midnight classic of its time. Much of its imagery defines the word "unforgettable," and it's safe to say you really will never, ever, EVER see anything like "El Topo". Just get back to me and tell me what language the characters in the Polish-Mexican Jodorowsky's film are actually speaking: the copy of the film I had was dubbed in English with Korean subtitles.

Review by: Gabe Toro