Episode 256: THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (1973) with Finn Odum

With returning guest and Perisphere senior editor Finn Odum! Alejandro Jodorowsky’s best-known film, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, is a psychedelic hero’s journey from rags to riches, from shit to gold, and from iniquity to enlightenment. It follows “The Thief” as he gives up his search for material wealth to join a cast of sinful sages on their way up the titular mountain and, hopefully, beyond the boundaries of human mortality. Its provocative antics and theatrics have made it a staple of arthouse cinema, and its never-ending jabs at every corner of taboo give it a provenance few other movies have shared. Joined by returning guest Finn Odum, we dive right in with a discussion of what “works,” what “doesn’t,” what “matters,” and what might be quietly brooding under Jodorowsky’s loud, panicked, off-the-rails storytelling style. “iPhones Will Also Be Sex Vibrators: An Ode to Little Freaks” by Finn Odum for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2023/12/01/iphones-will-also-be-sex-vibrators/ Find Finn… - On Twitter at https://twitter.com/Finnematic - On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/finnofthedead/ - On Trylove episodes about THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951), DIABOLIQUE (1955), and CON AIR (1997) Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Closing music: "The Tarot Will Teach You" by Alejandro Jodorowsky from the THE HOLY MOUNTAIN soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 256: THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (1979) 2:51 - The episode actually starts 4:45 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary 6:26 - Jodorowsky and the Panic Movement 9:58 - A movie that rewards broad interpretation 18:55 - Cynicism and sacrilege 24:13 - The planets as flawed and penitent people 31:13 - The ending 37:56 - The provenance of this movie vs. the reality of watching it 49:16 - What’s gonna stick with us from THE HOLY MOUNTAIN? 53:43 - The Junk Drawer 58:50 - Other Loves We’ve Tried: 1973 1:00:33 - Good Grief, Give Me a GIF!