MOVIE PROFILE: HOLY MOUNTAIN
July 28, 1997, marked the release of one of the most IMPORTANT albums in Hip-Hop HISTORY…. This opus was an amalgamation of rhythmic cacophony, unorthodox rhyme patterns, & brutal esoteric lyricism. The whole album was blended together with skits that sounded like post-apocalyptic public service announcements.
FAST FORWARD to 2003… At this period in my life I am balancing managing a used music/movie store, mic barbarism with my first group, BROADY CHAMPS, & trying to figure out life after college. While digging thru DUSTY crates of VHS tapes, I came across a film called SANTA SANGRE…Something about the cold blank stare of the female mime, dressed as a ballerina on the cover intrigued me. This would be my SECOND introduction to the work of Chilean filmmaker, writer, & composer, ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY.
After watching & digesting this film I had to seek out his earlier works! Through research I would discover EL TOPO, & HOLY MOUNTAIN. Less than 20 minutes into the latter movie, I began to recognize lines of the script and realized that, “THIS IS WHERE COMPANY FLOW GOT THEM SKITS FROM!”.
I’m NOT gonna go into details about this film, but I WILL say that it a MASTERPIECE that blends fashion & modern art with underlying social & political themes. It was released in the 70’s so there is definitely a VERY non-hippie psychedelic feel to it. You can find this film by itself, but I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing the box-set entitled, “THE FILMS OF ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY”. Not only do you get HOLY MOUNTAIN, but you also get two of his other films; FANDO Y LIS, as well as the aforementioned EL TOPO & 2 cds of musical scores from the films. This collection provided PLENTY of FACE MELTAGE during my tenure as a resident of blapmaster, DNAEBEAT’S palatial flat! Wanna know how we get inspired to make our music??? WATCH THIS FILM!
