In the year 2293 A.D., Sean Connery will wear a red loincloth and bandoliers, and he will liberate a society from the onus of eternal life. Connery, as Zed, plays an Exterminator, a superior member of the Brutals, down-genus survivors in a postapocalyptic clan that bows to the godhead Zardoz. Beyond the ken of the Brutals exists the Vortex, a technological commune whose ageless inhabitants advance toward intellectual perfection while tottering on the brink of boredom. Into this citadel of ennui comes alpha-male Zed, arousing more than suspicions, especially among two Vortices played by Charlotte Rampling and Sara Kestelman. A director who specializes in giving genre a dressing down, Boorman (Point Blank, Deliverance) defrocks the sci-fi fantasy with great wit, scalding social critique, and remarkable visual ingenuity. His New World Order goes toppling, and with it science, art, and even good manners. According to Zardoz, a breechcloth trumps brains every time.

—Steve Seid

• Written by Boorman. Photographed by Geoffrey Unsworth. With Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman, John Alderton. (105 mins, Color, 35mm, From Criterion/20th Century Fox)