The Holy Mountain

1973 1h 55m ES

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 1,076

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The Alchemist assembles together a group of people from all walks of life to represent the planets in the solar system. The occult adept's intention is to put his recruits through strange mystical rites and divest them of their worldly baggage before embarking on a trip to Lotus Island. There they ascend the Holy Mountain to displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Alejandro Jodorowsky
The Alchemist
Horacio Salinas
The Thief
Zamira Saunders
The Written Woman
Juan Ferrara
Fon
Adriana Page
Isla
Burt Kleiner
Klen
Valerie Jodorowsky
Sel
Nicky Nichols
Berg

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Writers: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 13% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, shot by Rafael Corkidi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Don Cherry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Federico Landeros shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Alejandro Jodorowsky and Horacio Salinas and Zamira Saunders carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alejandro Jodorowsky directs. Rafael Corkidi behind the camera. Don Cherry scores. Federico Landeros cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 13% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
353 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
5Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, shot by Rafael Corkidi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Don Cherry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Federico Landeros shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Alejandro Jodorowsky and Horacio Salinas and Zamira Saunders carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt0071615 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 18 themes, including "mexico", "paraplegic", "christianity", "religion and supernatural".

The technical file

Cinematography: Rafael Corkidi
Original score: Don Cherry
Editing: Federico Landeros
Production design: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Costume design: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Makeup / hair: María Eugenia Luna
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $750,000
Box office: $96,262
Return: 13% of budget
Original language: ES
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Holy Mountain (1973)

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Alejandro Jodorowsky

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Sigeki Ogino2022-10-02
★ 10/10
This video work is visualized, "psychotherapy". It is truly in the realm of the divine. The numerous famous scenes, eccentric, unusually colorful, erotic, gross-out, and fully materialized by the alchemy of Mr. Alexandre Jodorowsky, can sufficiently heal patients with "mental disorders" as "psychotherapy" even if there is no dialogue in them. And the film is an ensemble of images of the perverts of the earth, including sexuality, grotesqueness, sanctity, love (or abuse) of the disabled, and contempt for animals, all in one film. This is not only Alejandro Jodorowsky's masterpiece, but (at least for me) I was healed by this film. It is this visual work, more than drugs or masturbation, that is the source of salvation for me. So this film is a Copernican turn in psychiatry beyond art. Thank you for saving me. And if you watch it without subtitles, you will have a much more enjoyable experience.
sharkgummies2026-01-18
★ 6/10
This is crazy. Imagine if art, god and a fever dream made a movie together. That's this. Half time i was like: ''what is going on?... oh, i get it... i don't get it...'' and that's the point. Every frame is loaded with symbolism and characters who represent systems rather than people. It’s often uncomfortable, sometimes absurd, occasionally funny, and intentionally excessive. The film isn’t subtle and it doesn’t want to be. It’s designed to provoke, confuse, and strip the viewer of passive consumption. It's gooood.
The Fixate & Binge Podcast, w/ Joe Curdy2026-07-29
★ 9/10
Whatever you are expecting -- nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing can prepare you for the viewing experience of Alejandro Jodorowsky's THE HOLY MOUNTAIN. If Warhol, Salvador Dali, David Lynch and Roald Dahl made a film together, you might get something like Jodorowsky's surrealist THE HOLY MOUNTAIN. Either the work of a genius, madman, or both -- Jodorowsky's film is a taboo-breaking, avant-garde fever dream that meanders from one shocking tableau to another. Narratively, the film seems designed to provoke or enlighten its viewers with endless religious imagery, death and fertility tropes that even today, 53 years after its release, still elicits strong reactions for or against it. The film earns its blasphemous epithet -- and seemingly wears it like a badge of honor, with its 'thief' (Horacio Salinas) not-so-subtly depicted as Jesus Christ, who ascends a Tolkien-esque tower to meet the mysterious Alchemist (Jodorowsky). Once there, the Thief and the Alchemist join forces with seven other worldly, wealthy elites who plot together to ascend the fabled Holy Mountain and overthrow nine immortal gods in their own bid to achieve immortality. Any semblance to the Heaven’s Gate death cult of the 1990s is, of course, purely coincidence. With graphic depictions of lechery, avarice, barbarism, animal sacrifices\* and -- yes -- even transmogrifying human excrement into literal gold -- Jodorowsky's THE HOLY MOUNTAIN is such a hallucinatory viewing experience, you might wonder if you accidentally licked a Sonoran Desert Toad (reportedly Jodorowsky administered psychedelics to his cast members during filming). With breathtaking visuals, and memorable artistic set pieces -- love it or hate it, Jodorowsky's film is both a sacrilegious metaphor for the degradations of the modern world, and a warning to live one's life with authenticity and meaning. \*Unfortunately, some animals are reported to have been actually harmed during the making of this film.