#sara kestelman

[mbharestuff]

Sara Kestelman's performance as Kreia in KOTOR 2 really is a huge part of why the game is so memorable. She plunges into the character; she played Lady Macbeth and my god you can feel that energy.

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[lobbycards]

Zardoz, Italian lobby card (fotobusta), 1974

[motionpicturelover]

"Lisztomania" (1975) - Ken Russell

Films I've watched in 2024 (52/?)

Nothing I could say here would adequately describe this film, except maybe saying it feels like a very mid-70s Ken Russell fever dream. (Which I suppose it actually is...)

Full film on Archive.org

[voiceemporium]

Kreia in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 voiced by Sara Kestelman

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[tparadox]

Yesterday's Movies wishes Zardoz would end.

Zardoz. 20th Century Fox 1974 View On WordPress

[adamwatchesmovies]

Zardoz (1974)

Anyone with a passing interest in bad movies has heard of Zardoz. At the very least, they’ve seen screenshots of Sean Connery in his… iconic wardrobe. The sad truth is this film is neither good nor so-bad-it’s-good. It’s got plenty of jaw-dropping moments and some iconic lines but for the most part, this is some pretentious, dull nonsense.

By 2293, civilization has broken down. Mankind is separated into two clans: the Brutals, who rape and murder anyone in their path as part of their worship of their god, Zardoz… and their victims. Or so Zardoz's disciples have been taught. When Zed (Sean Connery) stows away inside Zardoz’s giant stone head, he learns his deity is fake; part of an experiment by a more advanced, hidden civilization of humans called the Eternals.

The film begins with the Zardoz’s pilot (sporting the fakest goatee and moustache I’ve ever seen) breaking the fourth wall and talking to the audience directly, basically giving away chunks of the plot in the process. There’s nothing else like it anywhere, leading me to believe it was hastily written and added late in the production - perhaps to lead audiences into believing this is a comedy. It strongly resembles the narration of Plan 9 from Outer Space but this film wishes it was entertaining as Ed Wood’s best-known film.

There are small nuggets of inspiration in this film produced, written and directed by John Boorman - whose second-best known work is probably The Exorcist II: The Heretic (yikes!) . The Eternals live forever. Incarceration would be meaningless so how do you punish those who misbehave? You force them to age. They won’t die no matter how many months or years they’re given but living forever as an old man sure would suck. Other concepts like the whole “fake deity” thing have been done before but hold much potential. Otherwise… anything “good” about this movie is simply amusing because of how awful it is.

Chants of “The gun is good, the penis is bad”. Pompous immortals blithering on and on about the nature of things. Sean Connery in an embarassing outfit being dragged around sets as we explore the would-be fascinating world that spawned two diametrically opposed civilizations. Immortals becoming confused about sex and reproduction. That’s what you have to look forward to if you pop Zardoz into your player. Granted, some of these I’ll treasure for a long time and will mentally revisit for a laugh. The film as a whole? I'd never want revisit again. This sci-fi… drama? Adventure? Is boring. You sit there, waiting for the story to play out the way you expect it to - and it does - up until the ending, which throws a curveball at you by making absolutely no sense. It’s infuriating because you know if you sat down with the director’s commentary and listened to what he had to say, you wouldn’t even get an explanation - comically loopy or not - he’d just say nothing up until the credits begin rolling and then blurt out “yeah I think that pretty much speaks for itself”.

If you’re morbidly curious, you could sit own with Zardoz the one time. Even then, it’d be mostly for bragging rights. Nothing about this movie is endearing and even when I found a redeeming aspect, none of this story is salvageable. Trust me. I gave you a summary and picked out the choice bits to discuss. Surrounding them is a whole lot of nothing. (On DVD, September 20, 2019)

[tobyig]

Exile's and Kreia's conversation at the Jedi Enclave after killing the Jedi Order is. Godly. (this is a long one)

Kreia: "Is it as you expected?"

Exile: "You said all that is left of the Jedi will be here."

K: "Yes, and that is why this place is empty."

E: "But where is the order? And the rest of the Jedi?"

K: "Your actions have crippled the Order, perhaps destroyed them."

E: "Then I have wiped them out."

K: "No...perhaps...it is difficult to say. For every Jedi slain, for every Sith slain, another rises. But the Order is wounded, yes."

E: "Why have you brought me here?"

K: "Because there is something we must discuss. The destruction of the Order, the Masters, it was not an end in itself. I did not expect them to still live, their presence was...knowledge I did not possess. But now this has been corrected, and now the sides of this conflict are as I had thought them to be. There are no more unknowns. And what you have done - it is not enough."

E: "What do you mean?"

K: "Although I did not expect them to still live, I had hoped you would learn something from the Jedi Masters as they fell before you. Not just of battle, but of yourself...and the force."

E: "What was I supposed to learn?"

K: "I must know if killing them, if revenge brought you any measure of satisfaction. If seeing them dead has settled the disquiet within you."

E: "Why do you wish to know?"

K: "Because it matters to me, in a way that never mattered to the Jedi, to the Council when they cast you out. You must understand - I did not wish the Jedi dead. Defeated...perhaps. I merely wished them to see that they and their teachings were wrong. That one could not truly understand the Force simply by adhering to the Jedi Code. All I have ever trained have been failures to them, students who went to fight the Mandalorians, who fell to the dark side, who abandoned their training. To see one that had the strength to best them, that is a moment I will not forget. Yet, it has not been as satisfying as I had hoped. To best them in battle is one thing. To defeat them without striking a blow - that was my hope. Regardless...it had to be done. To have such powerful Jedi still live, still felt in the Force even on such worlds as they had chosen, was a threat to be ended."

E: "What do you mean?"

K: "Let us return to my question. If by killing these Jedi, if you gained any measure of peace."

E: "Yes, but there is still other opponents - it is not enough to kill Jedi, when the Sith remain."

K: "It is as I thought. You have failed me. Completely, and utterly. I have taught you to hear the force again, shown you the contrast, and yet you do not understand. This is what you have wrought. Countless murderers, slayers, assassins, born of war that has as always, has taught the wrong lesson. You showed them life without the Force - and instead of showing them truth, power, all you showed them was how the galaxy may die. You are responsible for all of this. Even now, events spiral towards destruction, and there is nothing that can be done because you refuse to listen, to understand. You have seen the effects you have on those close to you, heard the echoes scream across dead planets, and watched as your strength has grown. Yet it is for nothing. To have the Jedi Masters brought low by such a failure, there is no victory in that. You have not heard a thing I have taught, and for all I have said, you have never learned to listen. Vrook was right to come here, though he did not recognize the connection until too late. This place will hide you from the Sith for a time - enough to do what must be done. You were my last hope, the only one who could change what is to come. And now you have left me nothing. I shall teach you no longer. Our bond remains, but that is all. Stay here and die, apprentice, among the wreckage of all that remains of the Jedi. It is a fitting grave until the Sith come to end you...to end everything. And as you lie here, I pray you will listen...and finally awaken."

Kreia (telepathically): "Vrook was right to come here, though he did not realize the connection until too late. All life is connected by the force. You have felt it in your companions, your choices affecting theirs, their actions mirroring yours. Imagine such incidents, spreading outwards. From the smallest of actions, the smallest of cruelties and kindnesses, great tragedies are made. The wounds inside people, the wounds suffered by planets...both cause echoes, heard and felt through the Force. And these echoes build, and all that can hear them shall become deafened...or die. Choose the right moment, create the right echo, and then all shall be destroyed. And there are those that feed on such deaths. And when no life is left, they shall consume themselves. You have taught them to bond with others, and then feed on that bond. What you have brought is the death of all who can feel the force. It is your gift to the galaxy, exile. And unless you hear it and silence the echo you have caused, then every living thing, everywhere, that is touched by the Force...will die."

woah. that was a lot. but i'm most interested in Kreia's final spoken paragraph ("It is as I thought. [...] I pray you will listen...and finally awaken.")

There are so many absolute bangers in this paragraph.

- "It is as I thought. You have failed me. Completely and utterly."

(the line that i read and immediately my jaw dropped to the floor btw)

It is well known in the game what Kreia's intentions are--don't kill force sensitives, kill the Force. She says in an earlier paragraph, "For every Jedi slain, for every Sith slain, another rises."

We did not do as she wanted--not even close. not only did countless Jedi and Sith die at our hands during the Mandalorian Wars, but even more died in the time it takes to complete the story of the game. Countless Sith assassins, soldiers, lords, Jedi Masters, and more all died at our hands. We merely transferred the power into another persons hands.

This line also plays heavily into the Lord of Betrayal title she has, cause...i mean woah. In the Sion battle, you have options to try to convince him that Kreia (Darth Treya) won't ever see his potential as he does--not as strength in the Force, but as weakness for using it. and the same is happening here.

"You showed them life without the Force - and instead of showing them truth, power, all you showed them was how the galaxy may die."

is an exact example of her repeated ideals. It's what we get during the Sion/Exile battle now here.

Also, reading

"To see one that had the strength to best them, that is a moment I will not forget." and then "To have the Jedi Masters brought low by such a failure, there is no victory in that."

was an absolute punch to the gut.

[alilyamongroses]

Sorry for the bad image quality but this costume worn by Sara Kestelman as Lady Macbeth from the Victoria & Albert museum is very much giving Jane Seymour at Wolf Hall

[kwebtv]

The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling - BBC One - November 9, 1997 - December 7, 1997

Historical (5 episodes)

Running Time: 60 minutes

Stars:

John Sessions as Henry Fielding

Benjamin Whitrow as Squire Allworthy

Brian Blessed as Squire Western

Max Beesley as Tom Jones

Samantha Morton as Sophia Western

Frances de la Tour as Aunt Western

Ron Cook as Mr Partridge

Richard Ridings as Reverend Thwackum

Christopher Fulford as Mr. Square

Michael Cronin as Dr. Blifil

Sylvester McCoy as Mr Dowling

James D'Arcy as Blifil

Peter Capaldi as Lord Fellamar

Michelle Fairley as Mrs Fitzpatrick

Lindsay Duncan as Lady Bellaston

Kathy Burke as Honour

Brian Pettifer as Parson Supple

Camille Coduri as Jenny Jones

Celia Imrie as Mrs. Miller

Kelly Reilly as Nancy Miller

Matt Bardock as Jack Nightingale

Sara Kestelman as Mrs. Wilkins

Tessa Peake-Jones as Bridget Allworthy

Doreene Blackstock as Abigail

Richard O'Callaghan as Mr. Fitzpatrick

Roger Lloyd Pack as Anderson

Brian Hibbard as George Seagrim

Con O'Neill as Captain Blifil

Rachel Scorgie as Molly Seagrim

Jane Danson as Betty Seagrim

Alexei Sayle as Puppeteer

Neil Dudgeon as Puppeteer's Assistant

Paul Barber as Adderley

Julian Firth as Northerton

Rupert Holliday-Evans as Lord Connaught

Amy Marston as Susan

Norman Lovett as Mr. Follett

June Whitfield as Mrs. Whitfield

Tim Healy as Mr. Nightingale Sr.

[kisafilms]

Zardoz (1974)

John Boorman directs Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling and Sara Kestelman in this sci-fi fantasy where a brutal warrior hides in a flying stone head to discover how the secret society who control his people live. Another folly. This one from before my time. Infamous for Big Tam strutting around the Irish countryside in a bandolier, […] Zardoz (1974)

[codycawdren]

Zardoz (1974)

Director: John Boorman Starring: Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman In the late 23rd century, a savage trained only to kill finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity’s achievements. If you’re a Sean Connery fan, you have to see ‘Zardoz’ – not for the film; for him!! This meaty hunk of a man with his lean body and hairy chest is wearing…

[teratomat]

Morning, Mrs Winnicka.

[quietparanoiac]

Gentleman Jack!Rawsons who don't look the same: s01 VS s02

[clemsfilmdiary]

Zardoz (1974, John Boorman)

7/24/21