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Sean Connery, John Boorman, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelmen, & others.

1957 British sci-fi film set in the future where human kind is divide into two groups.

One is a small band of godlike intellectuals maintained eternally youthful by a secret and hidden machine. The machine records all their thoughts so it can clone and resume their memories them from the exact point they die in the remote chance they are killed.

The rest of the human race is reduced to barbarianism fighting amongst themselves for scarce resources. To make matters worse the intellectuals act as antagonistic gods from their barrier protected haven giving weapons pitting one tribe against another.

One intellectual has lured one barbarian (Sean) to a library of books and given him the gift (or curse) of literacy. Now more aware of the true nature of the world Sean stows himself away aboard the flying craft used to exchange weapons and supplies for food.

Once in their protected camp the intellectuals decide to toy with their new pet barbarian. However the barbarian is better prepared than they know. Much of the rest of the film has some interesting philosophical debates between Sean and the intellectuals. (At least I liked it when I saw it back in my college days.)

At one point Sean challenges them to do something like explore the stars with their unlimited life spans. The one intellectual responds in an almost yawning "been there, done that, nothing interesting to see" dismissal.

It becomes apparent as to how bored the intellectuals are with their immortality. Many had even committed suicide only to be "restored" by the hidden machine that maintains them.

Definitely a film worth looking up if you are taking a philosophy course. However, not for the kids since it contains some sexual content including both a physical rape and a "mind rape" scene.

Does order reduce to chaos? Rent it (if you can find it) to find out.

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