was shot sequentially, entirely in Mexico, at a budget of $750,000. Jodorowsky was also instructed by Ichazo to take LSD for the purpose of spiritual exploration. He also administered psilocybin mushrooms to the actors during the shooting of the death-rebirth scene. Release The Holy Mountain was completed just in time for the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, where it was much awaited. Jodorowsky edited out twenty minutes of dialogue from the film, with the intention of removing as much dialogue as he could. The film had its premiere at Waverly Theatre, an art house movie theater in New York City on 29 November 1973, where it had restricted run at midnights on Friday and Saturday for sixteen months. It was also shown at Filmex on 30 March 1974, which was described as the "American premiere." At a few places it was released as a double bill with Jodorowsky's 1970 film, El Topo, and eventually became a cult film with its influence on popular culture. In 2010, the Alamo Drafthouse held a screening of The Holy Mountain as part of their "High for the Holidays" event. To commemorate this event, a limited-edition movie poster was designed by German artist Florian Bertmer. The DVD's extra segment includes a deleted scene in which we see two children; a young Brontis Jodorowsky and a naked girl, watching a cross made from television sets. In his commentary, Jodorowsky explains how the scene was deleted because the girl's mother threatened to sue for potential pedophilia because of the young girl's nudity. Home media The film was not given a wide release until over 30 years following its original premiere, except for two heavily censored Japanese LaserDisc releases. A restored print was shown in Cannes on 23 May 2006. It toured the United States, screening with El Topo. It was released in DVD format on 1 May 2007, and a Blu-ray was released on 26 April 2011. Reception On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Holy Mountain holds an approval rating of 84%, based on 25 reviews, and an average rating of 7.2/10. Its consensus reads, "A visual treat rich in symbolism, The Holy Mountain adds another defiantly idiosyncratic chapter to Jodorowsky's thoroughly unique filmography." References External links 1973 films 1973 drama films 1973 LGBT-related films Mexican avant-garde and experimental films Mexican drama films Mexican LGBT-related films 1970s English-language films 1970s Spanish-language films Films directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky Films