Jodorowsky's Dune (Documentary, 2014)

[The Stingray]

Back in the 1970s, Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to make a big screen take on Frank Herbert's novel Dune. Even today, fresh attempts to make a film based on the book struggle, but there's a real sense that this 1970s take is one of the great lost science-fiction movies.

 

Now, a documentary has charted Jodorowsky's attempts to bring Dune to the big screen, and how the project fell apart after two years of work. That said, lots of concept work was done, and it got some way down the road. The documentary features key interviews and access to lots of behind the scenes material.

 

Jodorowsky planned to film the story as a ten-hour feature, in collaboration with Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, Gloria Swanson, David Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Alain Delon, Hervé Villechaize and Mick Jagger. It was at first proposed to score the film with original music by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Henry Cow and Magma; later on, the soundtrack was to be provided by Pink Floyd. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction periodicals, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Metal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Moebius began designing creatures and characters for the film, while Foss was brought in to design the film's space ships and hardware. Giger began designing the Harkonnen Castle based on Moebius' storyboards. Jodorowsky's son Brontis Jodorowsky was to play Paul Atreides. Dan O'Bannon was to head the special effects department.

 

 

For more on the story behind Jodorowsky's attempts to adapt Dune, check out this excellent article: http://thequietus.com/articles/02992-jodorowsky-s-dune-and-the-greatest-films-never-made

 

All was not lost however, as Jodorowsky used his experiences on Dune as inspiration to create the comic book The Incal together with French artist Moebius, which salvaged parts of the story (Read it, it's awesome!). The Incal would in turn be made into an animated feature, but that project was also ultimately canned.

 

Trailer for the unmade The Incal:

 

Edited February 14, 2014 by The Stingray

[Jussslic]

I'm a hugeee fan of both Moebius and Chris Foss.... incredibly excited to see this doc. 

 

$179M/450M 

 

But seriously, I will probably cry tears of joy at least once during this.

Edited February 14, 2014 by Jussslic

[RichWS]

AHHHH opens at the Film Forum on March 21st.

[luna]

and for any of you who don't know who jodorowsky is...

 

[The Stingray]

97% from 33 reviews on RT. I want this!

[lilmac]

I'm intrigued.  

 

Imagine if George Lucas never got to make Star Wars.  I can see a doc like this getting made along the same lines.  

Edited March 23, 2014 by lilmac