Jodorowsky's Dune Review

by A.J.

Jodorowsky's Dune may appear at first to appeal only to film geeks and the art-house crowd, however, this is the most delightful and engaging documentary I've seen in years. I think even non-cinephiles will feel the same. If you've never heard of a version of Dune directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky that's because it was never made, but despite that little fact it still managed to influence science-fiction movies for decades and, along with Stanley Kurbick's Napoleon, is referred to as the greatest movie never made. 

Alejandro Jodorowsky's most famous films are the confounding, psychedelic western El Topo and the equally confounding, surreal The Holy Mountain. Though neither had a wide theatrical release both films still managed to find an underground fan base. El Topo, released in 1970, found a cult following from midnight screenings, becoming the first "Midnight Movie." With a larger budget and a more psychedelic spiritual vision, Jodorowsky followed up with The Holy Mountain in 1973 which caught the attention of French producer Michel Seydoux. When Seydoux asked Jodorowsky what he wanted make next Jodorowsky said "Dune" even though he had never read the novel. 

Jodorowsky's previous films were highly experimental and avant-garde using striking, surreal images, purposely provocative imagery and themes, and a complete lack of explanation for what you are seeing. El Topo and The Holy Mountain are not condescending assaults on the audience (like, in my opinion, the later films of Jean-Luc Godard), rather, they present a challenging journey and invite you to take part. Scenes in these movies are close enough to being understandable to keep you watching, but far away enough to keep you intrigued. The numbers his movies give you don't seem to make sense, but in the end add up to something substantial. Would his big budget adaptation of a well-loved fantasy novel be more traditional? Even mainstream? No, absolutely not. 

The team of talent Jodorowsky assembled to visualize Dune is unparalleled. French comic book artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud and the dark surrealist H.R. Giger would draw the world of Dune. Dan O'Bannon, fresh off working on John Carpenter's Dark Star, would create the special effects. Pink Floyd would do the music. Salvador Dali would play the evil emperor of the galaxy and Orson Welles would play the evil baron. To say that the vision for Dune was ambitious is a gross understatement. Today this version of Dune could be easily created with CGI, but in 1975 the special effects technology would more than likely not have lived up to the vision. 

Jodorowsky had no problem straying from the plot of the novel. He wanted to make a movie that would give the audience the experience of taking LSD without actually taking the drug. The best part of Jodorowsky's Dune is Jodorowsky himself talking about this unrealized movie and how he assembled his team of artists. He has such passion and enthusiasm that it is easy to understand how he was able convince all these people to drop everything, move to Paris, and work on a movie that did not have studio funding. Dune, directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, was turned down by every Hollywood studio, but the studios did take notice of the artists. 20th Century Fox would produce Dan O'Bannon's screenplay Alien and hire H.R. Giger to create the monster itself, which bore heavy similarities to the work Giger had done for Dune.

We get to see a glimpse of what all of those creative minds produced: a massive book of storyboards that tell the entire story of Dune as dreamed by Jodorowsky and his team. The sketches and drawings are truly a treat to see. They are equally mesmerizing and bizarre. Only two copies of that book exist today. I hope that some publishing house realizes what a wonderful piece of movie history and work of art still awaits to be seen. I know I would buy a copy. I want so bad to experience Jodorowsky's Dune.