An adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune by filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky was perhaps too bold, too incredible to ever come into existence. The jovial and boisterous Jodorowsky, the director behind the surreal cult classics El Topo and Holy Mountain, set out to make a film he believed could change the world, perhaps the cinematic equivalent of the monolith in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, heralding the birth of a Star Child in our reality. Could it be done? Would Jodorowsky have been able to elevate mankind’s consciousness with an adaptation of a beloved science fiction novel? We’ll never know, but thanks to the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune by Frank Pavich, we have the definitive “making of” chronicle of a film that was never made… maybe even the greatest film never made.
Jodorowsky’s Dune was one of my anticipated films at Fantastic Fest and it did not disappoint. A celebration of creativity and collaboration, it tells the story of how Jodorowsky and producer Michel Seydoux assembled an international team of “warriors” to produce the proposed world-altering film. Behind the scenes, they had artists Jean “Mœbius” Giraud, Chris Foss, and H. R. Giger. Dan O’Bannon, coming off Dark Star, would do the special effects. Jodorowsky’s son Brontis would play the lead character of Paul, but he’d be surrounded by the most astonishing of casts, including Orson Welles, Mick Jagger, David Carradine, and even Salvador Dalí. Pink Floyd and other popular bands of the time would provide the music. Its runtime would be as long as it needed to be – 12 hours, or 20 hours, Jodorowsky proclaims in the film. After two years of work, the team produced a hardcover tome—collecting the screenplay, storyboards for the entire film, costume and set designs—and sent it to every studio in Hollywood, eager to prove they had the logistics of the film figured out and ready to shoot.
The presentation of the project impressed many, but it became clear that the scope of the project and the wild card of a director were too much of a risk, and the project exploded like a supernova. Despite the fact the film was never made, as this documentary shows, Jodorowsky and his team had profound impact in the future of science-fiction cinema that continues today. Its stardust can be found in dozens of films that were made in the decades that followed. The documentary reveals how much of Jodorowsky’s Dune you’ve seen by virtue of its influence on others. It’s remarkable and uplifting, even though the world is left without his vision on the big screen.
To tell this bold story, Pavich gathers nearly all the living “warriors” to recount their experiences, along with a few other filmmakers and film historians. Just like the original production, Jodorowsky leads the show, now in his 80s, but with the energy of a teenager. His passion is inexhaustible and his words often ridiculous and bizarre. He likened adapting Herbert’s book to a husband forcibly taking his wife on their wedding night. He joyfully proclaims that he was raping Herbert (figuratively, of course), and the audience can’t help but applaud. He tells of how he coerces other larger-than-life figures like Welles and Dalí into agreeing to take roles in the film, with tactics that only reinforced his status as a mad artist/genius. As you watch him and his warriors tell their story, you come to believe they might have pulled it off—if given the opportunity, they really could have made the preposterous film they set out to make. And you can’t help but laugh at the number of warriors—including Jodorowsky himself initially—who never actually read the book while on this project.
Just as the magic of Jodorowsky’s project influenced other films, Jodorowsky’s Dune had some magic of its own. The reunion of Jodorowsky and Michel Seydoux led to the production of The Dance of Reality, Jodorowsky’s first film in 23 years. It’s one of my most anticipated films of 2014. And now someone needs to publish that Dune production book which is featured throughout the documentary. Hey, Taschen, I’m looking at you.