Plot
The story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 8.2/10 (299 voted)
Critic's Score: 78/100
Director: Frank Pavich
Stars: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, H.R. Giger
Storyline
The story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.
Cast: Alejandro Jodorowsky -
Himself
Michel Seydoux -
Himself
H.R. Giger -
Himself
Chris Foss -
Himself
Brontis Jodorowsky -
Himself
Richard Stanley -
Himself
Devin Faraci -
Himself
Drew McWeeny -
Himself
Gary Kurtz -
Himself
Nicolas Winding Refn -
Himself
Diane O'Bannon -
Herself
Christian Vander -
Himself
Jean-Pierre Vignau -
Himself
Amanda Lear -
Herself
Dan O'Bannon -
Himself
(archive sound)
While this film is a fairly marvellous documentary, how it effects you
is largely down to what you already know, and also what you remember of
the 70s.
I had heard rumours about an original attempt to create Dune (something
similar happened to LotR) but didn't know it was an attempt by a mad
Svengali who hired some of the greatest talent available.
As the names were mentioned, my mouth started to drop open - was this a
hoax? Why had I never heard of this? Did he really track down Orson
Welles by searching for good restaurants in Paris? Was Jodorowsky a
fantasist? The interviews they did get were fairly stellar. During
which the alarmingly nutty director himself mangled English and reality
describing his glorious quest to create the greatest human experience.
This has more than a shade of a mockumentary about it simply because of
the grandiose material. And on reflection, we should have seen more.
Just seeing Gigers models was astonishing.
Keeping Jodorowsky on screen revealed what the film could have been, as
well as why it could never have worked. The moment when he finally saw
the trite Dino de Horrendous version of Dune that sank without trace in
the 80s was lovely.
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