"Jodorowsky's Dune"

It was a great documentary, but I can't imagine the actual film being very good as a Dune adaption. I enjoy Jodorowsky, but had this been made it shouldn't have been called "Dune".

 

It was an excellent doc, very inspiring and full of stimulating ideas. I still doubt it could have been carried off effectively at the time, but Jodorowsky is quite the charismatic madman. At the end, they make a strong case for how this film had an impact on movies even though it was never made. What I want to see is that pre-production book. Someone should reproduce THAT!

 

Finally saw this myself. While part of me wants to see another remake of Dune, I'm not quite sure this should be it. As "out there" and interesting as this would probably be, I think it misses the biggest point of the book (to me) even more than the Lynch film.

Jodorowsky turns this into a story about a real Prophet and thinks it will be the most important film ever. (The death of Paul in his version triggering a Universal Consciousness)

Frank Herbert's Dune made it quite clear that Paul was not a Prophet, just a gifted Human placed into a position so that he could maximize his potential. Paul is never comfortable in the role and fights it the whole way, using it strictly to gain his revenge upon the Harkonnens and the Emperor.

This changes somewhat in Dune Messiah and more so In Children of Dune, but there is still an underlying message by Herbert on the dangers of this.

Lynch also turns him into a God (The rain at the end along with Ghanima saying "He is the Kwisatz Haderach".

Ah well. Someday. Perhaps a multi part Animated series that stays close to the Book

 

Is the Blu-ray supposed to come with a slipcover? I found a used copy without one the other day, but I swear I remember seeing it somewhere with a slipcover....

 

Good documentary. Jodorowsky is a character.

 

I'm not quite convinced that had this film gone into production it would have replaced both LSD and Star Wars in one fell swoop.

People need to understand when you are putting a film together, the talent you get in the early stages are not necessarily what you get when schedules are checked, agents are involved, salaries are negotiated and budgets are checked.

This documentary includes a lot of deceased people (Welles, Dali, and O'Bannon) and people who did not appear for the film (most notably Jagger).

This to me is a lot of could have beens, but I think the final product would have fallen short of the wonderful film some have claimed we missed out on.

...and yes dear friends I have seen El Topo and the Holy Mountain.

 

Mine did not come with one.

 

I wish this film had ended up being made... even if the movie itself sucked, Floyd fans could still have an extra soundtrack album in their collections

 

Watched the documentary and fell in love with Jodo. He his a true artist in the best sense. Full of passion, exuberance, and spirit. How could you not be inspired by him leading a mad procession? I can also see a bunch of movie execs being scared of putting that much money in his hands back then. But it also show how few visionaries there are working in Hollywood. An entire storyboarded film with that incredible artwork? Fool. But Jodo is an amazing artist and such a wonderful man. He's just one of those special people meant to lighten up any room he's in. So full of energy and a wonderful storyteller. Just hearing the stories related to this film make it all worthwhile. My favorite story was one of such honesty and humor that I lost it laughing: The story where he learns David Lynch is making the movie and then goes to see it in the theater. I won't ruin it, but its absolutely hysterical. I'm sure those books are still around. My guess is Ridley Scott got his hands on one of them, too. Who knows how many others? Moebius is a genius. Love hearing how he could whip out frame after frame on a storyboard superfast, and have all the compositions and drawings be incredible. I need to read some Moebius today! I also agree that the artwork and plans may have been better with the finished cast, especially with those actors. We all know how those "celebrity" films turn out. Jagger is eh. Dali might have been a nightmare. And Welles also wasn't doing his best then. Those kinds of celebrity casts almost always fail. Art design: superlative, innovative, ahead of it's time. I think the overall look continues to influence modern films. The beauty of those spaceships!

 

I too got to see this not too long ago and while a very ambitious project, it still would have been quite surreal if he actually managed to get his vision off the ground. Very interesting how he wanted to get Pink Floyd and Magma to compose music for his film. That would have been huge! And I wonder whether Denis Villeneuve has access to one of Jodorowsky's books. Really looking forward to his take on Dune - and I'm hoping that the first book won't be condensed into a single film like Lynch's film. I'm hoping for a trilogy myself but even 2 2.5+ hour films could be sufficient in bringing us a faithful adaptation?

Finally got to watch the 2000 Dune Mini-Series for the first time last weekend. While not perfect, I do give props for being more faithful as an adaptation compared to Lynch's film but I didn't like how Thufir disappeared without any further mention following the attack on the Atreides. And now I'm currently watching through the Children of Dune Mini-Series. Interesting to see Susan Sarandon in there not to mention James McAvoy who was by far the best thing in that. While I've yet to read Dune Messiah and Children of Dune, I'd imagine both these books will be needing more than a film to do these books justice as well, yeah? Well, looking at the two books maybe Dune Messiah could get away with one film but CoD may need a couple films. I'm not expecting Denis Villeneuve to stay on that long so I'll be happy if another talented director took on the reigns after Denis is done with Dune. Heck, I would have been more excited with Ridley Scott's take over Jodorowsky's had he actually made his film(s). So sad to learn of Ridley's older brother passing away at quite a young age.

 

Lynch is perhaps my favorite director, but I hated the film. The miniseries I don't remember being that bad. It was certainly more faithful to the text.

 

Jodorowsky's graphic novels like The Incal and The Metabarons are great reads filled with beautiful illustrations. Probably the closest any of us will ever get to reading the super rare original Dune book.

 

Any news on the DVD/Blu-ray release of his latest?

 

Which one? Dance of Reality was released last month on DVD/blu.

 

No, the new one.... I had "Dance.." for a few years now.I think it's called, "Endless Poetry", the latest one.

 

Yeah, I'm wondering about this as well. I was one of the crowd-sourced backers of that one ("Endless Poetry"), and I got a download of the movie as a perk ... but without English subtitles. :-( Unfortunately, I only speak English, and know a bit of French. So I can't watch the movie and understand the dialog, so I haven't watched the download yet. I'm hopeful that someday a version with English subtitles will be made available.

 

oh, man..that's a bummer... how was the movie otherwise?

 

I haven't watched it at all, yet. Many backers posted complaint/request comments on the backer site, asking for a version to be provided with English subtitles, but as far as I know, none has been produced.

 

You are correct. I mispoke.
Endless Poetry came out last month
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B076...1515368599&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

 

Well, i hope at least the DVD comes with subtitles!

 

The blu does

 

Wow, thanks for letting us know the DVD/Blu-Ray is out for this movie!

Craig.

 

I just a moment ago received this email:

Pardon me while I now initiate downloading!

 

Missed the original convo by a few years But I have to take issue with people's assessment that his Dune would have been a disappointment.

Well, after seeing the documentary on what MIGHT have been, sure. But that's less of a commentary on his work than on the balance between an idealized vision and the finished product...ANY finished product, no matter when the product, or even the format. The idea of Brian Wilson's Smile will always be better than any completed version of it could be, even the one he might have made if he had stayed on task.

Jodo's Dune would have be an incredible piece of work. The special effects might not have aged well, but I'm confident to the point of certainty that the overwhelming mood that permeates Jodo's work (the work he made on his own terms, at least) would have rendered any lack of realism irrelevant. Even if half of his ideas had made it into the finished film, it would have been massively influential, and I agree with the documentary that the current sci-fi landscape would be profoundly different, if not greatly improved.

Comparing it to Lynch's Dune misses several points, I think. Lynch didn't really get to make his version, either, director's cut notwithstanding. As Jodo himself says in the doc, Lynch is a great artist, and Dune's flaws are the result of a meddling producer. Not saying Lynch's unfettered Dune would have been a masterpiece, but I think it's unfair to both parties to compare an unfinished (and therefore idealized) project to one that was finished but seriously compromised, no matter how compromised the unfinished one might have been had it been completed.

And Endless Poetry is, somehow, even better than Dance of Reality. If you had told me that right after seeing Dance of Reality the first time, I wouldn't have believed you. It's miraculous when an artist can make work that stands with their salad days that late in their career, especially with a filmography as daring and powerful as Jodo's.