In 1975, Chilean-French auteur director Alejandro Jodorowsky obtained the rights to direct an adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal science-fiction classic, "Dune." The movie was to star Salvador Dali, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger, feature music by Pink Floyd and display visual designs by H.R. Giger ("Alien") and and Jean Giraud ("Moebius"). The script, described as a "phonebook," detailed a movie that would run for 14 hours. Jodorowsky's stated goal was to create a spiritual masterpiece that would help enlighten the world. It was a dream. It was doomed to failure.
"Jodorowsky's Dune," a documentary about Jodorowsky's "Dune," is the cinematic equivalent to that period of time between being waking and sleeping, where you can vividly remember all the beauty of your dreams without rationally realizing their raw nonsensicality.
But don't you love it?
Jodorowsky had previously directed "El Topo" and "The Holy Mountain." His movies are distinct, impressionistic, strange. I watched "The Holy Mountain" to prepare myself for "Jodorowsky's Dune," and it disturbed me in a way most films haven't. It features a handless midget writing in dirt with a donkey leg. That sort of thing.
The truth is, his version of "Dune" would have been immensely strange, probably nonsensical. A monster of a film.
That said, "Jodorowsky's Dune" sweeps you up in Jodorowsky's mad fantasies. As soon as he got the rights, he set about creating a team of "spiritual warriors" to bring his vision to the screen. The aforementioned names, as well as special effects artist Dan O'Bannon ("Alien"), all answered his call. The movie is structured around how he recruited his team. They recruited Welles with a bribe of catered food. They lied to Dali about his screen time and payment. Every name, every story, dawns new amazement.
"Jodorowsky's Dune" features interviews with all of the surviving principle creators of the movie. It's a wealth of knowledge. If you're a fan of science-fiction, you can't help giggle with glee.
But, "spiritual warriors"? The more you think about the film, the more it starts to become a strange cult of personality centered around Jodorowsky. He's portrayed as a shaman, a mystic of cinema. It's not unreasonable; most of his "warriors" went on to define contemporary science fiction and comics, through "Alien" and "Moebius" artwork. Yet still, Jodorowsky's "Dune" went through a fifth of its budget in pre-production, and would have probably been unwatchable if it had ever been produced. Take, for instance, the strange "conception of Paul" scene where blood turns to sperm and creates a spiritual god-like being (liberally changed from the book). "Dune" would have been an artifact relegated to the Criterion Collection on a film student's wall, whispered about in select circles — perhaps not dissimilar to David Lynch's "Dune," which was the result of this version falling apart.
Jodorowsky: a mad man, a failure?
Look at me, rationalizing. Thinking about it. "Jodorowsky's Dune" isn't meant to be thought about. It's meant to be felt, imagined. It's so vivid, so real when described by Jodorowsky and his cohorts.
I want to watch this movie. I want to watch this movie. I want to watch this movie.
Dreams, strong dreams, leave you emotionally inebriated for a split second. Movies should feel the same way. "Jodorowsky's Dune" and, by extension, Jodorowsky's "Dune," is the closest a movie has come to emulating that in my waking life in quite some time.
In that sense, I think Jodorowsky has, almost 40 years later, succeeded.
"Jodorowsky's Dune" is available on Blu-ray and DVD combo pack July 8.