The avant-garde director Alejandro Jodorowsky was supposed to make ‘Dune’ in 1975, starring Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, and featuring original music by Pink Floyd. What happened?
There are plenty of fascinating unrealized projects from great directors – Sergio Leone’s “Stalingrad,” Martin Scorsese’s “Dino,” and David Lynch’s “Ronnie Rocket” among them – but few as unlikely and bizarre as Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “Dune.” Frank Herbert’s beloved sci-fi novel was eventually adapted by Lynch in a version that sees him grappling with studio interference and a gigantic scale the director clearly isn’t comfortable with, so giving the project to another famous surrealist doesn’t necessarily sound like a great idea. Yet in “Jodorowsky’s Dune,” Frank Pavich’s documentary about the aborted project, Jodorowsky proves to be as charming and thoughtful as he is wildly ambitious, to the point where it’s hard to believe that anyone could resist the man.
‘Jodorowsky’s Dune’ and the Allure of the Unmade Masterpiece
Jodorowsky’s Dune’ Director Frank Pavich on 2,000 Defecating Extras and How ‘Dune’ Became Part of the Cosmic Consciousness
Dune is in Your Head
The mirage of Jodorowsky’s Unfilmed Epic