Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)

JODOROWSKY'S DUNE as laid out in this documentary could've rivaled 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for sheer Nerve. 2001 crept along at a snail's pace, to be sure, but it eventually attempted to give us a glimpse of what lay at The End of the Universe. Good or bad, right or wrong, it crept along doggedly until it presented its Conclusion (such as it was). DUNE would've DWARFED 2001 just in terms of Story: the book touched on so many themes that to do the idea(s) justice would've required a SERIES of movies (of considerable length). David Lynch did a commendable job, all things considered, but his version of DUNE lacked the mind-bending FEEL that the Spiritual transmutation of Paul should've engendered; THAT would've taken a filmmaking savvy that the eccentric Lynch just didn't possess. (Maybe only Werner Herzog could've given us a closer approximation to what Frank Herbert had wrought.) The Harkonnens remain some of the vilest villains in the history of Science Fiction (especially in view of worldwide events over the past four decades), and it would be great to see them done justice.

Long before Frank Herbert's 'Dune' was adapted into a movie in 1984 and a miniseries in 2000, 'Santa Sangre' director Alejandro Jodorowsky originally attempted to bring the novel to screen and this documentary details how his ambitious project failed. The film consists of interviews with Jodorowsky and his former collaborators, as well as archive footage of those no longer alive. Through these interviews, it becomes clear that the project was always doomed from the start, but that it may have been a surefire interesting movie had it gotten off the ground. Obstacles to production are revealed to include cautious financiers, unwilling to fund a sci-fi film that would run for more than 90 minutes, and egotistical actors (Salvador Dalí apparently wanted $100,000 per minute for the privilege of appearing). As the documentary progresses though, it starts to veer off the deep end with its repeated wild claims (not suggestions) that 'Dune' would have been the new 'Star Wars' and the greatest science fiction film of all time had it gone ahead. Even wilder though is the conspiracy theory presented towards the end, with the filmmakers suggesting that everything from 'The Matrix' to 'Prometheus' took inspiration from Jodorowsky's storyboards for 'Dune' that (they reckon) were passed around all the big studios. While the film goes a little overboard in this regard, it is still fascinating viewing throughout. Animation is used particularly well to bring some of Jodorowsky's storyboards to life and to add extra detail to a record interview with Dan O'Bannon.

I love good documentaries and this is one of them but one thing to keep in mind about most of them is their need to steer and corral you into a point of view. The point of view of this one is that Jodorowsky's Dune wasn't made because of inflexibility and lack of vision by the Hollywood studio machine.The film ended with me thinking that was an unfair judgment. Two key factors would kill this film even today: One was the demand by Jodorowsky that the film be 15 hours. Imagine if the original Star Wars trilogy was made all at once into a 6 hour film. We'd certainly enjoy it but would many 13 year olds who fell in love with the first film be able to handle sitting for 6 hours straight even with an intermission? Also, three movies made 3 times more money than one.This film COULD have gotten made! If Jodorowsky started out from the Planet Caladan and ended on Arrakis just after the Baron had killed Duke Leto and Paul had escaped, for instance. The budget would have been reduced and even if Hollywood had rejected it, he could have filmed from a private investor (no doubt Salvador Dali and Orson Welles could have made some phone calls) In the end, ironically, the studio execs were right: Jodorowsky simply wasn't practical enough of a director to get the film cut. He was ingenious in negotiating and compromising with the biggest egos of all time including literally Orson Welles and Dali but couldn't figure out a way to make this project viable to a simple minded Hollywood exec? His genius could have manipulated such a simple mind if he had allowed himself to.So it's thoughts like that which make this documentary into one of the best thoughtful experiences ever. Even if you disagree with my conclusion, the vision of what this film could have been, and why it wasn't, is as engaging as any of the three Star Wars "prequel" films. What I think the film could have been like is a 100 times better than what Lynch's Dune turned out to be.

A group of talking heads sit down to chat about the "most ambitious sci-fi epic never made." Which, I realize, sounds like some rather exaggerated, overplayed hyperbole. Thing is, between the director's intense dedication to the project and remarkable eye for talent, it quickly seems like a pretty reasonable statement. Alejandro Jodorowsky, who single-handedly provides much of the documentary's narration, is both the best and the worst thing to happen to this launchpad-implosion of a film. His confidence can often come off as egotism, and his absurd track record quickly turned off any potential Hollywood suitors (ultimately damning the picture) but in retrospect there's no arguing with the impact his hand-picked team made on the world of science fiction at large. Then-unknowns like HR Giger and Mœbius would go on to enormous careers, both in the cinema and art scenes, while many of their collaborators found themselves poached for future hits like Star Wars and Alien. There's a certain irrational appeal to the man himself, which immediately comes through in his speech and mannerisms. It's no wonder major celebrities like Pink Floyd and David Carradine would attach themselves to the project, mingling with brow-furrowing supporting acts like Orson Welles and Salvador Dali. The big question of how the film could make the translation from eccentric paper-bound concept to vivid on-screen special effect (in a pre-Lucasfilm world, no less) is never adequately answered, and that hurts in the long run, but as an exercise in unbridled, unhinged creative discharge it's fascinating. Utterly tripped-out, surreal and nonsensical at times, but fascinating.