No.9 in TOYSREVIL's #TopTenFilms2015: Jodorowsky's Dune
WHAT-IS: "Jodorowsky's Dune is a 2013 American-French documentary film directed by Frank Pavich. The film explores cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's unsuccessful attempt to adapt and film Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune in the mid-1970s." (Wiki)I was lured to this documentary by the posters and design visuals seen online, and as well the notable names of Moebius, H.R. Giger and Chris Foss, but had never had a chance to watch this 2013/14 film, until I found a crisp clear bootleg streaming version, which of course came with zero English subtitles, which can be a tad crippling whenever the director Alejandro Jodorowsky (Whom I had no inkling of who he is/was), or when interviewees veers into non-English language …. UPDATED: The film's director Frank Pavich had this in response to my comment about "subtitles" (on Twitter);
@toysrevil Legal copies have subtitles included.
— Frank Pavich (@frankpavich) January 19, 2016And while I am not what you would call a huge "fan" of the 1984 film, I was a fan of David Lynch himself, AND the story of "Dune" - which had always bugged me somewhat as I'd imagine it doing down another path of excellent sci-fi in my own imaginations (never did read he book tho :p) … nevertheless, the film is also somewhat weirdly memorable for the giant "sand crawlers" which I recognized as well in another fav Tim Burton film of all time: "Beetlejuice"! LOL
"Muad'Dib", baby! #MUADDIB
"Jodorowsky's Dune" clocks in at No.9 on my personal Top Ten Films (watched) in 2015 (WHAT) simply because it had both been inspirational, and entertaining in a way where the project had NOT taken off, which lends itself to the dramatics non-familiar to popular films drenched in triumphs and victories! Add in a heap dose of discoveries in tragic unrealized potentials, and exquisite design in sets, costumes, visuals = makes for a riveting watch - and that in itself satisfies my need to be "entertained", and hence viable to be included in my TopTen list LOL
"In 1973, film producer Arthur P. Jacobs optioned the film rights to Dune but died before a film could be developed. The option was then taken over two years later by director Alejandro Jodorowsky, who proceeded to approach, among others, Virgin Records, with the prog rock groups Tangerine Dream, Gong and Mike Oldfield before settling on Pink Floyd and Magma for some of the music; artists H. R. Giger, Chris Foss, and Jean Giraud for set and character design; Dan O'Bannon for special effects; and Salvador DalÃ, Orson Welles, Gloria Swanson, David Carradine, Mick Jagger, Amanda Lear, and others for the cast.
Herbert traveled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour film ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The project ultimately stalled for financial reasons. The film rights lapsed in 1982, when they were purchased by Italian filmmaker Dino De Laurentiis, who eventually released the 1984 film Dune, directed by David Lynch."
(Most stills via IMDb)
