Jodorowsky’s Dune Finally Revealed?
Some of Moebius’ concept sketches for Jodorowsky’s Dune
For decades it has remained one of sci-fi cinema’s greatest might-have-beens. In 1975, during that magical time when studio heads willingly gave nigh-unlimited piles of cash to visionary directors, Alejandro Jodorowsky signed on to film Frank Herbert’s Dune, with a who’s who crew of alt culture royalty then-famous (Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger, Orson Welles) and up-and-coming (H.R. Giger, Dan O’Bannon, Moebius).
H.R. Giger concept design for Dune
The effort collapsed in pre-production amid bizarre rumors, massive budget overruns and plenty of mutual blame. Jodorowsky remained silent on the matter for years, and later penned a revealing account that told his side, but left a lot unsaid. The complete story of this tantalizing effort has remained a mystery, with the only the occasional glimpse to fuel our imaginations. That will soon change.
Now a new documentary by Frank Pavitch aims to finally reveal what really happened with Jodorowsky’s attempt to bring to life a work he believed divinely bestowed on humanity via Herbert.
Over at Blastr, they’re ecstatic, and with some cause (though Jodorowsky’s Dune, if made, could have ended up a fiasco as easily as a masterpiece). The glimpses that have for years sent Dune fans minds spinning are just the tip of the iceberg, and I can’t wait to see what else Pavitch has managed to uncover. The fact he’s wrangled interviews with many of the key participants is encouraging. We may finally know the full tale of this brilliant, doomed effort to fit galactic transcendence onto a movie screen. In the meantime, there’s always the activity books.
[via Brandon Shiflett]
May 13th, 2011 at 11:43 am
In a new documentary on a recent release of Santa Sangre, Alejandro said that Moebius did an incredible amount of work for the film, and that he still has every single page. He says the storyboards are so detailed and extensive that reading them in sequence is just as good as, if not better than watching the film, had it existed. In a way, I’m very happy that Dune was never made, but only because The Incal was the result of it’s failure. His influence from Herbert’s novels is extremely evident in some of his comics, especially The Metabarons, which also takes place in Incal’s universe.
May 13th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
**jaw drop – speechless**
May 16th, 2011 at 4:38 am
[…] Coilhouse: “Jodorowsky’s Dune Finally Revealed?” In 1975, during that magical time when studio heads willingly gave nigh-unlimited piles of cash to visionary directors, Alejandro Jodorowsky signed on to film Frank Herbert’s Dune, with a who’s who crew of alt culture royalty then-famous (Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger, Orson Welles) and up-and-coming (H.R. Giger, Dan O’Bannon, Moebius). […]
May 16th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
thank you!
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Such a shame that Dune didn’t happen, seeing this images and hearing how passionate Jodorowsky was about it is tantalising. Truly a genius, Jodorowsky opened my eyes to the concept of film as a visual art form rather than another method of telling a story. In a way his films require a new word because no genre fits them… like Moving Paintings of Zen-Psychedelia or something.
May 24th, 2012 at 4:52 pm
When I was 13 I went to a Science Fiction Convention to see Ray Harryhausen, who was a guest. I raised my hand repeatedly with questions about “Star Wars” and “Dune”, they had both been in the rumors(1976). At that time I had heard that he was involved with Dune along with Salvador Dali. He said that he was not but he had hear some things about it(Star Wars as well). At that time I was already a fan of Dan O’Bannon, H.R. Giger and Moebius but did not know that they were involved in this production. At that time the closest films to the Space Fantasy style(considerred a valid and powerful form in novels and comics already) had been “Barbarella” or “Flesh Gordon”(perhaps “Zardoz”). Imagine if Jodorowsky had been able to complete and release Dune before Star Wars. Whether laughed at or praised, I think it would have had a ripple effect in film as well as culture and art world. This can be seen in collaborative efforts for “Alien” a few years later. I might ad that David Lynch’s vision had some qualities similar. Also, HAIL DAN O’BANNON!