Set in the far future, on the desert planet Arrakis where a vital resource is being harvested, the story follows Paul Atreides, a young nobleman who goes on a life-changing journey finally becoming a godlike prophet. Such a story was a shoo-in for Jodorowsky, tying nicely with his own concerns as a storyteller. I've been hearing about this project for years and now, director Frank Pavich gives us the full story of the greatest science-fiction film never made.
With his inspiration set on fire, Jodorowsky set out to assemble a mottley crew of "spiritual warriors" to help him out making the film. And he apparently chose well. For the character designs and storyboard, he hired Moebius, the famous French comic artist with whom Jodorowsky will have a fruitful partnership. For the set and ships designs, he fished out Chris Foss, a British guy noted for his sci-fi book covers. For the Harkonnens (the bad guys), he picked none other than H.R. Giger. Dan O'Bannon was selected for the special effects. For the film's soundtrack, bands like Pink Floyd and Magma (a French prog band) were added to the mix. Talk about chosing the right people for the right project.
As for the cast, you'd have seen Brontis Jodorowsky as Paul (the director's son, who was put into a grueling training program to play the part), Salvador Dali (yes, that Salvador Dali) as the Emperor, Amanda Lear (very famous in the seventies for...being famous) as his daughter, Irulan. David Carradine as the Duke Leto Atreides. Mick Jagger as Paul's rival Feyd. Orson Welles as the Baron Harkonnen (he agreed to play the part provided he could dine at his favourite restaurant every day!). European exploitation veteran Udo Kier as Pieter the Mentat. A most surreal cast for a most surreal movie.
I'm speaking for myself here, but the whole thing would have been mind-blowing, no surprise if you happened to have seen El Topo and Holy Mountain. The only way to "see" the film is to read the exhaustive storyboard by Moebius, which you can't 'cause there's only two copies left in the world. A shame, a real shame as this would have probably heralded a new era in sci-fi movies. Unfortunately, with the release of Star Wars, sci-fi movies would degenerate into the action-packed mindless absurdities we see on screen today.
So, why didn't it get made? Simple. Once the pre-prod was completed, Jodorowsky and his producer Michel Seydoux courted Hollywood for the financing, with disastrous results. Although impressed by the movie's design, the Suits were deathly afraid of a director like Jodorowsky whom they didn't understand and certainly didn't trust to make a profitable film. I wonder, though, why the pair didn't court European studios? After all, the director's two previous films where highly successful on the continent, so what gives? On the other hand, Hollywood was in the midst of its New Hollywood phase, so one wonders why directors such a Francis Ford Coppola (fresh from his successes with the two Godfather movies) couldn't have vouched for him?
The dejected Jodorowsky stayed clear of movie-making for a couple of years after that, and I certainly can't blame him. He became distressed when David Lynch released his own version of the story. Although respectful of Lynch as a director, Jodorowsky wouldn't see the film until prodded by his kids, as a therapeutic gesture. It worked, as he found the film lacking in almost all respects which allowed him to move on.
An excellent documentary about one of cinema's greatest what-could-have-beens. A must see.
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