“Cult Chilean film-maker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ambitious plan to make a big-budget adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction novel is the stuff of movie legend. Hailed as one of the great films never to be made, its content and structure have been much debated, but with Frank Pavich’s film the truth is finally revealed.
“From his plans to cast Salvador Dali as The Emperor and the years of long-training his young son Brontis underwent to prepare to play Paul Artredes through to his wooing of Pink Floyd to provide the music and sci-fi artists H.R. Giger, Moebius and Chris Foss to craft the look of the film, the development of Jodorowsky’s planned version of Dune was always a bold and extravagant one. Jodorowsky set about writing the script, and recruited French comic book artist Moebius (aka Jean Giraud) to prepare a storyboard based on the script. “He was my camera,” said Jodorowsky.” Each Hollywood studio was given a copy of the ‘Dune book’, which assembled the script, drawings, costume design, but the proposed $15 million budget wasnot raised.
“Jodorowsky is still clearly angry about the decision to not finance the film. The rights were subsequently taken away and a version of the film was made by David Lynch Jodorowsky recalls seeing the film, adding that he was in tears to begin with, but in the end “I was happy because the film was awful,” he added. “Its not beautiful but I have that reaction.”- Frank Pavich, ScreenDaily
