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“For me, movies are an art. More than an industry. As essential to the human soul as painting, as literature, as poetry… Movies are that for me…”

Like Lost in La Mancha, a chronicle of Terry Gilliam’s ill-fated attempt to bring Don Quixote to the screen, so does Jodorowsky’s Dune showcase the preparation of a film that never got made. In this documentary from Frank Pavich, you get a wonderful combination of director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s vision for the film, entertaining stories about bringing together his dream cast & crew, interviews with many of the participants, and perhaps most importantly, you get to spend ninety minutes with an eccentric artist whose deep convictions and enthusiastic outlook on life are nothing short of inspirational.

Jodorowsky is the primary storyteller, but others interviewed for the film include Alien designer H.R. Giger, directors Richard Stanley and Nicolas Winding Refn, producer Gary Kurtz, illustrator Chris Foss, and Jodorowsky’s son Brontis, who was to play Paul Atreides in the film. We also get some humorous perspective from the late writer/director Dan O’Bannon, courtesy of audio recordings and clever animation. You’ll learn how Jodorowsky was able to assemble the most mind-boggling (and motley) cast and crew imaginable, including visionary French artist Moebius and musicians Pink Floyd. Some of the most entertaining stories involve Jodorowsky’s negotiations with actors to play certain roles. Can you imagine Salvador Dali as the Emperor Shaddam IV?  Mick Jagger as Feyd Rautha? David Carradine as Duke Leto Atreides? The pièce de résistance is none other than Orson Welles as the Baron Harkonnen. (Welles only agreed to play the part after Jodorowsky promised him daily meals from his favorite French restaurant.)

H.R. Giger works on his designs for Harkonnen architecture.

As a fan of Frank Herbert’s source material, I can’t say that I would have been particularly eager to see Jodorowsky’s vision for Dune. Jodorowsky openly admits in the documentary that he was raping Herbert’s novel — and it’s not clear whether anyone involved in Jodorowsky’s production ever read the novel. Frankly, the designs shown in the film are beautiful, but whacky. They remind me of Barbarella or Flash Gordon. It would have been a surreal tone poem of a movie, complete with a traveling shot up the Lady Jessica’s vaginal canal when Paul Atreides was conceived. Jodorowsky’s visions and philosophies are enticing, but choosing Dune as a sandbox for such reckless play would not have endeared any fans of the classic sci-fi novel.

The film takes a brief moment to poke fun at David Lynch’s eventual 1984 production of Dune by choosing three of the worst shots from the film for representation. Jodorowsky’s feelings about the Lynch film are understandable, but I thought it was a cheap shot by Frank Pavich to depict the ’84 Dune with two bad effects shots and Sting in a leather diaper. Lynch’s adaptation definitely has its problems, but it’s also a thing of tremendous beauty that deserves more credit than it often gets (if you ask me).

Jodorowsky’s Dune ends on an inspirational note, demonstrating in many ways how the failed film found a way to seed the following decades with its influence. Jodorowsky speaks positively about the collapse of the production and moving on with his life, despite the tremendous amount of time and effort he and his crew spent on the film. You might think the experience would have damaged him, but instead, he urges us to follow in his footsteps.

“Why you will not have ambition? Why? Have the greatest ambition possible. You want to be immortal? Fight to be immortal. Do it. You want to make the most fantastic art of movie? Try. If you fail, is not important. We need to try.”