Formally, Jodorowsky's Dune is a fairly conventional documentary. It’s mostly a series of talking heads, though
the animation from the detailed storyboards of the script certainly helps us
get a modest feel for what the project might have looked like. And though it’s hard to imagine another structure,
the predictability of the film’s progress becomes somewhat boring. We go from Alejandro Jodorowsky’s work before this
project to a very long list of big-name people he got involved to a conclusion of the ripple effects of the
project. The form here isn’t what
engages.
Instead, it’s the vision and audacity of Jodorowsky that keeps
us in the film. Jodorowsky was immersed in
the cultural currents of the late 60s/early 70s. From absurdist theater, we went on to make
two wildly experimental films, and his Dune was to be based on what he wanted to talk about –
the expansion of consciousness – rather than the contents of Herbert’s
work. One of a couple of the self-referential
aspects of this story shows how director Jodorowsky essentially became a prophet, like Paul of the
novel, stimulating the disciples he recruited for the project to open their
minds. And we can note the ongoing effect of
Jodorowsky's teaching in the subsequent careers of figures like HR Giger, Dan O’Bannon
and Chris Foss. Jodorowsky pulled these
creative artists into film, and they all went on to make important contributions
arising, in part, from the way Jodorowsky developed their talent.
There is a lot of Entertainment Tonight in the overlong
middle section of the film as we hear funny stories about Jodorowsky’s
encounter with Pink Floyd, Dalí, Jagger, David Carradine, and Welles. But the range of Jodorowsky’s contacts, the
countries he worked in, and the areas of 70s pop culture he mined are a
fascinating look into that era and into some of the cultural trends at work. Jodorowsky lived at the nexus of those trends
at that time, and part of the pleasure of Jodorowsky's Dune is to participate in that moment.
This film also makes the worthwhile observation that
Jodorowsky's version of Dune became seminal to an important part of future sci fi cinema. Like Paul’s death in Dune leads to the
fertilization of the entire planet of Dune, so did the failure of Jodorowsky’s
Dune lead to a dispersion of talent that went on to fertilize many important
sci fi projects. We see the echoes of Jodorowsky’s
Dune in Star Wars, Alien, Prometheus, and Blade Runner among many important sci
fi movies. And it’s not that Lucas or
Scott stole ideas from Jodorowsky but that the talent that worked on those
later projects developed its vision from Jodorowsky’s prophetic
leadership.
It’s in describing this relationship that the important
value, and pleasure, of Jodorowsky’s Dune lies.
