Following the worldwide success of El Topo and The Holy Mountain, Alejandro Jodorowsky connected with Michel Seydoux to pursue any project he wished. The answer? An adaptation of the beloved, expansive science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. What followed was an epic collaboration involving the director and a collection of legendary collaborators (or “spiritual warriors”) including Dan O’Bannon, Jean “Moebius” Girard, Chris Foss, H.R. Giger, Pink Floyd, Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, and that’s just the beginning! On this episode we look at how the project developed, how it fell apart, and whether it’s truly the greatest film never made. We also look at some of the criticism of the project, the adaptations of Dune that were to follow and – of course – the 2014 documentary JODOROWSKY’S DUNE that helped bring the story to the world.
Coming NEXT WEEK is a discussion with the director of JODOROWSKY’S DUNE Frank Pavich!
On this episode we refer to the essay JODOROWSKY’S DUNE DIDN’T GET MADE FOR A REASON… AND WE SHOULD ALL BE GRATEFUL FOR THAT by Emmet Asher-Perrin
Check that out here.
Your hosts are Cinema Smorgasbord regulars Doug Tilley (@Doug_Tilley) and Liam O’Donnell (@LiamRulz), but they are joined on this adventure by the always wonderful and incisive Julia Marchese!
Julia is a filmmaker, actor, writer, film programmer and podcaster. Julia’s first film was Out of Print, a documentary about the importance of revival cinema and 35mm to culture. The film has played all over the world in film archives, art house cinemas and universities. The 35mm print of the film is now housed at The Academy Film Archives. Her next project is a short film adaptation of Stephen King’s short story “I Know What You Need”. She is the co-host of Horror Movie Survival Guide, a weekly podcast that takes a deep dive into a different horror film each week, focusing on how to become the final girl. You can follow her on her social media platforms
