DVD Review: Jodorowsky's Dune

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The 'greatest' science fiction film never made.

Another documentary that showed up on the short list for the Academy Awards. This one follows director Alejandro Jodorowsky and his failed attempt to adapt the popular science fiction novel Dune into a film. 

I find stories of failed films or hardships making films fascinating. Film making is obviously a lot of fucking work, but how often do people really think about what goes into making a film?

After watching this relatively short documentary (not even an hour and a half) I'm kind of left with a bad taste in my mouth instead of sympathy like I expected. It sucks when a film maker doesn't get to show everyone their vision, and maybe his Dune would've been wonderful, but Jodorowsky doesn't really take any responsibility for his film not getting made. He refused to budge on the run time, which he wanted to be 10+ hours when the studio wanted 90 mins. Then he goes as far to say that George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, etc, all took his ideas from the beautiful illustrations he drew and used them for their own films. He provides absolutely nothing to back this up either and that seems like a pretty big thing to speculate on. 

 I admittedly have trouble enjoying documentaries on people/subjects I don't like (example: Jesus Camp) so that probably played a part, but I just can't help it. This wasn't as good as I was expecting.

Recommended: No

Grade: D+

Memorable Quote: "I needed my warriors." - Alejandro Jodorowsky. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 23, 2014 at 9:32 AM

    I'm intrigued by this film and will most likely see it, but I'm cautious because of this. I hate arrogant people...like, yuck.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 23, 2014 at 4:37 PM

      Jodorowsky seems like such a friendly guy, his arrogance caught me off guard.

      Delete
  2. UnknownDecember 23, 2014 at 12:17 PM

    Huh. I'm not sure whether I'd want to watch this, except as a cautionary tale about the hazards of inflexibility and arrogance. Nobody can market a 10-hour movie. Unless you can land a deal for a mini-series, but not everything has the potential to be Game of Thrones. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 23, 2014 at 4:36 PM

      I don't think anyone even suggested a miniseries to him. Or even a film with more than one part (though that was kind of before it's time at this point)

      Delete
  3. Chris WiddopDecember 23, 2014 at 2:57 PM

    Ah man, I felt the exact opposite. His enthusiasm for his project made this movie intriguing from start to finish for me. Yeah, there's some blatant exaggerations, and no he really didn't take accountability for how things turned out, but I still found it enjoyable to watch. But yeah, even so, I can see where you're coming from. Nice review, Brittani. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 23, 2014 at 4:35 PM

      Thank you! I figured I'd be in the minority on this one.

      Delete
  4. Angela's Anxious LifeDecember 23, 2014 at 9:50 PM

    Huh. I had no idea someone was trying to make this a film, I just guess there was only one film. I don't know either about accusing big names of stealing your work without proof. WOW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 24, 2014 at 12:48 PM

      It was over really simple shit too. Like lightsaber fights/sword fights. Things literally anyone could've came up with.

      Delete
  5. JoshDecember 23, 2014 at 10:49 PM

    Haha, I'm kind of even more intrigued now. :) I'll definitely give this a look.

    ReplyDelete

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