Before Denis Villeneuve and before David Lynch was Alejandro Jodorowsky. This is the story of one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made.
Although a pandemic got in the way and made the final leg of Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of the classic science fiction novel "Dune" longer than expected, it is now finally time for the reinterpretation of Frank Herbert's iconic work to see the light of day. https://architizer.com/firms/dune-nl/

But this is not the first time that sticks have been put in the wheels of a production of what many have called an "unfilmable" story. And then I'm not talking about David Lynch's attempt from 1984, which is admittedly a whole story in itself. No, this is the story of one of history's greatest films that never came to fruition. https://jurassichuntceofilm.wildapricot.org/

The filmless dream project

The first film rights to Frank Herbert's novel were acquired in 1971 by Arthur P. Jacobs and his company Apjac International. Jacob's first choice to direct the film was none other than David Lean, but the director of "Lawrence of Arabia" firmly declined. The project was abandoned while script work was going on, but Jacobs never managed to manage his purchase when he died of a heart attack in 1973, only 51 years old. https://dinafilmoviceo.wildapricot.org/

The year after Jacob's death, a French group of companies, led by producer Michel Seydoux, went in and bought the rights with the aim of having Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky take on the project. https://twitter.com/i/events/1438876898944241665

After Jodorowsky's groundbreaking films "El Topo" and "Holy Mountain" had become unexpectedly successful, Seydoux had promised the director to finance his next film - whatever he wanted to do. The choice landed on Frank Herbert's science fiction work, an equally daring and appropriate choice by the avant-garde director. And to say that Jodorowsky had high-flying plans for his adaptation of "Dune" is an understatement. https://twitter.com/i/events/1438879767596568581 The esoteric director envisioned a spectacular epic of 10-12 hours full of cosmic magic, extravagant imagery and grand storytelling that would embrace the feeling of being on LSD without having to take the drug itself. And Seydoux could do nothing but give Jodorowsky what he wanted.