In the 1970s, Jodorowsky prepared a super team for his "Dune", including Dali, Mick Jagger, Orson Welles, Dan O'Bannon, Pink Floyd and other names. Although his ambition finally failed tragically in front of capital, the huge soul of "Dune" still shrouds us, from "Star Wars" to "Prometheus", we can see its shadow.
There is news about the adaptation of the sci-fi blockbuster film "Dune" directed by Dennis Villeneuve: with your "sweet tea" Timothy Chalamet in talks to star in the film, he will play the protagonist in the film - the young aristocrat Paul · Atreides. already in the final negotiating stage.
Produced by Legendary Pictures, directed by Villeneuve, who has made films such as "Blade Runner 2049", "Frontier Slayer" and "Arrival", and Ai Ai, who won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for "Forrest Gump". Rick Ross will write it, "Sweet Tea" will star, and heavyweights are expected to join later. This "Dune" has not yet started filming, and we can already imagine the grand occasion after its release.
This film is adapted from the novel "Dune", which is the work of American science fiction master Frank Herbert in 1965, and won the Hugo Award and the first Nebula Award in 1966. Comparing with Asimov's "Base" series, it is called "a milestone in the history of science fiction" and "The Lord of the Rings in science fiction literature".
The novel is a sprawling space epic focused on the planet Arakis, a desert planet that produces a spice, a concoction. This hallucinogenic drug is one of the most important commodities in the entire universe, making the dunes an extraordinary strategic location, like Afghanistan in the Milky Way. Paul Atreides is a young nobleman who is banished from his home and then leads the Forman, the natives of Arakis, to retake the planet and free himself from the control of the evil colonizer Hakonite.
Paul Atreides in David Lynch's 1984 version of Dune
Just reading this introduction, you may think: "Isn't this a "Prince's Revenge" in a sci-fi shell? It looks quite old-fashioned." Then you are very wrong. If you are used to summarizing the plot To judge the readability and quality of a work, you may miss a lot of good things. The plot summary is used to answer the Chinese language questions of the college entrance examination.
The extraordinary thing about this work is really not in the plot that can be summed up in a few words - he has constructed a "second world" in detail, including the unique ecosystem, language, religion, culture, customs of the dunes. , class and other aspects, every aspect is full of ingenuity, once you are really immersed in the book, what will unfold in front of you will be a world you have never perceived before. Herbert also arbitrarily created some proper nouns, most of which have no correspondence in reality, such as sandworms, whistling blades, dune knights, aerostats, etc.
Sandworms, dune creatures, devour everything, up to 400 meters long
In fact, Herbert was the first writer to introduce the concept of environmental ecology into science fiction, and his work on how "charismatic leaders" enslaved people and explored the structure of government hidden his liberal political views. His discussion of the relationship between religion, politics and power is surprisingly prescient in the context of the global focus on the situation in the Middle East 50 years later.
And this may be a rare science fiction work that does not have computers, robots or artificial intelligence, because according to the account of the novel, "Hundreds of years before the story happened, human beings destroyed all thinking machines. Humans believe that this way It will not be replaced by other species." The author did not focus on the technical details commonly used in general science fiction, but focused on the contradiction between people and people's inner contradictions, injecting more literary and social into the work. Sex and Humanity. There is no doubt that this is a romantic and ambitious work.
Such a good book, how come no director wants to make it? There are actually two main ones, one is the David Lynch version released in the United States in 1984. The heroine is Sean Young , the heroine of the later "Blade Runner", and the actor is Lynch's old partner. The hero Kyle MacLachlan of "Twin Peaks" and "Blue Velvet", and the actors also include Sting and Patrick Stewart. Waiting for a number of well-known European and American movie stars. The soundtrack lineup, including Toto and Brian Eno , cost $400 million. But unfortunately, it hit the street, only recovered the cost of 300 million, and the word of mouth is also very general.
Lynch's version of "Dune" still has his style in it
For various reasons, Lynch did not get the final editing rights to the film, and at least three versions of the film were released. In some versions, the director's name, David Lynch, was replaced by Alan Smithee , a pseudonym used by Western directors to protest against losing control of the film. David Lynch called Dune "the worst movie I've ever made". In 2003, G. Etanis filmed the "Son of the Dune", an extra piece of "Dune", starring "One Beauty" James McAvoy, but the word-of-mouth box office was also unsatisfactory.
Compared with the two films that were filmed, the one that was not filmed has a far-reaching impact. That's Alessandro Jodorowsky's Dune. In many later sci-fi films, such as "Star Wars", "Alien", "Blade Runner", you can see its shadow.
Friends who like C ult films should be familiar with the name Jodorowsky, born in 1929, a Chilean-born French playwright. The old man is quite legendary. Since 1948, his identities have been: novelist, poet, playwright, director, producer, film and theater actor, screenwriter, musician, composer, philosopher of comparative religion, Puppeteer, mime, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, painter, sculptor, etc.
But he is best known for his intensely experimental avant-garde films. His films have strong surreal imagery, elements of mysticism and religious discussions, as well as a lot of metaphors, which have long been admired by cult fans. Last year, the Beijing Film Festival also screened his autobiographical film "Dance of Reality".
"Reality Dance"
In 1968, he directed his first feature film, Fando and Liz, which caused riots during a performance at the Acapulco Film Festival in Mexico and was eventually banned. Jordu also established the style of magic realism in his films. In 1970, he directed the Acid Western " EL Topo ", which was released in American theaters with the help of John Lennon, and is recognized as the originator of midnight movies and cult films.
Fando and Liz, 1968
The Mole, 1970
Backed by investment from John Lennon in 1973, he directed The Holy Mountain , a surreal film exploring Western mysticism. With a budget of $1.5 million, the film was the highest-budget film in Mexico at the time. After the success of "Holy Mountain", Jordu's ambitions also swelled.
"Holy Mountain", 1973
In December 1974, the producer of "Holy Mountain" and his friend Michel Siddock called him from Paris and said: ""Holy Mountain" is very successful, I want to collaborate on a new film, how do you want to make it? Whatever you do, I pay for it. What do you want to do?” Jordu said, “Dune.” So they went to Hollywood to buy the rights, and started to form a team.
He paid $100,000 per minute to play Dalí as the most surly and evil overlord in the universe—the Emperor Chadan, yes, the surrealist painter Dalí. When he went to Paris to find Dali, Dali set up a bureau, sat down around twelve people, Dali said to him: "When I was playing with Picasso on the beach when I was a child, I found a clock, you are in Have you ever discovered it in your life?" Jordu thought, if I said yes, it would be vain and funny, and if I said no, it would be too poor guy , so he said, "I didn't find it. Yes, but I have lost a lot." This gave him the opportunity to continue negotiating with Dalí. The cast also includes Mick Jagger, Andy Warho 's best actor U do Kier, Orson Welles, and Jordo's son.
Dali may have wanted to deliberately show off his masterpiece - "The Eternal Memory"
The artist was HRGiger who later designed the alien . They were looking for Trumbull , the stuntman who would later become 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Jordu recalls that "he was very vain and self-righteous and answered 40 phone calls while we were talking. He was a really nice guy. Technician, but not a person with whom he can communicate spiritually." So he refused to cooperate with him. Instead, he chose "behind the technology" special effects artist Dan O'Bannon , who conquered him with a special cannabis in the shape of a newspaper.
Art director is Chris Foss . If you are a big fan of "Alien", you should be familiar with names such as Dan O'Bannon and HRGiger , who later became the main creators of "Alien". The soundtrack was chosen by P ink Floyd and Magma . When P ink Floyd was mixing "Dark Side of the Moon" at Ab bey Roud Studios , the rock stars were eating hamburgers when Jordu and his party went to find them, absent-minded about Jordu's plans. So Jordu got angry and said, "You don't know what I'm going to give you is a chance to score the most important movie in human history, and you're eating fucking McDonald's here? Why?!" And they stopped. Talked to him and everything went very smoothly after that. And Jodor eventually wanted to make a 14-hour film.
"Dune" artwork
This lineup and length, just thinking about it, already makes people emotional, everything is in place, only the east wind is owed. However, the money is not enough, they are still 5 million dollars short. When he went to Hollywood to raise money, he hit a wall, Disney rejected him because the film was too advanced and weird, and Jodorowsky failed to realize his crazy plan.
Later, Frank Herbert's daughter later gave the filming rights to David Lynch, which made Jodorowsky very painful. It's a great director like Lynch. This is the David Lynch version of Dune we mentioned earlier, and fortunately, Lynch smashed it.
Although Jodorowsky's "Dune" was ultimately not made, it can be seen in many later sci-fi movies. For example, the sword fight scene in "Star Wars", the background setting of the protagonist's growth in the desert, the spherical robot that can respond to the surrounding environment who practiced swords with Luke on the "Millennium Falcon", and the face recognition in "Terminator" Analysis computer. From the setting and plot, it also affects "Flying Gordon", Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Macro Contact" and even "Blade Runner", "Alien", "Prome" Hughes, etc. Later, Hollywood also started using Jordu's team - much to his surprise.
"Dune" and "Flying Gordon"
Dune and Prometheus
Dune and Indiana Jones
It seems that after going around in circles, history finally confirms Jodor's advanced vision and vision. The change in film production and even Hollywood's concept that he expects has happened slowly over the decades. Hopefully it won't be too late for Jodorowsky, after all the fact that a work with so much passion never makes it to the big screen will haunt him like a nightmare. But as he said: "Dune is like a dream, a dream that changed the world." Although no one has actually seen "Dune," you can always hear it in your ears.
View more about Jodorowsky's Dune reviews
