by Alexandro Jodorowsky
In the mid 1970s, surrealist filmmaker Jodorowsky worked to put together his dream version of Dune – which would include many bizarre elements that author Frank Herbert understandably had problems with. He assembled a dream team of collaborators. French comic artist Moebius contributed some 3000 storyboards. British painter Christopher Foss and Swiss artist H.R. Giger were brought in as conceptual artists. Dan O’Bannon, who did sci-fi on the cheap with Dark Star, would do miniature effects. The film would be scored by Pink Floyd. And the mad Emperor of the Galaxy would be played by Salvador Dali. Unfortunately, big budget sci-fi was considered risky at the time. When Jodorowsky’s Dune fell apart, Moebius, Foss, O’Bannon, and Giger went on to work on Alien. Dune (directed by David Lynch) was eventually made after the success of the Star Wars movies, Alien, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Read Jodorowsky’s behind-the-scenes essay: The Story of Dune- ‘The Movie You Will Never See. Hosted by Hotweird.com.