PDI Press
BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie
John Yohe
Fiction, PDI Press, PDI Press Writers
John E. Meredith
Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)
Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)
PDI Press Catalog
PDI Press Writers
Columns A-D
A Fistful of Dollar Comics
ABCs of Horror
All Binge… No Purge
Anything Joes
Big Eyes Smart Mouth
Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
Cahiers du Horror
Dispatches From the Field
Dungeons & D-Listers
Columns F-P
First Looks… Second Thoughts
The Flesh is Weak
Innocence and Experience
Popcorn Cinema
Psycho Essentials: The '80s!
Columns S-Z
Schlock & Awe
Shot for Shot
Sick Flix
Video Word Made Flesh
We Got Lists
Women in Horror
The Xeno File
Killer Sofa (2019)
Movies, Reviews
Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
Nate Zoebl
Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel
David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible
Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip
Andre Lamar
SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke
Jason Sacks
SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy's Van Helsing
Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien
Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10
DVD/Blu-ray, News
psychodr
X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17
Paul Brian McCoy
Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13
Psychos
13 Days of Halloween Day 00: Last Night in Soho (2021)
13 Days of Halloween Day 0: Antlers (2021)
Who We Be
Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)
Back before David Lynch's ridiculous movie adaptation of Dune in 1984, there was actually, in the mid-70s, almost a different version, directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, an experimental actor/director from Mexico. That almost-movie is now called by some movie buffs and insiders as The Greatest Movie Never Made, and the story of how it almost got made, shown in the recent documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, is a fascinating look into the creative film-making process.
What makes the documentary fascinating is that Jodorowsky's version of Dune might have been even more ridiculous than Lynch's. Or not. Hard to tell. But the strange thing is that the movie Jodorowsky didn't end up making did end up influencing movie-making maybe more than if it had been made, including sci-fi classics from Star Wars to Alien to Prometheus.
If you like any of those movies—and who doesn't?—and/or you're just a film buff in general, and/or someone just interested in the creative process in general, you've got to see the award-winning Jodorowsky's Dune, now out on home video, cable, and instant video.
The documentary is both about the process of making the almost-Dune, and about Jodorowsky himself. He of course gets lot of screen time, and he's more than willing to talk—he likes to talk. And he's a character. Either a genius, and/or a madman, and someone who would probably like either one of those descriptions. The guy is smart, obviously, but determining what kind of smart is what makes this movie fascinating. Is he a good actor? Is he a good filmmaker? Featured clips from his earlier movies kind of argue 'no.' Though that's subjective, and you could say they're just….well, 'experimental.' Yes, one could say that indeed….
[Editor's Note: I'd say yes. And lean toward genius, too!]
But, based on the sort of underground success his earlier movies, like El Topo and The Holy Mountain, garnered in the early 70s, as the documentary shows, he was given the chance to direct a big-budget American movie. And, he chose to adapt the Frank Herbert's book Dune. Why? Was it a favorite book of his? No: he had never read it. And he still has never read it.
Hubris? Arrogance? Is that even possible? Technically, no, though the production went on for at least two years, and this documentary chronicles the steps as Jodorowsky recruited for his team, including the macabre artist H. R. Giger, and the (future) comic book artist Moebius, among a list of others.
In fact, if Jodorowsky is 'smart', I'd argue his genius is in a form of 'social engineering': getting good people to work with him on his vision. Which, you could argue (and I would), is the sign of a great leader: hire good people, and let them do their thing. And even though their Dune project ended up falling apart, many of that creative team, like Giger, went on to form the creative core of the creepy-dark classic, Alien.
Yes, but not only that, the 'real' influence Jodorowsky's version of Dune had was in this brilliant-though-perhaps-odd selling point: Moebius storyboarded the story and scenes and shots and put together a limited-edition (like, muy limited edition: 5 or 7 copies) hardcover book/tome, and sent it to key behind-the-scenes powerhouse Hollywood producers. These books have supposedly made the rounds, and been read by some of our movie-making greats. In fact, the legend of this 'secret' tome is what inspired actor/director Frank Pavich to do this documentary! Jodorowsky still has one copy, and Pavich shows us pages and panels from it, where we can see, for example, that a lightsaber battle scene from Star Wars was taken almost exactly from them.
The Dune project tanked, but all was not lost: Other scenes and plot points were re-used later in graphic novel collaborations between Jodorowsky and Moebius. So, not only was Jodorowsky's version of Dune, The Greatest Film Never Made, it ended up influencing the comic book world as well.
Jodorowsky went on, years later, to make other films, and continues to do so, but I can't help but think he holds some bitterness. Like, that his Dune could have been what Star Wars ended up being: influential, but also maybe a money-and-fame-maker. Or not. Decide for yourself. See it with other film friends and you'll have a huge conversation afterwards, guaranteed.
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Alejandro JodorowskyH.R. GigerJodorowsky's DuneJohn YoheMoebius
ABCs of Horror Day 31: Z is for Zombies
The Walking Dead 5.03 "Four Walls and a Roof"
John Yohe lives and writes in Portland, Oregon. He's a great bass player. He runs marathons barefoot. He reads a lot, and when not reading, he's watching movies. Anything to not meet women. He's also a regular contributor over at Comics Bulletin. A complete list of his publications can be found at his website: www.johnyohe.com
Daily Top Ten
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psychodrivein
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes:
Today at https://psychorivein.com Betty White Vs
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Betty White Vs
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Betty White Vs
Anything Joes: S01E32 – Winterfest II
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Lost in Translation: Wrapping up 2021
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The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
I enjoyed the article though I would never call brutality gorgeous.
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13 Days of Halloween Day 12: Halloween Kills (2021)
Very disappointing, it's true. And very mean-spirited murders of nobodies. And I don't even see how...
Dignan - 8/21/2021
Lost in Translation 389: Remaking The Starlost (1973)
Had never heard of this, reminds me of an episode of Space: 1999.
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