Jodorowsky's Dune

In 1971, the production company Apjac International (APJ) headed by film producer Arthur P. Jacobs optioned the rights to film Dune. However, Jacobs died in 1973 before the film could be developed. In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights from APJ, with director Alejandro Jodorowsky set to direct. Along with French producer Michel Seydoux, Jodorowsky proceeded to approach, among others, Virgin Records with the prog rock groups Tangerine Dream, Gong and Mike Oldfield before settling on Pink Floyd and Magma for some of the music; artists H. R. Giger, Chris Foss and Jean Giraud for set and character design; Dan O'Bannon for special effects; and Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, Gloria Swanson, David Carradine, Mick Jagger, Udo Kier, Amanda Lear and others for the cast. Jodorowsky intended his son Brontis, 12 years old at the start of pre-production, to star as Paul Atreides. In particular, the Jodorowsky-assembled team of O'Bannon, Foss, Giger, and Giraud went on to collaborate on the 1979 film Alien.

Jodorowsky’s refusal to compromise on Dune’s running time was one main reason the film did not get made. Hollywood did not want the film’s length to exceed two hours. Jodorowsky felt 10 to 14 hours would be more appropriate for the adaptation.After the film rights lapsed in 1982, they were purchased by Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis, who eventually released the 1984 film Dune, directed by David Lynch. The documentary concludes that Jodorowsky’s efforts did not go to waste, and that he and Giraud recycled much of their concepts for The Incal, a series of graphic novels that began publishing in 1980.

For now, much of the plot for the intended film remains unbeknownst to the public.....