An exhibit opening soon at London’s Drawing Room art gallery displays the materials produced for Alejandro Jodorowsky’s sadly never-produced version of Frank Herbert’s Dune novels:

This exhibition includes production drawings made by Moebius, H.R Giger and Chris Foss alongside commissioned work made in response by three international contemporary artists Steven Claydon, Matthew Day Jackson and Vidya Gastaldon.

Following the release of his mystical Western ?¢‚ǨÀúEl Topo?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ (1970) and his psychedelic quest movie ?¢‚ǨÀúHoly Mountain?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢, Jodorowsky embarked on his ?¢‚ǨÀúDune?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ project, gathering around him a group of collaborators that included the French comics artist Moebius, the Swiss artist H.R. Giger (who would later design the 1979 film ?¢‚ǨÀúAlien?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢), the British sci-fi artist Chris Foss, and the British band Pink Floyd, who would provide the soundtrack. Among Jodorowsky?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s proposed cast were Orson Welles, Mick Jagger and Salvador Dali, the last of whom was to play the Emperor of the Universe, who ruled from a golden toilet-cum-throne in the shape of two intertwined dolphins. Unable to secure the money from Hollywood to create the ?¢‚ǨÀúDune?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ of his imagination, Jodorowsky abandoned the film before a single frame was shot. All that survives of this project is Jodorowsky?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s extensive notes, and the production drawings of Moebius, Giger and Foss. These reveal a potential future for sci-fi movie making that eschewed the conservative, technology-based approach of American filmmakers in favour of something closer to a metaphysical fever-dream. This was, though, a future that would never take place. In 1977, George Lucas?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ ?¢‚ǨÀúStar Wars?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ was released, and the history of sci-fi filmmaking, and even mainstream cinema, would never be the same again.

Some footage does survive:

THE FILM YOU WILL NEVER SEE by Alejandro Jodorowsky

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ?¢‚ǨÀúDune?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢: An exhibition of a film of a book that never was 17 September ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú 25 October 2009

It would have been nothing like Frank Herbert’s book but it sure would have been awesome. - Nick Pell

I, for one, have to agree.

Here’s another tibit of interest from Mutate!:

Instead, some of the people involved went on to make Alien and Jodorowsky went on to write the comic book series Metabarons, and David Lynch gave up the opportunity to direct Revenge of the Jedi to direct Dune (Wikipedia says David Cronenberg was also offered the chance to direct Jedi and turned it down - I didn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t know that before today!)

“Some footage does survive.”

Not quite - that footage was for another Moebuis and Jodorowsky collaboration - L’Incal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L’Incal which was later ripped off into The Fifth Element.

While Incal was probably inspired by the Dune movie they never got to make, that footage must have been made after the Dune movie was canceled.  The Dune movie was never supposed to be animated, whereas a teaser for a movie version of The Incal would probably have been in animated form.  Moebius did eventually direct an animated miniseries called “Arzak Rhapsody”.

to congratulate one should draw this picture. http://www.stellarrentacar.com