We're about halfway through the two-week run of Jodorowsky's Dune at Harkins Camelview 5 in Scottsdale, so time is running out for you to go check out the funny, thought-provoking, and painfully frustrating documentary about experimental filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky's ill-fated attempt to make the book Dune into a movie. Obviously, this movie has something for sci-fi geeks and art house film nerds, but the story is interesting and peppered with appearances by Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, and Mick Jagger.
One of the best parts of the film is being immersed in the completely hashed-out art and design elements of Jodorowsky's planned film, and we have seven examples that you just have to see.
See also: Jodorowsky's Dune: Could the Surrealist Have Made a Blockbuster?
Creepy Dutch artist H.R. Giger was enlisted to make the Harkonnen world come to life in a dark, twisted style that came naturally to him. This side view and the larger image above were supposed to be the Baron's temple.
Giger was sought out by Jodorowsky due to his flair for gothic design and penchant for making stuff look unsettlingly evil. Chances are his take on the Harkonnen world would've been a little more frightening than David Lynch's. Jodorowsky even had Mick Jagger slotted to play Feyd-Rautha, while Lynch got Sting for the role. Ouch.
Chris Foss was accustomed to designing sci-fi spaceships for book covers, but he got to do a lot of experimentation with color and shape for his proposals to Jodorowsky.
Most tragically, French comic artist Jean Moebius Giraud paneled out the entire Dune film shot by shot, only for it to never actually be filmed. We really hope this turns into a graphic novel some day.
This Chris Foss design shows a camouflage pirate ship that has been critically damaged with precious spice spilling out of it.
One of the many costumes designed for the film, sandwiched between a studly looking Alejandro Jodorowsky and Jean Moebius Giraud.
Here's another -- even creepier -- H.R. Giger building design. Giger went on to design the alien costume for Alien. Its prequel, Prometheus, later used this macabre building design in homage to him.
Chris Foss' spaceship designs were so ahead of their time and psychedelic that it's kind of hard to imagine them being applied in CGI with 1970s technology. Guess we'll never know what could've been.
However, you should do yourself a favor and catch Jodorowsky's Dune while it's still at Harkins Camelview 5. It will screen through Thursday, April 24, with the potential for a longer run.
