Chuckwallah lizard in Joshua Tree National Park (photo by Erica Magrey)
This Week on the PARIS-LA Blog!
MONDAY: Katie Grinnan’s Astrology Orchestra
TUESDAY: Jodorowsky‘s new film The Dance of Reality
WEDNESDAY: Artists’ Books & Cookies 2 at Ooga Twooga
THURSDAY: Don’t miss Friday Flights at The Getty this summer!
FRIDAY: Vasquez Rocks!
Chuckwallah lizard in Joshua Tree National Park (photo by Erica Magrey)
Alejandro Jodorowsky and cat
I recently posted about a new documentary, about Alejandro Jodorowsky and his attempt at making a feature length film of Dune in the 1970s. That film, simply titled, “Jodorowsky’s Dune,” was an amazing portrait of the filmmaker. Jodorowsky is intensely inspiring, so amazingly full of life and love and light. His passion for filmmaking, especially for making Dune, in the only way he wanted it to be made, shines through in this documentary. Tragically, for financial reasons, the film was never realized (although David Lynch would make a version). This film is an absolute must see!
Feeling the fever of the recent Jodorowsky hype, I was incredibly excited to see his new film, “The Dance of Reality,” this past weekend at the Los Angeles independent theater Cinefamily. Jodorowsky’s first film in thirteen years, “The Dance of Reality,” is clearly made by the same director as El Topo and Holy Mountain, but has a modern look and feel. The analog special effects of El Topo and Holy Mountain were replaced in The Dance of Reality by digital video and digital effects. I have to admit that this was a bit disappointing, but the film was just as juicy in color and costumes as his most famous films of the 1970s. I found myself caught up with the colorful scenes and, beautiful and disturbing characters throughout the two and half hour film. Similar themes of love, religion, spirituality, relationships, were present. By the end of the film I had gone through a whole rainbow of emotions – fear, sadness, happiness, joyfulness… I had laughed, turned my head and closed my eyes, smiled, frowned… I would defiantly recommend seeing this movie in the theater, as it is large and epic, and full of theatrics and color, and sweeping landscapes that will not translate as well on home entertainment systems. You can watch a trailer for “The Dance of Reality” HERE.
Jodorowsky in “The Dance of Reality,” 2014. Credit Le Soleil Films/Camera One/Pathe/ABKCO La Danza LLC
JODOROWSKY’S DUNE
This new documentary about filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky is currently playing in theaters worldwide and it looks great:
“This fascinating documentary explores the genesis of one of cinema’s greatest epics that never was: cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s (EL TOPO) adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic Dune, whose cast would have included such icons as Salvador Dali, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger. In 1975, following the runaway success of his art-house freak-outs EL TOPO and HOLY MOUNTAIN, Alejandro Jodorowsky secured the rights to Frank Herbert’s Dune – and began work on what was gearing up to be a cinematic game-changer, a sci-fi epic unlike anything the world had ever seen.
Jodorowsky enlisted an elite group of artistic mercenaries, including French comic book artist Moebius, who illustrated the storyboards; screenwriter Dan O’Bannon (DARK STAR, ALIEN); artist H.R. Giger (ALIEN); and sci-fi paperback illustrator Chris Foss. For the cast, he lined up icons ranging from Salvador Dali and Mick Jagger to Orson Welles, and even his own son, who was put through two years of gruelling martial arts training to prepare for his role. Unfortunately, the film was never made.
Director Frank Pavich tackles one of cinema’s most enthralling “what could have been” stories, weaving interviews with the charismatic Jodorowsky, his collaborators, and supporters (including DRIVE director Nicolas Winding Refn), together with animation to bring Moebius’ storyboards to life. Even though the project exists only in the imaginations of its creators, and as the hundreds of illustrations they left behind, Pavich’s documentary chooses not to dwell on failure, but rather celebrates the ways in which the creative dreams of Dune planted seeds for many other iconic films that came after it, from STAR WARS to ALIEN to countless more. This is an inspirational story about the power of the creative spirit, one that establishes Jodorowsky as a master of cinema and a true visionary of our time.”
— Colin Geddes, Toronto International Film Festival