about the greatest movie never made
Alejandro Jodorowsky envisioned a 14 hour epic version of Dune with painter Salvador Dali as the Emperor, Orson Welles as the Baron Harkonnen, and a score by Pink Floyd.
Alejandro Jodorowsky’s daring and psychedelic films of the early 1970’s — EL TOPO and THE HOLY MOUNTAIN — cemented his status as the ‘Godfather of the Midnight Movie’.
In 1974, he began working on possibly the most ambitious film ever attempted — a feature adaptation of Frank Herbert’s DUNE. Jodorowsky was making not only a film, but “a prophet”. His end goal was to “change the world”.
Alejandro’s DUNE would star his own 12 year old son, Brontis Jodorowsky, alongside a cast to include Orson Welles, Mick Jagger, David Carradine and even Salvador Dali. The team of assembled visual artists were some of the most provocative talents of the era, including H.R. Giger, Chris Foss, and Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud. The groundbreaking special effects were under the control of Dan O’Bannon and the soundtrack would be created by the mighty Pink Floyd and French prog-rock masters, Magma.
For two years, Jodo and his team of ‘Spiritual Warriors’ worked night and day on the massive task of creating the fabulous world of DUNE. In order to secure the necessary Hollywood funding, they created over 3,000 storyboards, numerous paintings, incredible costumes, and an outrageous, moving, and powerful screenplay.
Rare BOOK of concept art for Jodorowky’s DUNE
The storyboard – that Frank Herbert once described as “the size of a phonebook” – is one of 10 copies and is estimated to sell between €25,000 EUR and €35,000 EUR ($29,000 USD and $40,000 USD).
If you don’t have a few thousand dollars to spare, however, you can take a look at the storyboard (featuring original illustrations by Moebius and H.R. Giger, AKA the Swiss painter behind Alien’s concept art) in the gallery above.
IAMAG Inspiration Gallery – Th Art of Jodorowsky’s Dune
Then, we recommend that you watch Jodorowsky’s Dune, the 2013 documentary chronicling the filmmaker’s failed attempt at bringing Herbert’s space epic to the big screen. Ironically, the film scored rave reviews at Cannes at the time of its release and was the most successful film associated with the book to date – that is, until the release of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune last month.
about the AI generated concept art showcase
I was inspired by the drawings of Hugo Emmanuel Figueroa, on Behance, a Salvador Dali style composition collage of the world of Dune in the vision of Jean Giraud “Moebius”, Chris Foss, H. R. Giger.
The images in the gallery and showcase are A.I. generated using MidJourney platform, I feed the prompts with the image above, and with some research on Dune novel and Jodorowsky’s Dune project and the rare Concept Art Book.
THE GALLERY
The “main” original prompt image (from behance) +
https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/2800_opt_1/cfdc9e68557391.5b612d56149e5.png+ prompt for the gallery
Guild Navigator, guiding space-faring ships, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Fremen warrior in the desert planet of Arrakis, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Harkonnen invasion, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Harkonnen warrior in the desert planet of Arrakis, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Shaddam IV, Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Piter De Vries, twisted Mentat of House Harkonnen, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Prince Paul Atreides of Arrakis, son of Duke Leto and Jessica, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Lady Jessica, concubine of Duke Leto and mother of Paul and Alia, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Princess Irulan, eldest daughter of Shaddam IV, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, the Emperor's Truthsayer and Jessica's former teacher, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Princess Alia Atreides of Arrakis, daughter of Leto and Jessica, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
Dr. Yueh Wellington, Suk doctor of Duke Leto, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
colossal Imperial Palace of Arrakeen, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
spice harvester machines in the desert planet of Arrakis, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
interstellar starship, Jodorowsky’s Dune, digital color art, very high details --ar 3:2 --v 4 --q 2
