Arguably the most important film never made, Jodorowsky's Dune has influenced an entire generation of movie makers despite being never shot. Jodorowksy has HR Giger, Chris Foss and Mobius on design, Pink Floyd on music, Mick Jagger, David Carradine, Udo Kier, and Orson Welles in the cast and even secured Salvador Dali to play the Emperor (Dali refused to read the script and wanted $100k/hour to appear). Jodorowsky wanted to make the film 10-12 hours long, and that's what he pitched. A multi-million sci-fi epic like nothing which had ever been made before. So obviously, nobody funded it.

However, he did make his handbook, The Dune Bible, (link goes to the most complete archive I've seen of scans/captures from the book) of which two known copies still exist. A lot of the design work made it into Lynch's film. Other directors have seen the book too, including, I'm sure, Denis Villeneueve who will hopefully be taking some pointers while making his film.

1917 editor Lee Smith reveals the truth about Sam Mendes' one-shot film

This is my favourite passage from this article:

He asked [a journalist] how long the film shoot was; she looked at her notes, said four months. How many days a week? Five.

Do you think they never turned the camera off, he said; just do the maths. "And she went, 'Oh, right'."

I'm interested to find out who you think is making good films? I'm also interested in what your favourite film from them is, and why you like it.

Feel free to interpret it how you like -- I'm interested in distribution as well as production companies, as well as producers, directors, writers, and actors.

I just found out about this and it's something I guess I should have known about before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee

Alan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project. Coined in 1968 and used until it was formally discontinued in 2000,[1] it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) when a director, dissatisfied with the final product, proved to the satisfaction of a guild panel that he or she had not been able to exercise creative control over a film. The director was also required by guild rules not to discuss the circumstances leading to the movie or even to acknowledge being the project's director.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000647/

Some of the works of Peckinpah had been on my watch list for months, sitting there in a subfolder of a subfolder. From the choice of Straw Dogs and Cross of Iron, I chose the aforetitled, liking the idea of embarking on a bit of a journey through Mexico with a gritty protagonist as we experience splatterings of violence and negotiate the thoughts of a down and out vagabond making a ran for his riches.

The film left me with mixed feelings. I enjoyed the path of Benny, experiencing how his character is unwavering in his desire to take that last lucky ticket out of debauchery street, but didn't care much for his journey's partner. While I appreciated the dynamic of the relationship, the understanding they both had that they weren't in love with each other, but all they both had, the chemistry and dialogue didn't really resonate with me at parts. I actually was rather glad when this relationship came to its abrupt end as the film entered its final 3rd.

On top of that, there was major issues with the sound which made it difficult to fully immerse myself in the journey at times. I found myself feeling I was watching a caricature of a 70s movie now and again, as opposed to be engrossed in a gritty noir-esque adventure.

But all in all, an enjoyable film which has left an impression. I always appreciate watching unpolished characters navigating circumstances plotted outside their usual courses, then watching how they deal with the inevitable implosion. From what I've read since, the film was one which perhaps accurately portrayed the director's life at the time of filming; dealing with various booze-infused demons. That rawness definitely shows, as does the inevitable imperfections in this movie's execution.

7.5/10