Prized 'Dune' book gets a day outside the University Library vault
A screening of a documentary on the 鈥淒une鈥� film that never was gives fans a chance to see an ultra-rare volume of its storyboards and artwork.
There may be only ten copies of it in the Known Universe. The 麻豆传媒映画 Library owns one of them, and your chance to see it comes this Thursday.
It鈥檚 the massive storyboard book for what would have been the first movie version of 鈥淒une,鈥� adapted from the Hugo award-winning Frank Herbert novel by cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. As a companion to the script, the book contains more than 3,000 drawings showing exactly how each scene was to play out from the camera鈥檚 point of view, along with more detailed color paintings of the planned characters, set design, vehicles and props.
A special viewing opportunity will be offered after a screening of 鈥淛odorowsky鈥檚 Dune,鈥� a 2013 documentary on the failed attempt to make the movie. The book features prominently in the 90-minute documentary, which includes interviews with Jodorowsky and others on the would-be production team.
The screening is at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, in the Marsh Science Fiction Room on the first floor of Love Library. The event will be introduced by Head of Special Collections Anna Culbertson and science fiction fan, collector, and namesake donor Edward E. Marsh.
It鈥檚 free and open to the public but space is limited. Culbertson picked Thursday for the event because it's the 126th anniversary of Herbert's birth.
鈥淲e are excited to hold the first public event in the Marsh Science Fiction Room and share the vision that Ed and I have dreamed up together over the years for this inspiring space,鈥� said Culbertson.
Fair warning: It鈥檚 a look-don鈥檛-touch opportunity; the book will be kept under glass. When not in the room for events or research, it鈥檚 kept in a special vault.
鈥淲e are so excited to share this book with the 麻豆传媒映画 community," said Scott Walter, Dean of the University Library, 鈥渁nd so grateful to our good friend, Edward E. Marsh, whose generosity over the years has helped the University Library to build an extraordinary collection of speculative fiction materials.鈥�
鈥淭his book is an exceptionally appropriate addition to our collection,鈥� Walter added, 鈥渁s the film demonstrates how it is an artifact that embodies the intersection of speculative fiction, film, and graphic art 鈥� all of which are distinctive strengths both of the 麻豆传媒映画 curriculum and of the library's special collections.鈥�
It is believed only 20 copies of the production book were made. In the 2013 documentary, Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn speculates only two copies may still exist but other sources cite higher numbers and 10 is widely viewed as a more reliable estimate.
麻豆传媒映画 acquired its volume in 2019, and Culbertson said it's the only one known to be in a public institutional setting.
They were originally used to pitch the movie to Hollywood movie studios, none of whom were willing to take a flyer on such an audacious proposal in the pre-鈥漇tar Wars鈥� era.
鈥淚 made the picture with drawings,鈥� Jodorowsky says in the documentary, with the storyboards showing camera angles for each scene. They were made by influential French cartoonist Jean 鈥淢艙bius鈥� Giraud; additional full-color illustrations were done by H.R. Giger (creator of the 鈥淎lien鈥� movie creature) and Chris Foss.
Another copy of the book was sold at auction in 2021 for over $3 million to a crypto group who thought they were purchasing exclusive rights to the art for the purpose of creating NFTs. They were sadly mistaken, but the sale鈥檚 inflated value created quite a stir in the auction world.
鈥淎s an artifact, this book supports research on the process of transforming the page to the screen, including storyboarding and concept art. There are a lot of people online talking about how they wish they could see it,鈥� Culbertson said.
"As a public university, we're able to provide access to anyone who visits. It also elevates our already outstanding collection of the works of Frank Herbert.鈥�
Jodorowsky was known for highly experimental films, and envisioned his version of 鈥淒une鈥� as a surreal, metaphysical experience comparable to taking the hallucinogenic drug LSD.
His planned cast included Salvador Dali (Shaddam Corrino, emperor of the 鈥淜nown Universe鈥� in Herbert鈥檚 parlance), Orson Welles (Baron Harkonnen), Mick Jagger (Feyd-Rautha), Gloria Swanson (Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother) and David Carradine (Duke Leto Atreides). The music: Pink Floyd.
In the documentary, Jodorowsky states the movie might have had a running time of 12 hours or more, an obvious deal-breaker for Hollywood. The storyboards show it ending in a major departure from the Herbert novel with the death of Paul Atreides and the transformation of the planet Arrakis into a conscious galactic voyager.
鈥淒une鈥� was eventually adapted three times. The 1984 movie directed by David Lynch was a notorious box office flop. A Sci-Fi Channel television miniseries came in 2000. The two-part, Oscar-nominated adaptation directed by Denis Villeneuve gets a sequel in December, drawn from the second book in Herbert鈥檚 鈥淒une鈥� series.
More information about speculative fiction collections in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives in the 麻豆传媒映画 Library.
