I have to admit that IÔÇÖm always a little bit cynical whenever I hear various film fans bemoaning films that were never made. These are the films that were nearly made but ended up being abandoned because the production company ran out of money or maybe a lead actor died or maybe the studio refused to release it or else they released it in a heavily edited form. ThereÔÇÖs a certain tendency among hipsters to decide that any movie that they will never be able to see would automatically have been the greatest film ever. ItÔÇÖs rare that anyone ever suggests that maybe itÔÇÖs for the best that Stanley Kubrick never made his version of Napoleon or that maybe Ridley ScottÔÇÖs version of I Am Legend would have been just as bad as the version that starred Will Smith or even that the footage that we have of Orson WellesÔÇÖs unfinished The Other Side of The Wind doesnÔÇÖt look that impressive.

In fact, some day, I want to see a documentary about an abandoned film where everyone says, ÔÇ£Oh my God, IÔÇÖm glad that movie never got made. It would have sucked!ÔÇØ

However, that documentary is never going to be made. The great thing about praising a film that was never made was that you donÔÇÖt have to worry about anyone watching the film and then going, ÔÇ£You have no idea what youÔÇÖre talking about!ÔÇØ

For instance, I recently watched an excellent documentary called JodorowskyÔÇÖs Dune. This film tells the story of how the iconoclastic director Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to make a film out of the science fiction novel Dune in the mid-70s. During the documentary, Jodorowsky explains that his version of the story would, in many ways, be different from the book. Since IÔÇÖve never read the book nor have I seen any of the various adaptations that actually were eventually produced, I canÔÇÖt say whether JodorowskyÔÇÖs changes would have been an improvement. For that matter, I canÔÇÖt say whether or not JodorowskyÔÇÖs film would have been great or if it would have been a legendary misfire. IÔÇÖve seen El Topo and The Holy Mountain so IÔÇÖm pretty sure that his version of Dune would have been uniquely his own. But thereÔÇÖs no way for me ÔÇö or anyone else for that matter ÔÇö to say whether or not the film would have been any good because, after assembling an intriguing cast (Orson Welles, Mick Jagger, Salvador Dali, and David Carradine) and recruiting several talented artists and technicians (H.R. Giger, Dan OÔÇÖBannon, Chris Foss, and Moebius), Jodorowsky was never able to make his film. The Hollywood studios took one look at JodorowskyÔÇÖs vision and said, ÔÇ£ThereÔÇÖs no way were paying for that.ÔÇØ

However, the documentary goes on to make a very intriguing argument that JodorowskyÔÇÖs Dune may be the most influential film never made. Many of the people who collaborated with Jodorowsky would go on to work on other science fiction films and, when they did, they brought with them many of the ideas and concepts that were originally developed for Dune. The documentary not only suggests that this might be true but also offers up some pretty compelling evidence, showing us how everything from Raiders of the Lost Ark to Prometheus has featured scenes that originally appeared in JodorowskyÔÇÖs Dune storyboards.

I may not be totally convinced that JodorowskyÔÇÖs Dune would have been the greatest film ever made but I love this documentary. The majority of it is spent just listening as Jodorowsky, alternating between English and Spanish, tells us the story of what he hoped to do with Dune and how, ultimately, he could not do it. JordorowskyÔÇÖs love of film and art is obvious with each word that he says. Whether heÔÇÖs talking about meeting Salvador Dali or passionately advocating for creativity and imagination, Alejandro Jodorowsky is never less than charming and inspiring.

If you love movies, youÔÇÖll love JodorowskyÔÇÖs Dune. If you donÔÇÖt love movies, JodorowskyÔÇÖs Dune will change your mind.