I should start by saying that I read the original novel when it was published in my teens and have remained a fan. All the other related works, well, not so much; in fact I gave up on them some long time ago. Hence my interest in a failed attempt to realise its world-view & sweeping narrative.

As a documentary, we are offered fascinating glimpses into the world of the post-psychedelic early 1970s.

Jodorowsky himself tries very hard to be a likeable character, discarded unfairly by the movie industry, but gives the game away during the course of the film. In particular, he uses a very suspect, not-to-say crude, metaphor to describe his vision of Frank Herbert's Dune. He cast his son as the main character, Paul Atreides, (vanity?). Other proposed, possibly eccentric, choices ranged from Salvador Dali as the Emperor and Orson Welles as Baron Harkonnen. His previous films (in which both he and his son starred) were, apparently, 'spiritual' and the excerpts from them included are surreal, with a very self-centred overview. Certainly, Jodorowsky's proposed ending is a too obvious metaphor, which was rejected as an interpretation of the work by the author. The attempts to sell the project to a large studio were almost inevitably doomed by his record & a stubborn refusal to compromise on his vision of the story as described by 'the book'.

Admittedly, that book is an impressive creative achievement in itself, but the content was probably unrealisable on film without a massive investment, far in excess of the proposed budget. Its creators went on to influence special effects and movie design over many years. That's its lasting legacy; more theirs than Jodorowsky's. As an aside, I consider David Lynch's effort to be catastrophically bad.

Was this the greatest film never made? I suggest that you watch and decide for yourself. However, my rating is not for the vision.