Alexandro Jodorowsky (1929 - )
Related: 1929 - film - director - South America - Panic Movement - cult films
Titles: El Topo (1970)
Bibliography: Midnight Movies (1983) - Jeffrey Hoberman and Jonathan Rosenbaum
El Topo (1970) - Alexandro Jodorowsky [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Biography
Alejandro Jodorowsky (born February 7, 1929) is a director, actor, and writer of a handful of esoteric, surreal and shocking films, as well as a writer of comic books.
The Holy Mountain (1973) and El Topo (1970) are regarded as cult classics. Neither film is currently available on DVD, though bootleg copies are occasionally circulated.
Jodorowsky began working in 1975 on an adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune. The project was intended to involve Orson Welles, Salvador Dalí, Pink Floyd and H.R. Giger. Ultimately, funding evaporated and Jodorowsky was replaced by David Lynch.
A sequel, The Sons of El Topo is currently listed as in pre-production on IMDb.
Jodorowsky once said, "Most directors make films with their eyes. I make films with my testicles."
He is also the writer of several comic book series: Metabarons, Technopriests, Incal, Megalex. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_Jodorowsky [Aug 2004]
Passion plays and miracle plays
He borrows freely from passion plays, miracle plays- what begins as a quest for enlightenment and moral and physical perfection ends up with El Topo achieving spiritual salvation and sainthood- the Theater of Cruelty, the Theatre of the Absurd (particularly Beckett), surrealism (a la Cocteau, in both theater and film), mime Jodorowsky studied with Marcel Marceau), and even magic acts.More films
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Fando & Lis (1967) - Alejandro Jodorowsky [Amazon.com]
Using only one page script and the memory of his stage production, director Alejandro Jodorowsky blended surreal beauty and savage imagery to fashion this bizarre tale of corrupted innocence, sadomasochistic love, and unattainable paradise. Fando and Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, inciting a riot that forced the director to flee for his life. In the ensuing scandal, the film was banned. Jodorowsky was branded a heretic, forced ot stand trial and nearly deported. Considered lost for over 30 years, Fantoma is proud to present the director's cut of Fando and Lis, the visionary first film from the creator of such cult classic as El Too, Holy Mountain, and Santa Sangre. -- Description - Santa Sangre (1989) - Alejandro Jodorowsky [Amazon US]
"Santa Sangre" is a shockingly original film. It is brilliantly written, performed and directed. It is amazing how much director Alejandro Jodorowsky packs into this visceral masterpiece. There are so many story threads and connections and characters and each never lapses. The visual style of the movie is also haunting, with images that are unforgettable. There are moments when Jodorowsky's film takes on the impression of a dream (or nightmare). There is surrealism, drama, violence and romance mingled so brilliantly that there are reminders of the great Spanish surrealist Luis Buñuel. The actors are incredibly good and the film has a passion that flows in the imagination of its construction. There are moments of spectacle that are unrestrained and truly impact, like a scene where an elephant's coffin is tipped over onto a garbage dump and is ripped open by starving scavengers. And there is the haunting sequence in a graveyard where the spirits of past victims rise out to haunt the main character. In a time of such tame work, "Santa Sangre" shows true filmmaking passion and the daring art of a great director. You know a director is great when out of such violence and chaos he can still sustain a sweet love story. "Santa Sangre" is a masterpiece. --Alci Rengifo, amazon.com
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