Famous Like Me > Director > J > Alejandro Jodorowsky
Profile of Alejandro Jodorowsky
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Name: |
Alejandro Jodorowsky |
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Date of Birth: |
7th February 1929 |
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Place of Birth: |
Iquique, Chile |
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Profession: |
Director |
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From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia Alexandro Jodorowsky (born February 7, 1929, in Tocopilla, Chile to Ashkenazi Jewish parents) is an actor, director, producer, composer, mime, comic book writer and psychotherapist. He is particularly known for having directed a handful of esoteric, surreal and shocking films, as well as a writer of comic books. The revered cult filmmaker once stated, "I ask of cinema what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs." He is also a New Age spiritualist, and one of the world's leading researchers of the Tarot. Jodorowski has lately commited a lot of attention to developing a psychological therapy called psychomagic which aims to heal the psychological wounds suffered in the early stages of life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain outside acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which are passed down from generation to generation. These acts are prescribed by the therapist after having studied the patient´s personality and family tree.
Artistic career
In 1962 he created the Panic Movement, together with Roland Topor and Fernando Arrabal. He has also worked with famous artists such as Marcel Marceau, Maurice Chevalier, H.R. Giger, Dan O'Bannon, Jean Giraud (MÅ“bius). John Lennon was a fan of Jodorowsky's work, and had a hand in taking his films to venues in the U.S.
He is the writer of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same universe: The caste of the Metabarons, Technopriests, Incal, Megalex. Many ideas and concepts devised by Jodorowsky from his planned adaptation of Dune (which was only loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) later turned up in the Metabarons comic books. (which also contain many references to Dune in general) Comics by Jodorowsky outside the genre of science fiction include Bouncer, Son Of The Gun and The Crowned Heart. He particularly collaborates with MÅ“bius and Humanoids Publishing. All the science fiction graphic novels authored by Jodorowsky are set in the same setting, which fans refer to as the Jodoverse.
In 2000 he won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Film-making career
His films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973) are regarded as cult classics. Neither film is currently available on DVD in the United States because of disputes over ownership with Allen Klein, though bootleg copies are occasionally circulated and both El Topo and The Holy Mountain are available on DVD in Italy. His first feature length film, Fando y Lis, is available on DVD in the US and is infamous for inciting a full scale riot at its premiere in the Acapulco Film Festival.
Jodorowsky began working in 1975 on an adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune. The project was intended to involve Orson Welles, Salvador DalÃ, Pink Floyd, H.R. Giger and Jean Giraud (MÅ“bius). Ultimately, its funding evaporated, but Jodorowsky claimed it was sabotaged by the major studios in Hollywood because it was too French (a strange claim considering that Jodorowsky, while a naturalized citizen of France, has never identified with any particular country or culture). Many close to the project claim that the set designs later turned up in Star Wars. Several of the people working on Jodorowsky's version of Dune later worked on Alien with elements similar to that of the failed movie. Of course, in the early 1980s, David Lynch made his version of Dune.
A sequel to El Topo called The Sons of El Topo was planned, with Alfonso Arau (who appeared in the original film) as the producer and starring Marilyn Manson and Johnny Depp, but Jodorowsky could not find investors for the project.
Jodorowsky once said, "Most directors make films with their eyes. I make films with my testicles." He made almost all his movies in Mexico.
List of movies
- (1957) Les Têtes interverties
- (1967) Fando y Lis
- (1970) El Topo
- (1973) The Holy Mountain (La Montaña Sagrada)
- (1980) Tusk (Movie)
- (1989) Santa Sangre
- (1990) The Rainbow Thief
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