Alejandro Jodorowsky

Directing

Alejandro Jodorowsky

Born 1929-02-17 · Tocopilla, Chile

Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky, known as Alejandro Jodorowsky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean filmmaker, playwright, composer and writer with a large cult following. Best known for his avant-garde films, he has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation." His most notable works include El Topo (1970), The Holy Mountain (1973) and Santa Sangre (1989), all of which have had limited release but achieved popularity amongst various countercultural groups. He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence, and has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson and David Lynch. After a failed attempt to return to filmmaking with a film entitled King Shot starring Marilyn Manson and produced by David Lynch, Alejandro is set to return to cinema with the sequel to El Topo entitled Abel Cain sometime in late 2011 or 2012. Jodorowsky is also a playwright and play director, having produced over one hundred plays, primarily in Mexico where he lived for much of his life. Alongside this he is also a writer, particularly of comic books - his The Incal even has been noted as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written - as well as books on his own theories about spirituality. Jodorowsky has been involved in the occult and various spiritual and religious groups, including Zen Buddhism and forms of Mexican shamanism, and has formulated his own spiritual system, which he has called "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism".

Acting credits

The Holy Mountain poster
7.5

The Alchemist assembles together a group of people from all walks of life to represent the planets in the solar system. The occult adept's intention is to put his recruits through strange mystical rites and divest them of their worldly baggage before embarking on a trip to Lotus Island. There they ascend the Holy Mountain to displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.

The Holy Mountain

1973

El Topo poster
7.1

El Topo decides to confront warrior Masters on a trans-formative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son, who must bury his childhood totems to become a man.

El Topo

1970

Rush to War poster
7.0

In today's post-9/11 world, director Robert Taicher searches for the rationale behind the war in Iraq, exploring the failed policies of several administrations in an expertly crafted full-length documentary. What he presents is a raw, provocative look into America's "War on Terror" and its effect on our society, our credibility, and most importantly, our security. As America fights the wrong war at the wrong time, comes a riveting eye-opener. The right film at the right time.

Rush to War

2004

Jodorowsky's Dune poster
7.8

In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.

Jodorowsky's Dune

2013

The Severed Heads poster
6.1

A short mime adaptation of a Thomas Mann story about a Parisian urchin who makes her living selling human heads.

The Severed Heads

1957

Niente è come sembra poster
5.8

No synopsis available yet.

Niente è come sembra

2007

NWR poster
7.2

A documentary about Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, winner of the Best Director award at the Cannes Festival in 2011 for Drive. From his childhood to the shooting of his next movie, Only God Forgives, in Thailand, discover the whole career of a truly visionary filmmaker. With Ryan Gosling, Mads Mikkelsen, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Gaspar Noé, Peter Peter and Zlatko Buric.

NWR

2012

Endless Poetry poster
7.4

A portrait of the director’s young adulthood, set in the 1940s–1950s, in the electric capital city of Santiago. There, he decides to become a poet and is introduced, by destiny, into the foremost bohemian and artistic circle of the time.

Endless Poetry

2016

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Cherif

2002

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream poster
6.3

From 1970-1977, six low budget films shown at midnight transformed the way we make and watch films.

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream

2006

Fando and Lis poster
6.8

Fando and his partially paralysed lover Lis search for the mythical city of Tar.

Fando and Lis

1972

The Dance of Reality poster
7.2

'Having broken away from my illusory self, I was desperately seeking a path and a meaning to life.' This phrase perfectly sums up Alejandro Jodorowsky’s biographical project: reconstituting the incredible adventure of his life. He was born in 1929 Tocopilla, a coastal town on edge of the Chilean desert, where he discovered the fundamentals of reality, as he underwent an unhappy and alienated childhood as part of an uprooted family.

The Dance of Reality

2013

My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn poster
6.4

A documentary directed by Winding Refn's wife, Liv Corfixen, and it follows the Danish-born filmmaker during the making of his 2013 film Only God Forgives.

My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

2015

Fake News poster
4.1

After stealing a gaming console from migrants, Sébastien tries to sell it to Patrick, a good guy. So far, nothing too serious. But when a rapper straight out of jail, a TV host willing to do anything to go viral and click traffickers get involved... Sébastien and Patrick become France’s most wanted bad guys.

Fake News

2021

La colorina poster
NR

Portrait of the Chilean poet Stella Díaz Varín (1926 -2006), who was called “La colorina” because of her red hair. Anarchist, communist, agitator, boxer, grandmother, alcoholic — the first punk in history, as it were. Based on accounts of fellow-travelers.

La colorina

2008

A Tar poster
NR

An approach to experimental diva Diana Mariscal.

A Tar

2010

Musikanten poster
7.0

During research for a series focused on the greatest scientists of the past, a TV producer, following a hypnosis experiment, finds herself catapulted into the 19th century, participating in the last years of Ludwig Van Beethoven's life.

Musikanten

2006

Melodrama Sacramental poster
5.9

The Panic Movement performed theatrical events designed to be shocking, as a response to surrealism becoming petite bourgeoisie and to release destructive energies in search of peace and beauty. One four-hour performance known as Melodrama Sacramentral was staged in May 1965 at the Paris Festival of Free Expression. The "happening" starred Jodorowsky dressed in motorcyclist leather and featured him slitting the throats of two geese, taping two snakes to his chest and having himself stripped and whipped. Other scenes included a staged murder of a rabbi, a crucified chicken, a giant vagina giving birth to Jodorowsky, naked women covered in honey and the throwing of live turtles into the audience.

Melodrama Sacramental

1965

Born Without poster
NR

'Born Without' is a documentary about severely handicapped Mexican actor and musician Jose Flores. "Born without arms and other limbs, Jose supports his large family by playing the harmonica throughout Mexico. In the face of adversity, he shows great courage and spiritual strength. This is a film with multiple layers. It is about sharing, daring and being grateful for what we have. It is also an exploration of social values, some of them controversial. Many of Jose's choices have been strongly criticized by his family and people around him. As a result, this is also a film about self discovery: a way to explore what we judge ... and what we choose to accept and forgive."

Born Without

2008

No Big Deal poster
4.5

Three sons are sent on a journey to trace their father's checkered past.

No Big Deal

2003

Jean Cocteau: Lies and Truths poster
NR

This documentary consists mainly of archive interviews of Jean Cocteau, and it features interesting contributions by Jean Marais and especially Jean-Luc Godard, who discusses Cocteau's foray into cinema. The film documents all the artistic media explored by a man who defined himself, first and foremost, as a poet.

Jean Cocteau: Lies and Truths

1997

John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office poster
6.7

The daring experimenter Dr. John C. Lilly dedicated his life to radical self-investigation and unlocking the mysteries of consciousness and communication. “My body is my laboratory” was the motto, and his research on the language of dolphins and whales – as well as psychedelics and sensory deprivation – assured his own cult status in 20th-century pop culture as the basis for Ken Russel’s Altered States and Mike Nichols’s The Day of the Dolphin. Directors Michael Almareyda and Courtney Stephens, along with narrator Chloë Sevigny, explore the life of a determined scientist and his experiments into the psychonautical unknown.

John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office

2025

The Island poster
4.5

In Paris, Sophie and Daneel make a solid couple. Nothing, it seems, can separate them - until the day when Sophie tells her partner she has organised a surprise trip to Bulgaria. Daneel refuses to go, but Sophie insists and soon discovers just why her soul mate was so reluctant to set foot in the country...

The Island

2011

Psychomagic: A Healing Art poster
6.1

Explores the therapeutic work of director Alejandro Jodorowsky, showing by means of real acts, what Psychomagic is, its principle, how it is practiced, and how it is applied in life. Jodorowsky works directly with real, suffering people who are eager to solve their problems.

Psychomagic: A Healing Art

2019

Behind the camera

The Holy Mountain poster
7.5

The Alchemist assembles together a group of people from all walks of life to represent the planets in the solar system. The occult adept's intention is to put his recruits through strange mystical rites and divest them of their worldly baggage before embarking on a trip to Lotus Island. There they ascend the Holy Mountain to displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.

The Holy Mountain

1973

The Holy Mountain poster
7.5

The Alchemist assembles together a group of people from all walks of life to represent the planets in the solar system. The occult adept's intention is to put his recruits through strange mystical rites and divest them of their worldly baggage before embarking on a trip to Lotus Island. There they ascend the Holy Mountain to displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.

The Holy Mountain

1973

The Holy Mountain poster
7.5

The Alchemist assembles together a group of people from all walks of life to represent the planets in the solar system. The occult adept's intention is to put his recruits through strange mystical rites and divest them of their worldly baggage before embarking on a trip to Lotus Island. There they ascend the Holy Mountain to displace the immortal gods who secretly rule the universe.

The Holy Mountain

1973

El Topo poster
7.1

El Topo decides to confront warrior Masters on a trans-formative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son, who must bury his childhood totems to become a man.

El Topo

1970

El Topo poster
7.1

El Topo decides to confront warrior Masters on a trans-formative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son, who must bury his childhood totems to become a man.

El Topo

1970

Santa Sangre poster
7.2

A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless, cult leader mother, and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name.

Santa Sangre

1989

Santa Sangre poster
7.2

A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless, cult leader mother, and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name.

Santa Sangre

1989

The Severed Heads poster
6.1

A short mime adaptation of a Thomas Mann story about a Parisian urchin who makes her living selling human heads.

The Severed Heads

1957

The Severed Heads poster
6.1

A short mime adaptation of a Thomas Mann story about a Parisian urchin who makes her living selling human heads.

The Severed Heads

1957

Tusk poster
4.9

An English girl and an Indian elephant, born on the same day, share a common destiny...

Tusk

1980

Tusk poster
4.9

An English girl and an Indian elephant, born on the same day, share a common destiny...

Tusk

1980

Endless Poetry poster
7.4

A portrait of the director’s young adulthood, set in the 1940s–1950s, in the electric capital city of Santiago. There, he decides to become a poet and is introduced, by destiny, into the foremost bohemian and artistic circle of the time.

Endless Poetry

2016

Endless Poetry poster
7.4

A portrait of the director’s young adulthood, set in the 1940s–1950s, in the electric capital city of Santiago. There, he decides to become a poet and is introduced, by destiny, into the foremost bohemian and artistic circle of the time.

Endless Poetry

2016

Fando and Lis poster
6.8

Fando and his partially paralysed lover Lis search for the mythical city of Tar.

Fando and Lis

1972

Fando and Lis poster
6.8

Fando and his partially paralysed lover Lis search for the mythical city of Tar.

Fando and Lis

1972

The Dance of Reality poster
7.2

'Having broken away from my illusory self, I was desperately seeking a path and a meaning to life.' This phrase perfectly sums up Alejandro Jodorowsky’s biographical project: reconstituting the incredible adventure of his life. He was born in 1929 Tocopilla, a coastal town on edge of the Chilean desert, where he discovered the fundamentals of reality, as he underwent an unhappy and alienated childhood as part of an uprooted family.

The Dance of Reality

2013

The Dance of Reality poster
7.2

'Having broken away from my illusory self, I was desperately seeking a path and a meaning to life.' This phrase perfectly sums up Alejandro Jodorowsky’s biographical project: reconstituting the incredible adventure of his life. He was born in 1929 Tocopilla, a coastal town on edge of the Chilean desert, where he discovered the fundamentals of reality, as he underwent an unhappy and alienated childhood as part of an uprooted family.

The Dance of Reality

2013

The Dance of Reality poster
7.2

'Having broken away from my illusory self, I was desperately seeking a path and a meaning to life.' This phrase perfectly sums up Alejandro Jodorowsky’s biographical project: reconstituting the incredible adventure of his life. He was born in 1929 Tocopilla, a coastal town on edge of the Chilean desert, where he discovered the fundamentals of reality, as he underwent an unhappy and alienated childhood as part of an uprooted family.

The Dance of Reality

2013

The Rainbow Thief poster
5.3

A petty crook, in search of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, hopes to cash in by befriending an heir to a huge fortune.

The Rainbow Thief

1994

Melodrama Sacramental poster
5.9

The Panic Movement performed theatrical events designed to be shocking, as a response to surrealism becoming petite bourgeoisie and to release destructive energies in search of peace and beauty. One four-hour performance known as Melodrama Sacramentral was staged in May 1965 at the Paris Festival of Free Expression. The "happening" starred Jodorowsky dressed in motorcyclist leather and featured him slitting the throats of two geese, taping two snakes to his chest and having himself stripped and whipped. Other scenes included a staged murder of a rabbi, a crucified chicken, a giant vagina giving birth to Jodorowsky, naked women covered in honey and the throwing of live turtles into the audience.

Melodrama Sacramental

1965

Pubertinaje poster
6.3

Three episodes: 1) "A Christmas dinner" where the family members fantasize about being somewhere else. The fetishist father wants to put on feminine clothes. The son longs for another transvestite adventure. The daughter yearns to be a singer and destroy the saints of the church with her voice. The youngest son wants to stab everyone dead. 2) "Game of mirrors". Two young classmates kiss on a picnic, but the girl's brother accuses the couple of being immoral. Bizarre things develop. 3) "Tetrahedron". A very fat man faces his girlfriend's longing for love.

Pubertinaje

1978

Psychomagic: A Healing Art poster
6.1

Explores the therapeutic work of director Alejandro Jodorowsky, showing by means of real acts, what Psychomagic is, its principle, how it is practiced, and how it is applied in life. Jodorowsky works directly with real, suffering people who are eager to solve their problems.

Psychomagic: A Healing Art

2019

Psychomagic: A Healing Art poster
6.1

Explores the therapeutic work of director Alejandro Jodorowsky, showing by means of real acts, what Psychomagic is, its principle, how it is practiced, and how it is applied in life. Jodorowsky works directly with real, suffering people who are eager to solve their problems.

Psychomagic: A Healing Art

2019

He! Viva Dada poster
NR

Report from the second free expression festival organized at the American Cultural Center, Boulevard Raspail, in May 1965. The shows, all happenings inspired by ""théâtre panique/ the panic theater", includes Fernando Arrabal, Roland Topor and Alejandro Jodorowsky.

He! Viva Dada

1965