| The Surreal World of Alejandro Jodorowsky |
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The Films of Alejandro JordorowskyDVD Box set "El Topo" Watch our interview with "El Topo" director Alejandro Jodorowsky:
 John Lennon and Yoko Ono helped to arrange his mystical western's release and distribution in the US through Beatles manager Allen Klein. His next film, "The Holy Mountain" made in '73 (or "La Montaña Sagrada") was no less surreal—it extended Jodorowsky's cache as one those inventive directors that pushed the envelope at every turn. Entirely financed by Lennon and Ono, it was the most expensive Mexican film production to date (with a budget of $1,500,000). "El Topo" was so controversial that movie houses would only screen it late night. Back then the only people who would venture to see a film at that hour were the heads—stoked on whatever it took to stay up late—and were those who would appreciate (or think they appreciated) what Jodorowsky was trying to say with his films. Of course, I wasn't the only one who was both shocked and impressed with the power of his vision—this film became the first to be featured as a midnight special and its success spawned the trend. |
