Dune (1984)
Dir. David Lynch
A flawed but visually impressive adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel (1965) of the same name. It explores the machinations of three great houses as they each attempt to gain the upper hand over the other, in the year 10,191.
The Dune of the title is a planet upon which a commodity unique to its ecology is mined. Great power is bestowed upon whosoever controls the mining and distribution of that product. But the position also breeds immense jealousy and hatred in others, making the house chosen to oversee its operations a prime target.
While the planet itself has perils and challenges to overcome, a major focus of the story revolves around that which exists within an individual, at the forefront of which is young Paul Atreides, successor to the throne of House Atreides.
Scratchy sand, suits with piss in the thighs, giant phallic worms, quasi-religious nonsense and a floating fat man. I absolutely love Dune.
I was being diplomatic when I said above that it's flawed. It's a glorious mess that requires a deep knowledge of the source novel to properly understand. You'll need to be able to fill in the blanks to have even a hope of defending it to the haters.
The opening narration, in which Princess Irulan (Virginia Madsen) documents the history and active status of the political situation is unusual in that she appears to address the audience directly. The novel had short passages of text before each chapter that performed a similar function, so it was perhaps inspired by those, but it's basically an info-dump to get newcomers up to speed with the basics, and in isolation can seem pretty unusual, at best.
- "A beginning is a very delicate time." -
The first ten minutes are a good indication of what's to come. The 'plans within plans' model of the story is presented first in an exchange between Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (José Ferrer) and a bizarre looking creature in a tank. It's an exchange in which one political power says to another 'we know of your plan and will not expose it if you do something equally as nefarious for us with the same level of secrecy'. The Emperor's trusted aide, a truthsayer with dual allegiance, uses the information to put other plans in motion. Many wheels start to turn. [1]
Furthermore, something is mentioned in those first minutes that's unique to the film, letting us know that the adaptation won't be entirely faithful to its esteemed source.
- "Things have been so serious here lately." -
There's some dodgy casting and some exquisite casting. Paul is older than he was in the book, but his age isn't referenced, so it's not a major issue. Kyle MacLachlan isn't a perfect match to how the character was written in the novel, but he was a perfect choice to carry the Lynchian vibe, as further evidenced by his role in Lynch's later work, Twin Peaks. (Everett McGill and Jack Nance also feature, both of whom are also in TP.) Siân Phillips is great as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. But the best of the ensemble cast is undoubtedly Kenneth McMillan as the vile Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Duke Leto's most hated rival - his performance is masterful.
- "He who controls the spice, controls the universe!" -
The FX are a mixed bag and the finale is rushed and embarrassing, but regardless of its faults one thing is certain: the sets are some of the best you’ll find in an 80s science fiction film.
[1] By the way, the creature that addresses the Emperor certainly looks alien, but there are no 'aliens' in the Dune universe, besides a world's indigenous fauna. The Princess Irulan speech originally explained what the creature was, but that part was cut from the theatrical edition. The many cuts and compromises that were made create confusion from the very beginning.
NOTE: two official versions of the film are commercially available on shiny disc, neither of which will make complete sense to anyone who’s not familiar with the novel. The Theatrical Cut (1984), which is the one discussed above, has director David Lynch's name attached and lasts 137 minutes (PAL), is presented in the original 2.35:1 ratio, and has either a stereo or 5.1 audio mix. (To date, the restoration by Koch Media from the OCN is the best that I've ever seen it look.) The other is the TV Cut, which I'll briefly mention below.
Dir. Alan Smithee
On the plus side there are alternate edits, angles and footage that was missing from the shorter 137 min theatrical cut mentioned above. There's an extended prologue providing a lot more back-story than before via V/O and a series of painted images filmed with a rostrum camera; I have mixed feelings about that part.
The inclusion of an original film poster reproduction is appealing, but hardly enough to entice all but the most obsessive Dune fan. However, if you identify with that classification, then seek it out, because some of the new and/or reinstated scenes really are fascinating.
Conversely, if you've only a casual or passing interest in the story, then the Theatrical Cut is definitely the better option despite being the shorter one.
Conversely, if you've only a casual or passing interest in the story, then the Theatrical Cut is definitely the better option despite being the shorter one.
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