A few weeks ago, highly acclaimed, influential filmmaker David Lynch passed away (born January 20, 1945 - died January 15, 2025). Lynch was widely considered to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and was often called a “visionary” and was known for films often distinguished by their surrealist and experimental qualities.
Since I have never seen any of his films before, I took a look at his 1984 film adaptation, “Dune.”
In the year 10191, a spice called melange is the most valuable substance known in the universe and its only source is the desert planet Arrakis.
A royal decree awards Arrakis to Duke Leto Atreides and ousts his bitter enemies, the Harkonnens. However, when the Harkonnens violently seize back their domain, it’s up to Paul, Leto’s son, to lead the Fremen, the natives of Arrakis, in a battle for control of the planet and its spice.
The 1984 film adaptation of “Dune” was something I always wanted to check out once I reviewed the recent “Dune” films. And while getting ready to check this out, I read online that there were some mixed responses to the film. Despite the initial mixed reception to “Dune,” it has ultimately become a cult classic.
Now, while this adaptation of the acclaimed novel isn’t nearly as exciting and thrilling as the recent films, it’s still an okay watch. One thing that I didn’t enjoy about this film are the visually epic action sequences that occur throughout the film. Despite the action being visually fine for the most part, some of the visual effects work could’ve been a little better.
The set pieces that we see throughout the 1984 film are also extraordinary and look good for a film released in the 80s. The visuals and set pieces (despite looking decent) haven’t really aged all that well over time.
David Lynch’s “Dune” was definitely an ambitious project during that decade and sci-fi adventure films were still trying to break out (despite some obvious successes, such as “Star Wars” and “Alien”). There are definitely moments in the film that can really slow things down a bit and one thing that really didn’t work out for this film is cramming the entire first book into a film that’s a little over two hours - which from what I have read about had to do with studio interference.
This 1984 sci-fi adventure can also be imaginative and had potential to be such an incredible film. It has also been said that Lynch even considered this as his ultimately failure of his career. If you’re not familiar with the original novels (like myself), the film can be really complex. If you are familiar with the novel, you may likely notice what has been cut out or changed while they were putting the film together.
If you are interested in checking out films from this highly influential filmmaker, “Dune,” along with a few others, they are currently streaming on the Max streaming platform.
The suits worn by the Guild members were body bags that were found in a disused fire station dating back to the early 1920s. The bags had actually been used several times, something that was kept from the cast members until after shooting was completed.
Writer and director David Lynch has said he considers this movie the only real failure of his career. To this day, he refuses to talk about the production in great detail, and has refused numerous offers to work on a Special Edition DVD. Lynch had always claimed that revisiting the movie would be too painful an experience to endure. As of 2024, Lynch has clarified that a Director's Cut is impossible, as Dino De Laurentiis never allowed him to shoot scenes the way he wanted to or to take liberties with the source material Lynch felt he needed.
During the movie's original release, "cheatsheets" explaining much of the movie's setting and its more obscure vocabulary were handed out to moviegoers at some theaters.
Sir Patrick Stewart's casting as Gurney Halleck was actually a mistake. Director David Lynch thought he had hired a different looking actor, as he had only seen Stewart wearing a costume and heavy makeup that made him look older in a play. This is the look the director was expecting, and when he showed up with his actual face, Lynch was disappointed at first.
Two hundred workers spent two months hand-clearing three square miles of Mexican desert for location shooting.
Despite being considered a financial flop, it is the David Lynch movie to make the most money in its initial box-office run, and the only one to break into the top five in its opening weekend (it was number two).
Before making this film, David Lynch turned down an offer to direct Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), informing George Lucas, "It's your thing, it's not my thing." Coincidentally, Dune was an influence on Star Wars.
Upon completion, the rough cut, without post-production effects, ran over four hours long. David Lynch's intended cut (as reflected in the seventh and final draft of the script) was almost three hours long. However, Universal Pictures and the movie's financiers expected a standard, two-hour cut of the movie. To reduce the run time, Dino De Laurentiis, Raffaella De Laurentiis and Lynch excised numerous scenes, filmed new scenes that simplified or concentrated plot elements, and added voice-over narrations, plus a new introduction by Virginia Madsen.
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