Dune (1984)

☆ ☆ ☆

Dune (1984) – D. Lynch

I saw this on the big screen back when it was released – but I didn’t remember it at all.  Now that I’ve read Frank Herbert’s novel and well, because David Lynch, I thought I would watch it again.  And despite some surreal Lynchian passages (giant worms with giant mouths) and an overall dreamlike feel to the proceedings, the damn thing would surely be incomprehensible if you haven’t read the book.  Now, if you have read the book, you’ll find a strangely abridged rendering of the rather epic story, with a lot left out (and some tiny bits from other novels in the series seemingly added in).  Characters are barely introduced (occasionally by voiceover from Princess Irulan who also offers some similar overviews in the book) and hearing their whispered thoughts (also a feature of the book) is rather disorienting when we don’t really know them at all.  Kyle MacLachlan is Paul Maudib, the self-anointed (but true to prophecy) saviour of the planet Arrakis and its rebel group, the (blue-eyed) Fremen.  He is up against Baron Harkonnen (with nephew Sting) and Emperor Shaddam who are aligned with a big corporation that mines and profits from the spice melange (which is highly addictive).  The politics of Dune are rather lost in this version (truncated by the producers but unable to be satisfactorily reconstructed according to Lynch) as are the more-pertinent-than-ever environmental implications of a desert planet with no water.  The pre-CGI special effects are at times clunky and at other times just plain weird (a la Lynch).  You could watch the film and just marvel at its weirdness – there is probably enough to enjoy; but if you are looking for plot or substance, then look elsewhere (perhaps in Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming version that is currently in post-production). Also, for fans of the book, it does appear that Lynch has changed the ending.