DUNE (1984)

I became a fan of the Frank Herbert novels of Dune because of this film. Prior to seeing this film the only sci-fi I’d read were comics, and maybe some Star Wars novels, some H. G. Wells or Jules Verne and even more comics as I mainly read crime and mystery novels prior, but this film politely took me into a dark room, sat me down and explained to me that sci-fi concepts can be so much more than just space war, invisible men, submarines, and aliens who can fly and try to help mankind.

Frank Herbert’s Dune was first published as a serial in Analog Science Fiction Magazine in 1963 but was compiled into novel form, released in 1965. It is the first part of an entire series of books set in this universe, and won both the 1966 Nebula Award and Hugo Award.

The story of Dune is incredibly nuanced and has so much involved that a simple plot synopsis is hard to explain with a 20,000 word review which would get a pile of ‘TLDR’ comments so I shall try to simplify it.

In the far, far, far future, mankind has banned all ‘thinking machines’ (i.e. computers), and mankind has become reliant on two other forms of technology: machines of war and ESP. Mankind has formed its government into something of a feudal system, called the Imperium, and constant push and pulls of territory are always happening, either through diplomacy or all out war.

One planet of particular interest is Arrakis, a desert planet that has a drug called ‘melange’ on it, which prolongs life (something all kings have wanted throughout time) and when excessively taken, can mutate the body and mind, a side-effect being that individuals are able to fold space for rapid space travel.

Behind the scenes of all of humanity’s politics are the Bene Gesserit, a religious order controlling everything, and this is where our story begins…

Yep, this was just the background one requires to understand what comes next… blimey!

Our film tells of the family of House Atriedes, led by Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow), his partner (described as a concubine) Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis) and their son, Paul (Kyle MacLachlan) who have been instructed by the Emperor (José Ferrer) to travel to the planet of Arrakis to take over the production of the spice, melange, known to extend life and give amazing powers to those who take it.

What Leto does not know is that the Emperor is intending to start a war on Arrakis between House Atriedes and the villainous House Harkonnen, presided over by the horrifying Baron Harkonnen ( Kenneth McMillan) so that he can have him killed as an act of war.

What NO ONE knows is though, is that Paul has powers of his own, hidden deep within him, and his visions of a life on Arrakis become more intense as war looms…

It’s hard to do a synopsis of this first version of Dune, directed by David Lynch, as it in itself is merely a 2 hour synopsis of a book that goes into far greater detail of the politicking and the war that happens. Lynch’s directorial work here is almost dreamlike, and realistically, like most people who saw it when it was first released, it became a tasting platter for big bold science fiction and turned so many of us onto Frank Herbert’s work.

I love the cast in the film. I feel that almost everyone is amazing in their roles but at a pinch, I must say that I think the Fremen, the people who live on Arrakis, this dry, arid world that appears to be difficult to survive upon, won’t quite look right. As much as I like Everett McGill and Sean Young, I feel they don’t look like people who have survived this weather. I feel they have just emerged from a street in Hollywood.

It’s such an unusual cast as well; a mixture of young and seasoned actors, and even a pop music star in Sting, playing Harkonnen’s nephew Feyd, all are fabulous in their roles and it almost feels at times like an elaborate stage production in its presentation.

Speaking of its presentation, the look of the film is the big win for me. Impossibly large spaceships that look torn from gothic architecture. Ships that are sleek and according to physics, would be impossible to fly on any planet with any sorts of atmosphere. Interiors that mix that gothic architecture with art deco, Victorian, maximalist and brutalism, and then also have Industrial Revolution styled smoke and gas belching from bizarre chimneys. Each of these lands match the personality of their families, and even as House Atriedes moves from a water filled world to that of Dune, the entire family structure alters: the change in environment changing them to their very core.

The problem with this film though, is something I stated earlier: it’s a summary. Films adapted from books almost always adjust little portion, both for timing and storytelling issues, and sometimes just because the screenwriter or studio thinks they should put their own stamp upon it – they should not – and the problem Lynch had here was time, and even though it’s a visual feast with a stunning choice of actors, it does suffer for it. The film has so much information in the first third, that the rest of the film speeds by at a speed that doesn’t pause to explain intentions and the ideas of the world.

I have recently been conversing with a friend who saw I was watching this film and he was surprised by how high my Letterboxd score was for it, but he did not grow up with it. He is of a post-Lord of the Rings age where people are prepared to watch almost impossibly long films that are divided up into trilogies, instead of filmmakers having to be creative and working within their time limits. Even look at the Marvel films: these aren’t individual films but are actual comics themselves with their periodical releases. As long as the whiz-bang, Disney-fied action film structure is maintained and there is no opportunity to get bored, or more importantly, craft story, people are happy, which is why cinema is in such a poor state, and why the world is a lesser place without talents like David Lynch in it.

I constantly criticise people for allowing movie companies to manipulate their nostalgia with remakes and sequels, and my score below reflects more my nostalgia for this film than its actual quantity or accuracy of translation from the book, but I stand by that score regardless.

Extras:

There are two audio commentaries, one by Paul M. Sammon, author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner and former studio executive, amongst other roles in cinema production, and another by Mike White, from The Projection Booth Podcast. Between these two commentaries you don’t just get a good look at the production of the film, but a history of the De Laurentiis family, and Hollywood itself. Both fascinating!

Impressions of Dune is a 2003 retrospective on the making of the film, with input from MacLachlan, De Laurentiis, Freddie Francis (cinematographer) and Antony Gibbs (editor), Harlan Ellison (author) and David Anson (film critic).

Designing Dune talks about David Lynch and Tony Masters (Production designer) and the collaborative process they went through to achieve the look of the film.

Dune FX looks, obviously at the special effects of the film and what an effort it was to create a movie with so much necessary effects on a budget.

Dune Models and Miniatures is a piece I’m interested in as in addition to doing this glorious website, I also make and paint models. Some amazing builds for sure!!

Dune Costumes as you would expect, looks at the magnificent outfits created for the film which are still impressive today.

Deleted Scenes with an Introduction by Raffaella de Laurentiis has ten deleted scens and also talks about the mythical Director’s cut that was supposed to go for 4 hours.

Destination Dune is a hype feature from the 80s gearing people up to the release of Dune.

There is a bunch of Trailers and TV Spots and a series of Image Galleries, which normally I would criticise, but in this case there are various production designer and poster art involved as well just just behind the scenes claptrap. These image galleries are done as a slide show.

Film: 8/10

Extras: 10/10

Rewatchability: 10/10

This Arrow Video release Bluray was purchased from Metal Movies.