Dune (1984)

Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Patrick Stewart, Jürgen Prochnow, José Ferrer, Brad Dourif, Kenneth McMillan, Francesca Annis  Script: David Lynch based on Frank Herbert's novel Cinematographer: Freddie Francis Director: David Lynch Plot:  After seeing his family slaughtered, the heir to a noble house becomes a messaiah to the nomadic inhabitants of a desert world whose spice trade is at the center of a universe-spanning empire.

Review:

Considered far and wide as an ambitious failure, Dune is ambitious, epic, stylish to a fault, and a convoluted mess that bordered on the hubris. 

Frank Herbert's classic, influential 1965 SF novel of the same name - considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time - is a complex story involving politics, religion, ecology and many other heady themes.

The tale of the behind-the-scenes film adaptation would fill a book on its own, with such famed directors as David Lean, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Ridley Scott attached to direct in the 1970's through the film's pre-production "development hell". Finally director Lynch was chosen, following his success on Elephant Man and his indie chops on the bizarre head-trip Eraserhead; it was an inspired choice for the material.

While still in keeping with the bizarre vision of Lynch's other works, the film has an impressive flair for show and grandiose epic adventure all its own, and certainly more courage than many of its Hollywood ilk. His adaptation has been seen with some passion and some resentment from fans and critics alike, but there's no denying that this effort is wholly his - it's a violent, disturbing world of tyrants, psychics, cults and drug fiends, and is it surprising that he later went on to make Blue Velvet?

No matter the outcome, there's no denying that his was a grandiose, opulent vision helped by superb production values, lavish sets and costumes, solid SFX (for the time, at least - the giant sand worms are spectacular, but the vehicles are too obviously models) and a serious approach to the dense material - all to an unfortunate soundtrack by the 80's band Toto. 

Yes, there's some intentional and unintentional camp to be had, as the Harkonen clan is given the over-the-top treatment; Kenneth McMillan's obese, boil-ridden Clan leader who moves around in an anti-gravity belt is a hideous, grotesque creation.

The film's emphasis was as much on the adventure as it was on the politics, the complex social interactions, the almost Shakespearian drama and conspiracies, with the obvious religious overtones and controversial drug use kept intact from the book. Alas, trying so hard to be a literate translation of the book all while keeping the film to a reasonable theatrical length meant abbreviating much of the novel's strengths and losing many of the intricacies of the novel along the way; adding a narrative just seems to have made it worse, all of which was a detriment to having a cohesive, understandable film for the mainstream audience. Kudos, however, in limiting the attempts at making it a more palatable action vehicle for the Star Wars crowd, even if it was done to the detriment of its success.

Though the characters themselves are sometimes lost in the pageantry and events, it's important to note the international ensemble cast: Apart from earnest first-timer Kyle MacLachlan as the Messiah, there are well-known actors in supporting parts, such as Jose Ferrer, Virginia Madsen, Linda Hunt, Patrick Stewart, Max von Sydow, Jürgen Prochnow and Sting in a minor role as a vicious killer.

A notorious, resounding critical and box-office flop on its release, the film has since gained cult status, and for good reason: after all is said and done, it's an ambitious failure, a SF film with its own sensibilities and particular look, and a valiant attempt at capturing a difficult book for a wider audience.

Of note, subsequent versions created for TV or DVD add much of the missing footage and clocked in at almost three hours, but only the original theatrical version, the 137-minute version, was approved by Lynch.

Entertainment: 7/10

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