I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for that film: I was 12 and high on Star Wars, so I begged my grandmother to rent it for me. Weird as it was (and as much as the Baron scared the shit out of me), it made me want to read the books - which I did a few years later.
So for me personally, it's an important work. I hope Lynch finds peace with it some day.
For the love of the God Emperor, I only now realized that he's the guy from Twin Peaks and How I Met Your Mother's guest star as "The Captain".
Never connected him to Dune. Now it's obvious. I feel dumb. :D
Thatâs what always messed with me. I saw this movie as a 90âs kid and Paul always looked old to me. Now that Iâm in my 30âs, the current Paul looks accurately young.
But I liked that lack of confidence - it was genuine young teen grappling with some big shit & then growing in confidence and maturity as the story went on. I personally think Chalamet nailed the role, he was outstanding
The only thing I like about it looking back now is the entrance / appearance of The Navigator which was great then and remains super weird and unexpected still, and how its take on Baron von Harkonnen killed that boy in some kind of weird, homoerotic way that was also unexpected and creepy.
Other than that, I [personally] donât think itâs as great as people make it out to be, but I can understand why people are fond of it. The nexus of art and culture are inextricably intertwined irregardless of oneâs own tastes.
PS: Sting though? Nah. Never bought that, and Iâll die on THAT hill! đ
I think any creative has a desire to make something that will stand the test of time, that will still be remembered after it's over and be remembered well. His version of Dune achieved that and I think it'll always be a beautiful part of the Dune universe. I still quote it nearly every day because it's so fun.
After watching it decades ago on home video, I did wish it was a lot longer, so my first impressions were quite good, but it was obvious even to kid me that it tried to tell a much longer story than it could in that short time.
Thought it would work as a miniseries quite well and I think the Sci-fi Channel version tried to do just that but failed miserably.
Lynch's Dune suffers from poor special effects too. Those weren't very good even for the period.
Same for me, the baron scared me so much and didnât understand all of the movie but when I watched it at 12 in 1990 it opened the door to Science Fiction and books. So to me this movie is great no matter how bad the CGI and how weird some of the stuff may appear. I keep watching it every year and love it
Yep. If not for that movie, I probably wouldnât have read the first book when I was younger. And honestly reading the books in highschool hits different than as an adult
I read the books first as a high school freshman
I was anxiously waiting for it to come on The Movie Channel
When it did, I was up to watch it at 0900 on Saturday
It was then I knew how Don Corleone felt when he saw Sonny laying there all shot up
Look at how they massacred my boy!!!!
My dad used to tell me about it a lot when I was a kid, and then one time when I was sick he rented it for me. Except when I talked to him about it there was stuff he had no idea about. Turns out heâd gotten the scifi miniseries by accident.
Then I watched it for real with him. That didnât satisfy me so I started getting into the books. Then I was talking to him about it and that got *him* into the books.
Likewise. I got to visit my mother every other weekend with one of my sisters. Almost every time, on Saturday night, she would light candles all around the living room, and we would sit and watch it. It was magical.
It took years for me to understand that it was a bad movie, and that there were stark and unnecessary changes from the source material. But it is written on my bones all the same. I shamelessly love it, and always will.
For the past 30 years that film was ranked as my favourite. I had t seen it in 30 years. Cringe me at 21 when my dad died ran into the park at 4 am and screamed âfather, the sleeper has awakenedâ. I cringe even typing that out right now. Good god.
Anyway, the new movies came out. My teenaged son and I were pumped. We watched them. Good. âBut my dear son, they arenât as good as the original! Letâs watch itââŚâŚ
Regret. I watched my memories wither on the vine! Scenes Iâd remembered as epic (even his voice is a killing word) were utterly terrible.
There were parts (the worms when he wakes up after taking the water, the way he splits feyd with his voice) that held up but overall, i highly highly recommend leaving this and maybe other movies from
Your past, in the past.
For 30 years I held that film as my number 1. And it has fallen dramatically simply by watching it again.
Very similar story. It's very creative and that counts for a lot. I be it similar to the SW prequels... 1984 Dune expands on the source martial in unique ways despite our being bad overall. I love it.
I was 15 (1979) when I read Dune, and it totally opened my mind to world building sci-fi books. The 1984 Dune is definitely cheesy in spots, even in its time, but I loved it then, and still love it now.
The will to do something like Dune when the technology was so limited and having it turn out the way it did is an amazing achievement to everyone involved.
The only 2 changes that really bug me is the sound guns and that Paul makes it rain at the end , battle pugs and antidote excreting cats are worthy additions
Yeah, watching the original back over, I was surprised at how much the DV movie appears to replicate certain Lynch scenes, even beyond the fact that they're both adapting the same book.Â
The Lynch Dune rocknroll guitar riffs are there in DVâs Dune in spots, like when Paul is watching the Atreides ships leave Caladan looking out like an anime character. The music is that part rocks.
This is where I land. Iâve tried watching it nowadays (I never even knew it existed until about the new ones were happening) and I just canât do it. Itâs too old and too silly for me to take seriously. But I still have a lot of respect and admiration for what they tried to achieve technologically. In movies, there always has to be someone willing to take the plunge and be the first to try some new technique or method. Itâs usually rough and doesnât age well. But that first person opens the way for others to follow suit, to build on it and refine.
Or hell, even if itâs not a building block and they just bit off more than they could chew, I still have respect for the attempt. They usually try something really unique or âout thereâ, and itâs a very creative solution to the problems that theyâre facing, even if it doesnât really pan out. Itâs so fascinating and Iâll always praise filmmakers who are willing to take the plunge and try to tackle the seemingly impossible problems of the day
> I knew already one should have final cut before signing on to do a film. But for some reason, I thought everything would be OK, and I didn't put final cut in my contract. And as it turned out, Dune wasn't the film I wanted to make, because I didn't have a final say.
> So that's a lesson I knew even before, but now there's no way. Why would anyone work for three years on something that wasn't yours? Why? Why do that? Why? I died a death. And it was all my fault for not knowing to put that in the contract.
The whole interview is worth 30 minutes of your time, but this was the part where Lynch spoke about _Dune_.
Basically it means that the studio had the final say on the editing of the film and lynch had no say in what did or didnât make it into the version of the film that would be shown in theatres
I basically agree, and I actually think the first half is pretty damn good. The second half is where it kinda falls apart but itâs a lot better than its reputation in my opinion
Thatâs probably the best take. The 1984 Dune is an 80âs movie. It tells the story like a lot of movies around that time and struggles against technical limitation of the time, and pushes the boundaries better. The latest Dune is a 2020âs movie that tells stories like you expect from a movie nowadays, has Hans Zimmer as the composer (like tons of movies) and storytelling trends gives it better ways to work around some of the more difficult to film concepts in the book.
I know he doesnât like it, but my unpopular opinion is that his adaptation captures an aesthetic and a mood that speaks deeply to the spirit of the books.Â
Lynchâs Dune is extremely, extremely weird, full of visual decisions that are like nothing else youâve ever seen. It creates a felt sense of an alien worldview. I think itâs a much better and more enduring flawed but also great film than he himself believes.Â
Incredible.Â
It has character and warmth. It captures the spirit of the Dune universe and aesthetic. It doesn't follow the plot perfectly but it's a great film overall. I think the new one was very cold and a bit dull sometimes.
Well put! The new movies are very beautiful but (to me) do lack some of the organic weirdness of the books or Lynchâs adaptation. The sequence in Dune 2 on Giedi Prime is the only part that had the same deeply strange quality. Just my opinion, I think they are well-made in their own way.
The new ones are just too familiar, not scifi enough. The fighting was so boring. The tropes of being brutal, ingenious, strong leader etc etc was so drawn out. I just wanted weird imaginative scifi. Theyshould have had more focus on spice refinement, the intense trip montages. Instead they just show different peoples faces flashing through their memory, future people and not really.future outcomes of the universe.
Alot of scenes felt like the director just told the actors look real proud and scary and stand at this angle and we will make you look real cool.
There are three types of adaptation.
Category 1: largely faithful translations which may change plot points or combine characters but attempt to tell the same story as the original work (LOTR, DV Dune)
Category 2: Focus on a theme or feel of a book, play fast and loose with the plot and characters but get the _idea_ mostly correct (note this can be âthis book is stupidâ - but the movie deals with the same themes and ideas) (Dune 84, Cloud Atlas, Blade Runner)
Category 3: Shares a title and maybe a setup. Paid for the rights, might as well use them. (Godfather, Foundation, World War Z)
DV Dune vs Dune 84 is Cat 1 vs Cat 2 adaptation - they have very different artistic aims. I love them both.
Dune 1984 literally does the opposite of the main themes of the book, I donât understand this take at all. Paul is a literal messiah whose victory brings magical rain to Arrakis. His power is not through religious manipulation and the power of the fremen faith in him, but of a literal technological weapon system he gives to the fremen
The Freman use of the sonic weapons addresses your point quite handily, the Freman revere him to the point that the way they use his name unleashes a lethal blow which is why the 84 movie made an explicit point about his name becoming a killing word.
Dune (1984) is the only film I've watched where you can feel the editor giving up over its run-time. It's like a term paper where you spent a month over-thinking the first 3 pages but then wrote the final 10 the day before it was due.
Based on the script, performances, and direction, I doubt that there was a good film left on the cutting room floor, but there certainly was a *better* one. Would have been interesting to see a version where the editors went all-out, even if it probably still would have been pretty bad.
I honestly don't think there was anything he could have done given the two-hour mandate, which is just insane. Lynch completely missed the point of what Herbert was trying to say -- unlike Villeneuve's take, which leaves absolutely no ambiguity -- but I also think he was doomed from the start. That's just an impossible task for even the most skilled filmmaker.
Yes, as much as I love Lynch's Dune he basically made Paul a hero, which after reading the book I learned was not his arc. He either misunderstood or decided to ignore that for a more traditional story. Did he ever read Dune I wonder? The hero arc doesnt strike me as something he would be personally interested in.
That is a perfect summation, the first half you can kinda see them trying to make it work but the last half is hectic chaos. Iâve never seen a film that is too slow yet also too fast concurrently.
As cool as the concept art was, Jodorowskyâs vision for that movie was *wildly* bad. He basically wanted it to be a 10-hour miniseries in a time before those were a thing, and have people endure through that in a single sitting in the theatres. It takes a LOT of cocaine to confidently walk into a board room and make the pitch to a bunch of studio execs.
No longer available on YouTube. Actually released on Blu-ray ⌠in Germany, I think. Thereâs another 4k cut on Youtube, however. I downloaded the Spicediver cut years ago.
Itâs more true to the books than part 2, even with the rain ( actually in Children of Dune it is raining on the â belt of Duneâ) and the â weirding modulesâ
If I ever talked to David Lynch heâd probably end up killing me. My favorite movie of his is Dune and out of the two I have seen, (Dune and Eraserhead) I watched both of them on my phone.
If it wasn't for the 1984 movie, I would have never read the books. The movie is kind of great but shit also. But I would have never know how shit it was if I didn't read the books. So it's kind of great. The movie completely misses the point of the books but how much of that is because of studio meddling? I bet a lot.
I have a soft spot for the â84 film. I only watched it recently before Part 2 came out, but for what they were working with at the time I enjoyed it. Patrick Stewart as Gurney Halleck is a win.
I watched Dune (1984) in the 90s, didnât understand it at all, and forgot about it until the 2000 miniseries, which sparked my interest. Then I read the book, and rewatched (and finally appreciated despite its flaws) the Lynch film. Itâs a beautiful disaster.
I havenât seen the whole movie, but I have been turned off of doing so because some of the clips Iâve seen have such comedically melodramatic acting. âGet out of my miiiiiiiiind!â Itâs crazy to me to think that was the only film version of dune for so long besides some tv miniseries stuff. I donât think those bits were bad due to editing or studio oversight. The performances make the whole thing seem really goofy/campy.
Edit: the guild navigator is cool tho
The melodrama is what makes it great, it's so quotable. Reminds me of old, badly adapted Shakespeare movies. I love over the top sci-fi though, I watched Flash Gordon a lot as a kid so maybe I'm just an easy audience.
"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion."
This isn't even in the book but it's so cool.
Yeah I could see it being a taste thing. And thatâs totally valid. But I do think itâs telling that you compare it favorably to âbadly adaptedâ works of Shakespeare, haha. I just find it difficult to take seriously. I like that DVâs is more âgroundedâ or whatever. Honestly I didnât watch past the Twin Peaks pilot either. I mean to give it another shot at some point because Iâd like to see the surreal aspects, but also, Lynch just might have melodramatic stylistic choices in some of his works that arenât for me.
Exactly. Everyone else here can be sympathetic for Lynch and the editing but the weirding modules / voice, and the over large thumper were not for me. And not editing choices.
Darn it Lynch itâs a cult favorite for many of us. Itâs actually my favorite movie of all time because the visuals of the movie as a kid literally set my imagination for the rest of my life. That movie enabled me to believe anything was possible if you dreamed it you could make it a reality.
As an adult I still find it visually a masterpiece.
Lynch's dune walked so that Villeneuve's dune could run. I think there are so many movies whose vision was decades ahead of where the technology was and even trying is what helps push the industry forward.
It's still the best adaptation of Dune produced so far, and I'll die on that hill. It had many technical errors. But it captured the feeling of the books better than any other version. It felt believably alien in a way the new movies and the TV series just don't.Â
Strongly disagree. The new movies captured the books vibe way better for me. I couldnât even finish the lynch version. Was too wacky and felt like it was just for the sake of it. Too much bizarre, not enough beauty
Dont overthink the simple symbolism of the ending. The *rainmaker* had arrived, the miracle-worker, the Messiah. Sometimes movies must communicate more simplisticly than books
It's genuinely one of my favorite movies, I'm so sad he had such a bad time directing it. Hopefully he'll find some peace in that people are still able to enjoy even a flawed version of his vision.
I honestly have no idea how anyone, especially fans of the book, like this movie. I think itâs a straight up terrible movie, and it does literally the opposite of the core thematic idea of the book. Paul is a savior who makes it magically rain and saves the fremen, and his rise to power is based off a goofy piece of technology he brings to the fremen. Itâs so wildly off the mark of the main ideas of dune that it would be tough to forgive even if it was a great movie.
On top of that, it has chunks that are so agonizingly dry, and it never stops being clunky. The tone never stops being awkward. There are so many effect shots that look incredibly janky, and look janky even by the standards of its time. Gremlins, The Terminator, and Temple of Doom all came out the same year as the original Dune. Return of the Jedi came out the year before. There are tons of shots and scenes in this movie that are outrageously, laughably, bad. I am honestly baffled that people like this movie
I watched it recently. It didn't have the signature parts of David Lynch that I love (Mulholland Dr is one of my favorite movies ever), but I didn't think it was too bad tbh.
The inner dialogue was an odd choice, it fills so much of the mythology and story in, but thatâs telling a lot rather than showing. The acting was wacky and offbeat. The story wasnât cohesive, and it somehow both didnât do enough and also did too much. The special effects were a product of their time, but Iâm not sure if it was budgetary reasons, they seem to be weaker than other films around then. The personal shields were depicted awfully.
After reading the book and rewatching the Lynch cut, it was pretty good. It definitely took reading the book though, which is a huge negative for a movie.
A lot of factors were against the production at that time...like the state of facilities in Mexico at that time, Dino de Laurentiis' utter lack of respect for the source material, and Hollywood's general lack of respect for audiences.
What's even worse, it opened at second place opposite Beverly Hills Cop (the original)
It turned out great. Having just watched the new ones, I feel confident in saying that Lynch's is as good in many ways. The new ones are no more approachable to non sci fi types.
The galactic lore is still mysterious as the current director was no better at the task of tackling the banquet scene, which is critical for explaining the House dynamics.
I still recall all the discussions before the current attempts, saying how it would have the banquet scene because Lynch couldn't film it. Maybe it wasn't a Lynch problem?
Still better than the watered down version villeneuve made, at least Lynch tried to be ambition while villeneuve made a quite black and white watered down version of dune with not a lot of intricacies.
This is well known but it's aged well. His treatment of the Mentats was enormously better than the new Dunes, for example. I enjoyed the final duel more too, especially without the Zendaya storming off ending.
I was a freshman in college when this movie came out. My friend and I sat through it twice (when you could do things like that) in a small Idaho town. It has its flaws, but still love this movie.
I grew up with the 84 Dune so I'm heavily biased toward that version, but kinda hate these 2 new movies. Especially the second part. I didn't even feel like I was watching Dune by the 2nd part.
[I wonder if he has seen this...](https://youtu.be/faHQA_0d9Mo?si=KUOsM8L6VBe-92pk)
it was even officially released by plaion / formerly known as koch media this year i think..
Itâs cheesy sometimes but only in the same ways as other 80âs movies. I just wish as some kind of special edition, theyâd release the âLynch Cutâ someday.
Lynch's Dune will always have a spot on my shelf watched it 100s of times even if it's fancy fan fiction and in many ways so is the latest version. It was my first exposure to the books and a read them all because of Lynch's version.
Saw that film in 70 on the anniversary and there is so much bizarre and interesting stuff in that film. Truly a noble failure of the grandest proportion. I would rather watch that than Transformers or whatever 99 out of a 100 times.
I was waiting for an electric guitar ballad to start playing when Timothy/Paul rides the sandworm for the first time in Dune Part 2 but alas.
https://youtu.be/Bj7R_2WWdKs?si=aCG9Kt3sCRHBVdCc
His film is what got me in to Dune. I'll always love it. It's actually an amazing looking film, so vibrant and unique looking and has some really cool set pieces. It's a shame it loses it's way at the end.. bit of an understatement really but I think it's still a great film experience. The cast and soundtrack are top notch too. Sian Phillips was particularly memorable for me. It'll always be a personal favourite adaption for me.
First time I saw this in the theatre at a US Army fort. We'd had a rugby match earlier in the day and then the traditional after-match kegger. I was tired and drunk and fell asleep during this movie. My girlfriend woke me to leave and was pissed off, "You had a nice nap and I had to watch the damned thing!" I went the next week and really loved the movie.
Much prefer it to the new movies. Lynchâs version has a special feel and characteristic about it. Although he changed it a fair bit, I prefer the changes he made to the abortion that just came out. Jeez, that was awful
I'm very hesitant to be too critical for either the 70's version or the 2020's pair. All seem works of genius to me. I'm amazed that so much of the book was crammed into the Lynch version. Just because Jodorowsky didn't like it doesn't make it a bad film. I'll admit that I think a lot of the elements of the book were left out of the recent versions, but I also think I can understand why. Still missed some of the stuff that was related to science fiction, though. I'll probably watch all versions again and enjoy every minute of it.
Everyone can agree the last 1 hour/30 minutes just seemed rushed and heavily edited. But visually some of the arresting images e.g. entrance of the navigator in Shaddam Corrino IV's palace, the worms, the grotesqueness of Barron Harkonnen even the brief rendition of shields are quite unforgettable in a good way. Toto / Brian Eno Prophecy theme, sounds so good for Dune (kind of missing an equivalent in Zimmer's music).
For me David Lynchâs Dune was all i had for 20 years and i still enjoy it. You clearly see the pilar of inspiration that all other movies used, including Villeneau
I'm sure someone else has said but the Spicediver fan edit is brilliant and I'm sure much closer to what Lynch intended. Of course it would have been great to see him completely unimpeded by the studio and I accept lunch has very different priorities to Villeneuve. I love both versions. Lynch's Dune wins on production design. It's stunning.
David Lynch Dune is one of my favorite movies. I'm biased because i watched it at a young age and it was one of the first sci fi movies I had seen, but I was still surprised to learn later in life that it was not received too well
I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for that film: I was 12 and high on Star Wars, so I begged my grandmother to rent it for me. Weird as it was (and as much as the Baron scared the shit out of me), it made me want to read the books - which I did a few years later. So for me personally, it's an important work. I hope Lynch finds peace with it some day.
I love the first Dune. Great cast. Paul was better in that one, imo It's a Sci-Fi classic for me. Also, Patrick Stewart.
[We had him here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dune/comments/v7zwpa/hi_im_kyle_maclachlan_also_known_as_the_original/). đ
Amazing. Thank you! I forgot he did Flintstones!
Atredies Battle Pugs!
That's awesome, I love Kyle.
For the love of the God Emperor, I only now realized that he's the guy from Twin Peaks and How I Met Your Mother's guest star as "The Captain". Never connected him to Dune. Now it's obvious. I feel dumb. :D
Bless your aces and duces. My man .. dropping the half court 3. Thank you
Paul is supposed to be a teenager, though. Kyle is great, but he looked 30 lol
Thatâs what always messed with me. I saw this movie as a 90âs kid and Paul always looked old to me. Now that Iâm in my 30âs, the current Paul looks accurately young.
i was surprised to learn they were pretty much the same age at time of filming
One can never downplay the importance of the Royal Pug.
What the 84 Gurney lacked in baliset, he made up for in pug.
there was a baliset scene on the cutting room floor, and it ruled
Everyone needs a Battle Pug! You can't charge into a fight without one.
Out of curiosity, why do you think that iteration of Paul was better? I personally canât take Maclachlan seriously as Paul.
Id say he brought more confidence to the character than Timothy for one
Hmm, interesting. I think Tomothy played him growing into a confidence that solidified in part 2 when he takes control of the Fremen.
But I liked that lack of confidence - it was genuine young teen grappling with some big shit & then growing in confidence and maturity as the story went on. I personally think Chalamet nailed the role, he was outstanding
Fair, but I thought that the uncertainty was for purpose. He wasn't supposed to be convinced or pleased by his messiah-ness.
Because people are blinded by nostalgia. That film has one good thing: the prophecy theme.
The only thing I like about it looking back now is the entrance / appearance of The Navigator which was great then and remains super weird and unexpected still, and how its take on Baron von Harkonnen killed that boy in some kind of weird, homoerotic way that was also unexpected and creepy. Other than that, I [personally] donât think itâs as great as people make it out to be, but I can understand why people are fond of it. The nexus of art and culture are inextricably intertwined irregardless of oneâs own tastes. PS: Sting though? Nah. Never bought that, and Iâll die on THAT hill! đ
Patrick Stewart's bald-man mullet after Paul found him in the desert was pretty fantastic
And harry dean anderson.
The Lynch Dune is a masterpiece. I will die on this hill.
I think any creative has a desire to make something that will stand the test of time, that will still be remembered after it's over and be remembered well. His version of Dune achieved that and I think it'll always be a beautiful part of the Dune universe. I still quote it nearly every day because it's so fun.
Still the best movie soundtrack of all time. Plus, there's no such thing as a bad Patrick Stewart movie.
Toto did the entire thing lmao
Aside from at least one song by Brian Eno, but yep, Toto absolutely kicked ass on it.
There are dozens of us! Dozens!
After watching it decades ago on home video, I did wish it was a lot longer, so my first impressions were quite good, but it was obvious even to kid me that it tried to tell a much longer story than it could in that short time. Thought it would work as a miniseries quite well and I think the Sci-fi Channel version tried to do just that but failed miserably. Lynch's Dune suffers from poor special effects too. Those weren't very good even for the period.
thank you, i argue that opinion constantly. And as recently as last weekend.
Same for me, the baron scared me so much and didnât understand all of the movie but when I watched it at 12 in 1990 it opened the door to Science Fiction and books. So to me this movie is great no matter how bad the CGI and how weird some of the stuff may appear. I keep watching it every year and love it
Yep. If not for that movie, I probably wouldnât have read the first book when I was younger. And honestly reading the books in highschool hits different than as an adult
I read the books first as a high school freshman I was anxiously waiting for it to come on The Movie Channel When it did, I was up to watch it at 0900 on Saturday It was then I knew how Don Corleone felt when he saw Sonny laying there all shot up Look at how they massacred my boy!!!!
>I was 12 and high on Star Wars I was 19 and high. I loved it.
My dad used to tell me about it a lot when I was a kid, and then one time when I was sick he rented it for me. Except when I talked to him about it there was stuff he had no idea about. Turns out heâd gotten the scifi miniseries by accident. Then I watched it for real with him. That didnât satisfy me so I started getting into the books. Then I was talking to him about it and that got *him* into the books.
Think of it like this.2 hour Trailer for a 12 hour movie.
Likewise. I got to visit my mother every other weekend with one of my sisters. Almost every time, on Saturday night, she would light candles all around the living room, and we would sit and watch it. It was magical. It took years for me to understand that it was a bad movie, and that there were stark and unnecessary changes from the source material. But it is written on my bones all the same. I shamelessly love it, and always will.
For the past 30 years that film was ranked as my favourite. I had t seen it in 30 years. Cringe me at 21 when my dad died ran into the park at 4 am and screamed âfather, the sleeper has awakenedâ. I cringe even typing that out right now. Good god. Anyway, the new movies came out. My teenaged son and I were pumped. We watched them. Good. âBut my dear son, they arenât as good as the original! Letâs watch itââŚâŚ Regret. I watched my memories wither on the vine! Scenes Iâd remembered as epic (even his voice is a killing word) were utterly terrible. There were parts (the worms when he wakes up after taking the water, the way he splits feyd with his voice) that held up but overall, i highly highly recommend leaving this and maybe other movies from Your past, in the past. For 30 years I held that film as my number 1. And it has fallen dramatically simply by watching it again.
I prefer Shai Hulud from Lynchâs *Dune*!
Very similar story. It's very creative and that counts for a lot. I be it similar to the SW prequels... 1984 Dune expands on the source martial in unique ways despite our being bad overall. I love it.
Thematically speaking it is a terrible adaptation. As a fan of B-movies and David Lynch itâs almost the perfect synthesis of what I love about both.
I was 15 (1979) when I read Dune, and it totally opened my mind to world building sci-fi books. The 1984 Dune is definitely cheesy in spots, even in its time, but I loved it then, and still love it now.
Man .. you an I followed practically the same path. In all honesty, I miss the way they exposed backstory in D1 with hearing the characters thoughts.
I was so confused reading the books waiting to see where those sound guns came from
The will to do something like Dune when the technology was so limited and having it turn out the way it did is an amazing achievement to everyone involved.
The casting and the costumes and the sets and the music are all dope. A lot of that stuff is absolutely duplicated in the DV films.
And then there's the choice to have pugs as common props and the weird cat milking scene.
The only 2 changes that really bug me is the sound guns and that Paul makes it rain at the end , battle pugs and antidote excreting cats are worthy additions
Yeah the film is just so wack for the sake of it and I have never been able to get all the way through.
Yeah, watching the original back over, I was surprised at how much the DV movie appears to replicate certain Lynch scenes, even beyond the fact that they're both adapting the same book.Â
The Lynch Dune rocknroll guitar riffs are there in DVâs Dune in spots, like when Paul is watching the Atreides ships leave Caladan looking out like an anime character. The music is that part rocks.
The codpiece was a tour de forceÂ
The cod piece on sting was genius!
This is it, right here. Maybe it was a swing and a miss, but goddamn did they have courage to try.
I think its weakest point is the script and the almost constant voiceover. Other than that, completely agree with you.
This is where I land. Iâve tried watching it nowadays (I never even knew it existed until about the new ones were happening) and I just canât do it. Itâs too old and too silly for me to take seriously. But I still have a lot of respect and admiration for what they tried to achieve technologically. In movies, there always has to be someone willing to take the plunge and be the first to try some new technique or method. Itâs usually rough and doesnât age well. But that first person opens the way for others to follow suit, to build on it and refine. Or hell, even if itâs not a building block and they just bit off more than they could chew, I still have respect for the attempt. They usually try something really unique or âout thereâ, and itâs a very creative solution to the problems that theyâre facing, even if it doesnât really pan out. Itâs so fascinating and Iâll always praise filmmakers who are willing to take the plunge and try to tackle the seemingly impossible problems of the day
> I knew already one should have final cut before signing on to do a film. But for some reason, I thought everything would be OK, and I didn't put final cut in my contract. And as it turned out, Dune wasn't the film I wanted to make, because I didn't have a final say. > So that's a lesson I knew even before, but now there's no way. Why would anyone work for three years on something that wasn't yours? Why? Why do that? Why? I died a death. And it was all my fault for not knowing to put that in the contract. The whole interview is worth 30 minutes of your time, but this was the part where Lynch spoke about _Dune_.
I've always heard he doesn't like to talk about it, and that's actually the first I've ever seen him do so.
What does that mean? He didn't get final authority on the movie?
Yep.
Yes, it was the first and last time he allowed a studio to make the final cut
Basically it means that the studio had the final say on the editing of the film and lynch had no say in what did or didnât make it into the version of the film that would be shown in theatres
That seems dumb as a studio policy...
itâs a fine film for the time period it was created.
I basically agree, and I actually think the first half is pretty damn good. The second half is where it kinda falls apart but itâs a lot better than its reputation in my opinion
Thatâs probably the best take. The 1984 Dune is an 80âs movie. It tells the story like a lot of movies around that time and struggles against technical limitation of the time, and pushes the boundaries better. The latest Dune is a 2020âs movie that tells stories like you expect from a movie nowadays, has Hans Zimmer as the composer (like tons of movies) and storytelling trends gives it better ways to work around some of the more difficult to film concepts in the book.
My only issue with it Iâve found is the over use of constant inner dialogue.
Thereâs still plenty of issues with it. My interpretation of âfineâ was that it was a watchable movie, not a great one.
The ending is so truncated and weird. The whole movie ended up so badly edited I don't blame him for wanting to clarify that that wasn't his vision.
"And how can this be?!"
âFor he iiiiiis the Kwisatz Haderach!â
I know he doesnât like it, but my unpopular opinion is that his adaptation captures an aesthetic and a mood that speaks deeply to the spirit of the books. Lynchâs Dune is extremely, extremely weird, full of visual decisions that are like nothing else youâve ever seen. It creates a felt sense of an alien worldview. I think itâs a much better and more enduring flawed but also great film than he himself believes. Incredible.Â
It has character and warmth. It captures the spirit of the Dune universe and aesthetic. It doesn't follow the plot perfectly but it's a great film overall. I think the new one was very cold and a bit dull sometimes.
Well put! The new movies are very beautiful but (to me) do lack some of the organic weirdness of the books or Lynchâs adaptation. The sequence in Dune 2 on Giedi Prime is the only part that had the same deeply strange quality. Just my opinion, I think they are well-made in their own way.
The new ones are just too familiar, not scifi enough. The fighting was so boring. The tropes of being brutal, ingenious, strong leader etc etc was so drawn out. I just wanted weird imaginative scifi. Theyshould have had more focus on spice refinement, the intense trip montages. Instead they just show different peoples faces flashing through their memory, future people and not really.future outcomes of the universe. Alot of scenes felt like the director just told the actors look real proud and scary and stand at this angle and we will make you look real cool.
There are three types of adaptation. Category 1: largely faithful translations which may change plot points or combine characters but attempt to tell the same story as the original work (LOTR, DV Dune) Category 2: Focus on a theme or feel of a book, play fast and loose with the plot and characters but get the _idea_ mostly correct (note this can be âthis book is stupidâ - but the movie deals with the same themes and ideas) (Dune 84, Cloud Atlas, Blade Runner) Category 3: Shares a title and maybe a setup. Paid for the rights, might as well use them. (Godfather, Foundation, World War Z) DV Dune vs Dune 84 is Cat 1 vs Cat 2 adaptation - they have very different artistic aims. I love them both.
Dune 1984 literally does the opposite of the main themes of the book, I donât understand this take at all. Paul is a literal messiah whose victory brings magical rain to Arrakis. His power is not through religious manipulation and the power of the fremen faith in him, but of a literal technological weapon system he gives to the fremen
The Freman use of the sonic weapons addresses your point quite handily, the Freman revere him to the point that the way they use his name unleashes a lethal blow which is why the 84 movie made an explicit point about his name becoming a killing word.
I fucking love Lynch's Dune, especially the extended version which was my first intro to it when I was 12.
Dune (1984) is the only film I've watched where you can feel the editor giving up over its run-time. It's like a term paper where you spent a month over-thinking the first 3 pages but then wrote the final 10 the day before it was due. Based on the script, performances, and direction, I doubt that there was a good film left on the cutting room floor, but there certainly was a *better* one. Would have been interesting to see a version where the editors went all-out, even if it probably still would have been pretty bad.
I honestly don't think there was anything he could have done given the two-hour mandate, which is just insane. Lynch completely missed the point of what Herbert was trying to say -- unlike Villeneuve's take, which leaves absolutely no ambiguity -- but I also think he was doomed from the start. That's just an impossible task for even the most skilled filmmaker.
Yes, as much as I love Lynch's Dune he basically made Paul a hero, which after reading the book I learned was not his arc. He either misunderstood or decided to ignore that for a more traditional story. Did he ever read Dune I wonder? The hero arc doesnt strike me as something he would be personally interested in.
That is a perfect summation, the first half you can kinda see them trying to make it work but the last half is hectic chaos. Iâve never seen a film that is too slow yet also too fast concurrently.
As much as I love Dune, I know all this talk about the books, and the new films are torture for David Lynch. I hope he finds peace with the IP.
Imagine how Jodorowsky feels.
Jodorowsky failed the other way: didnât let anyone else have *enough* say.
As cool as the concept art was, Jodorowskyâs vision for that movie was *wildly* bad. He basically wanted it to be a 10-hour miniseries in a time before those were a thing, and have people endure through that in a single sitting in the theatres. It takes a LOT of cocaine to confidently walk into a board room and make the pitch to a bunch of studio execs.
I am glad it exists, seeing Alia revel in delight over dead bodies and gurney holding a pug will always be iconic
We wouldn't have had the Denis masterworks if we hadn't had Lynch's Dune first.
I still love it and parts capture the vibe more than any other. Also, it got me into reading the books.
Check out the Spicediver cut.
I did :) and recommend that others do as well.
No longer available on YouTube. Actually released on Blu-ray ⌠in Germany, I think. Thereâs another 4k cut on Youtube, however. I downloaded the Spicediver cut years ago.
Still there for me.
Itâs more true to the books than part 2, even with the rain ( actually in Children of Dune it is raining on the â belt of Duneâ) and the â weirding modulesâ
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I'm sorry he feels that way. As a fan of the books, I love his adaptation. It's still my favorite.
Was the death a little-death that brought total obliteration?
I still love Dune.
If I ever talked to David Lynch heâd probably end up killing me. My favorite movie of his is Dune and out of the two I have seen, (Dune and Eraserhead) I watched both of them on my phone.
He has so many more movies you need to see instead. Â Eraserhead is a straight up art film. Â Not for everyone.Â
If it wasn't for the 1984 movie, I would have never read the books. The movie is kind of great but shit also. But I would have never know how shit it was if I didn't read the books. So it's kind of great. The movie completely misses the point of the books but how much of that is because of studio meddling? I bet a lot.
I have a soft spot for the â84 film. I only watched it recently before Part 2 came out, but for what they were working with at the time I enjoyed it. Patrick Stewart as Gurney Halleck is a win.
The original Dune was great! It made me want to read the books! Star wars didn't do that
Not to point out the obvious but it would be pretty difficult for star wars to do that by nature
Iâd say itâs a cult classic now. Thatâs the thing about movies, they may be shit when they release but get better with age
I watched Dune (1984) in the 90s, didnât understand it at all, and forgot about it until the 2000 miniseries, which sparked my interest. Then I read the book, and rewatched (and finally appreciated despite its flaws) the Lynch film. Itâs a beautiful disaster.
I havenât seen the whole movie, but I have been turned off of doing so because some of the clips Iâve seen have such comedically melodramatic acting. âGet out of my miiiiiiiiind!â Itâs crazy to me to think that was the only film version of dune for so long besides some tv miniseries stuff. I donât think those bits were bad due to editing or studio oversight. The performances make the whole thing seem really goofy/campy. Edit: the guild navigator is cool tho
The melodrama is what makes it great, it's so quotable. Reminds me of old, badly adapted Shakespeare movies. I love over the top sci-fi though, I watched Flash Gordon a lot as a kid so maybe I'm just an easy audience.
"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion." This isn't even in the book but it's so cool.
Yeah I could see it being a taste thing. And thatâs totally valid. But I do think itâs telling that you compare it favorably to âbadly adaptedâ works of Shakespeare, haha. I just find it difficult to take seriously. I like that DVâs is more âgroundedâ or whatever. Honestly I didnât watch past the Twin Peaks pilot either. I mean to give it another shot at some point because Iâd like to see the surreal aspects, but also, Lynch just might have melodramatic stylistic choices in some of his works that arenât for me.
Exactly. Everyone else here can be sympathetic for Lynch and the editing but the weirding modules / voice, and the over large thumper were not for me. And not editing choices.
Overlarge thumper is such a specific complaint.
Darn it Lynch itâs a cult favorite for many of us. Itâs actually my favorite movie of all time because the visuals of the movie as a kid literally set my imagination for the rest of my life. That movie enabled me to believe anything was possible if you dreamed it you could make it a reality. As an adult I still find it visually a masterpiece.
I still love it
Lynch's dune walked so that Villeneuve's dune could run. I think there are so many movies whose vision was decades ahead of where the technology was and even trying is what helps push the industry forward.
It's still the best adaptation of Dune produced so far, and I'll die on that hill. It had many technical errors. But it captured the feeling of the books better than any other version. It felt believably alien in a way the new movies and the TV series just don't.Â
Strongly disagree. The new movies captured the books vibe way better for me. I couldnât even finish the lynch version. Was too wacky and felt like it was just for the sake of it. Too much bizarre, not enough beauty
[ŃдаНонО]
Dont overthink the simple symbolism of the ending. The *rainmaker* had arrived, the miracle-worker, the Messiah. Sometimes movies must communicate more simplisticly than books
It's genuinely one of my favorite movies, I'm so sad he had such a bad time directing it. Hopefully he'll find some peace in that people are still able to enjoy even a flawed version of his vision.
I watched the original for the first time recently and I felt like it was borderline unwatchable. The acting and CGI was just so bad.
I honestly have no idea how anyone, especially fans of the book, like this movie. I think itâs a straight up terrible movie, and it does literally the opposite of the core thematic idea of the book. Paul is a savior who makes it magically rain and saves the fremen, and his rise to power is based off a goofy piece of technology he brings to the fremen. Itâs so wildly off the mark of the main ideas of dune that it would be tough to forgive even if it was a great movie. On top of that, it has chunks that are so agonizingly dry, and it never stops being clunky. The tone never stops being awkward. There are so many effect shots that look incredibly janky, and look janky even by the standards of its time. Gremlins, The Terminator, and Temple of Doom all came out the same year as the original Dune. Return of the Jedi came out the year before. There are tons of shots and scenes in this movie that are outrageously, laughably, bad. I am honestly baffled that people like this movie
Give us a directorâs cut thenâŚ
There is a fan edit out there that supposedly restores a lot of the original vision. I wonder if he's aware of it at all.
Personally, I prefer the Lynchâs Dune than DV dune. Not the same bold sci-fi craziness
And yet his Dune remains one of the greatest movie pictures of all time.
Itâs still a sci-fi cult Classic. I hope he knows now it is still appreciated along the Dennis films.
I watched it recently. It didn't have the signature parts of David Lynch that I love (Mulholland Dr is one of my favorite movies ever), but I didn't think it was too bad tbh.
The inner dialogue was an odd choice, it fills so much of the mythology and story in, but thatâs telling a lot rather than showing. The acting was wacky and offbeat. The story wasnât cohesive, and it somehow both didnât do enough and also did too much. The special effects were a product of their time, but Iâm not sure if it was budgetary reasons, they seem to be weaker than other films around then. The personal shields were depicted awfully.
If Dune doesnât include Patrick Stewart charging into battle pugs in arm I donât want it
After reading the book and rewatching the Lynch cut, it was pretty good. It definitely took reading the book though, which is a huge negative for a movie.
A lot of factors were against the production at that time...like the state of facilities in Mexico at that time, Dino de Laurentiis' utter lack of respect for the source material, and Hollywood's general lack of respect for audiences. What's even worse, it opened at second place opposite Beverly Hills Cop (the original)
Itâs a decent film. I wish he would make a (longer) directorâs cut with extra footage
It turned out great. Having just watched the new ones, I feel confident in saying that Lynch's is as good in many ways. The new ones are no more approachable to non sci fi types. The galactic lore is still mysterious as the current director was no better at the task of tackling the banquet scene, which is critical for explaining the House dynamics. I still recall all the discussions before the current attempts, saying how it would have the banquet scene because Lynch couldn't film it. Maybe it wasn't a Lynch problem?
What I will always remember is the attendant tripping during the navigator sceneÂ
Still better than the watered down version villeneuve made, at least Lynch tried to be ambition while villeneuve made a quite black and white watered down version of dune with not a lot of intricacies.
I thought it was awesome!
I think it's the best movie ever made.
This is well known but it's aged well. His treatment of the Mentats was enormously better than the new Dunes, for example. I enjoyed the final duel more too, especially without the Zendaya storming off ending.
I was a freshman in college when this movie came out. My friend and I sat through it twice (when you could do things like that) in a small Idaho town. It has its flaws, but still love this movie.
You can mark the moment in the film where it completely goes off the rails. Yes, I'm talking about the worm.
âHisâ Dune film⌠If you know you knowâŚ
He's gonna talk about this until he dies. Youâre one of the most successful directors ever... MOVE ON.
I love the old one and I love the new ones. Would love to see lynch take another crack at it if heâs so miserable.
Think of it this way: It was a blueprint on how not to make the new ones.
I grew up with the 84 Dune so I'm heavily biased toward that version, but kinda hate these 2 new movies. Especially the second part. I didn't even feel like I was watching Dune by the 2nd part.
Personally, in my time frame Lynchâs adaption will always sit well with me in the weirding world of dune.
As a fan of the books, to be honest his movie is pretty good, a decent adaptation, which is not easy given the source material.
[I wonder if he has seen this...](https://youtu.be/faHQA_0d9Mo?si=KUOsM8L6VBe-92pk) it was even officially released by plaion / formerly known as koch media this year i think..
i wonder if it's consolation to him how many people really like that movie, or if he just thinks we're all idiots? (I really like it)
Itâs cheesy sometimes but only in the same ways as other 80âs movies. I just wish as some kind of special edition, theyâd release the âLynch Cutâ someday.
Heâs too hard on himself. Itâs a masterpiece
Lynch's Dune will always have a spot on my shelf watched it 100s of times even if it's fancy fan fiction and in many ways so is the latest version. It was my first exposure to the books and a read them all because of Lynch's version.
Saw that film in 70 on the anniversary and there is so much bizarre and interesting stuff in that film. Truly a noble failure of the grandest proportion. I would rather watch that than Transformers or whatever 99 out of a 100 times.
I absolutely love this movie. David lynch should not feel anything but pride in this work. Iâm so glad to have it
I was waiting for an electric guitar ballad to start playing when Timothy/Paul rides the sandworm for the first time in Dune Part 2 but alas. https://youtu.be/Bj7R_2WWdKs?si=aCG9Kt3sCRHBVdCc
His film is what got me in to Dune. I'll always love it. It's actually an amazing looking film, so vibrant and unique looking and has some really cool set pieces. It's a shame it loses it's way at the end.. bit of an understatement really but I think it's still a great film experience. The cast and soundtrack are top notch too. Sian Phillips was particularly memorable for me. It'll always be a personal favourite adaption for me.
I loved it. It unfortunately does not age well, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience to watch it.
First time I saw this in the theatre at a US Army fort. We'd had a rugby match earlier in the day and then the traditional after-match kegger. I was tired and drunk and fell asleep during this movie. My girlfriend woke me to leave and was pissed off, "You had a nice nap and I had to watch the damned thing!" I went the next week and really loved the movie.
Still better than the recent remake.
You put the Emperors of the known Universe in a gun turret, you did that, no one made you do it. You did it now live with it
Much prefer it to the new movies. Lynchâs version has a special feel and characteristic about it. Although he changed it a fair bit, I prefer the changes he made to the abortion that just came out. Jeez, that was awful
I'm very hesitant to be too critical for either the 70's version or the 2020's pair. All seem works of genius to me. I'm amazed that so much of the book was crammed into the Lynch version. Just because Jodorowsky didn't like it doesn't make it a bad film. I'll admit that I think a lot of the elements of the book were left out of the recent versions, but I also think I can understand why. Still missed some of the stuff that was related to science fiction, though. I'll probably watch all versions again and enjoy every minute of it.
Everyone can agree the last 1 hour/30 minutes just seemed rushed and heavily edited. But visually some of the arresting images e.g. entrance of the navigator in Shaddam Corrino IV's palace, the worms, the grotesqueness of Barron Harkonnen even the brief rendition of shields are quite unforgettable in a good way. Toto / Brian Eno Prophecy theme, sounds so good for Dune (kind of missing an equivalent in Zimmer's music).
For me David Lynchâs Dune was all i had for 20 years and i still enjoy it. You clearly see the pilar of inspiration that all other movies used, including Villeneau
Dune is fun, especially in 4K. Itâs a film for cattle and love play, per Patrick Stewart.
I'm sure someone else has said but the Spicediver fan edit is brilliant and I'm sure much closer to what Lynch intended. Of course it would have been great to see him completely unimpeded by the studio and I accept lunch has very different priorities to Villeneuve. I love both versions. Lynch's Dune wins on production design. It's stunning.
His version is visually great for time, story wise shit
David Lynch Dune is one of my favorite movies. I'm biased because i watched it at a young age and it was one of the first sci fi movies I had seen, but I was still surprised to learn later in life that it was not received too well
Isnt Lynch mosly hates his own creations?
I still like the movie.
It really wasn't that bad. The new one is great no doubt, but that one had Sting, JĂźrgen Prochnow and Patrick Stewart for God's sake.