Dune

1984 "A world beyond your experience, beyond your imagination."
6.3| 2h17m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 14 December 1984 Released
Producted By: Dino De Laurentiis Company
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.

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Reviews

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
ShangLuda Admirable film.
Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...
Tweetienator Imo Dune is one of the best sci-fi-movies ever made and e.g. far more impressive story- and graphic-wise to Star Wars. Frank Herbert's Dune cycle is for sure one of the best sci-fi/fantasy epics ever written, imo even superior to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings - in imagination, philosophical and political depth, the universe of Dune is unchallenged by most other fictional works with only a very few exceptions.David Lynch adapted the first book of Frank Herbert's epic accurate, only changed in some details. The actors are very good ones (e.g. Jürgen Prochnow, famous for his role as der Alte in Das Boot, Sting as the Harkonnen Feyd Rautha, Linda Hunt, Patrick Stewart etc). Maybe they are not the biggest stars of Hollywood, but all are serious and very good actors indeed (well, Sting proved he can do acting too).Sadly, the project was due the lack of financial success not continued. Imagine, the whole of Frank Herbert's work (not those stuff from his son) would have adapted into movies of this quality! Dune is one of the most unique movies of the sci-fi and fantasy genre like The Dark Crystal (Jim Henson, Frank Oz), Flash Gordon (the 80s movie), Blade Runner, The Matrix and Fight Club.Lucas' Star Wars is for the inner cowboy and Indians or dragon hunting knight part of our self. Dune is one for our adult self.Must watch. Must collect.
robertmaybeth "Game of thrones" in space, 12 years before it was ever written. We are told the rough cut ran 4 hours, Lynch wanted it to be at least 3 but the studio ordered it cut so as to allow more screenings in the theaters (a common thing in American cinema). But I have the impression the film would still have come out much the same regardless of the finished length... this film aims high, nearly achieves it yet ultimately can't achieve what the filmmakers set out to do. There's much to admire about this film and so many things about it that are ultimately pointless and frustrating. I had never read "Dune" so I had no expectations; even so it's clear there must be a lot of the book behind the dialogue and film elements. There's plenty of mythos present for "game of thrones in space" that it appears to be nowadays, and the film makers manage to convey a lot of it in a way that makes you want to know more. But that's the problem with this film adaptation - there's just enough back-story to make it a compelling watch but too little is adequately explained to make it satisfying. We have a classic rivalry with good guys (House Atreides) and bad guys (the emperor, House Harkonnen) along with a small but powerful group that will need to have it's loyalties adjusted (the Fremens) if the conflict (the fight for the vital spice "Melange" that grants its user almost magical powers). The good guys include Baron Atreides (Jurgen Prochnow) and his son Paul, (Kyle Machlachlan, making his film debut)squaring off against the evil (not to mention thoroughly vile) Baron Harkonnen and his trained killer Feyd Rautha (Sting, in a baffling but still convincing choice of casting). The Atreides must travel to the planet Arrakis, the only source of the vital spice in the universe. Little do they know the emperor and the Harkonnens have plotted to let them get settled on the planet then destroy them - particularly Paul, who the emperor has been ordered, (by some squishy squid villain or another that lives in a giant aquarium) to murder. All the elements for a great story are there, and for the most part, the film-makers live up to it. If oyu can ignore the often ponderous, pretentious and illogical dialogue, the voice overs that seem like they were written 5 minutes before the scene was shot, and the muddy continuity, this film delivers in a big way. There haven't been production values this good since "Star Wars", and the sets truly create the impression that we are looking at a totally different universe - and manages to sustain that for the entire film. And that's where they take you and leave you, since the story-telling can't live up to the rest of the film. All the elements of an epic story are in place...but where the film ultimately falls on its face is continuity. The characters all have clear motives, all are painted in appropriate shades of dark and light, and the film makers push every emotional button to make you root for team Atreides and against the evil Harkonnens. But sometimes the dialogue just doesn't work, and it doesn't help things when some of the characters deliver their lines as if they were reciting Shakespeare instead of having a simple conversation. In short, I really like this film, have rewatched it more then once, and wish it were better then it is. But the biggest problem with "Dune" is the murky telling of the story, and there are gaps a sand-worm could fit through.. You can't help the nagging idea that somehow, something got lost in translation during production. As it happens, audiences just couldn't relate to this film, which did so poorly at the box office that plans for two sequels were simply dropped (which is unfortunate, since you get the feeling that Lynch might have gotten the story right with just another sequel or two).
cinemajesty Producer Raffaella De Laurentiis collaborates with Director David Lynch in season 1983/1984 to produce "magnus opus", the to this date in-adaptable concerned live-action screen version of Frank Herbert's Science-Fiction Novel "Dune" published in 1965. The producer gained experience with the Fantasy-Action movie "Conan, the Barbarian" (1982) to get her budget doubled to an at that time astronomical production budget of 40 Million U.S. Dollars, which would be at today's standards the common 100 to 150 Million U.S. Dollar budget with major Hollywood studios, yet without the worldwide distribution arm.Risk management of the highest order for producer Raffealla De Laurentiis with her father Dino De Laurentiis only acting as executive producer for this picture. Contracting director David Lynch due to his second feature success with "The Elephant Man " (1980), which him his first Academy Award Nomination as Best Director as well as additional seven nominations for the Black & White production itself in January 1981. Giving completely free hand in adapting the novel to a screenplay. David Lynch put all his knowledge and skills as an all-round artist into the adaptation, spending approximately four years of his life to bring his directorial vision for "Dune" to the screen.The result, presented on December 3rd 1984 in Washington DC to critics and private guests, had been nearly a disaster. Breaking under its own weight of an for its high-imagination-factor admired novel by Frank Herbert finding mixed reviews and bad word-of-mouth under already "Star Wars" -spoiled audiences. The next nine months of distribution, mainly to countries in Europe and South America, did not bring the blockbuster success as the producers had envisioned for the source material.Director David Lynch disillusioned by high-budgeted motion picture productions, retreating to a more modest budgeted film productions up to 10 Million U.S. Dollars and creating his most accomplished motion picture works from Blue Velvet (1986) over the TV-Series Twin Peaks (1990/1991) to Mulholland Drive (2001). Nevertheless the years passing could not harm "Dune" in the slightest, the film even became better to watch as one of the in an art directorial sense outstanding Science-Fiction movie of the 1980s.Helming the adaptation all by himself, Director David Lynch narrowed the story line down to the rivalry between two intergalactic clans. The one living by the sea in symbiosis with the element of water, called the Artreides, the others, called the Harkonnen, utilizing Industrializations of metal in order to create their home planet. Both parties strive for the planet "Arrakis" (also called Dune), defining the galactic region the essence of the universe. On the desert planet, an earthly mineral, called "Spice", grows in the dried-out undergrounds, which allows the processing owners to fold time itself in order to travel intergalactic distances without moving.The casting ensemble, led by first-time introduced actor Kyle MacLachlan at the age of 24, who is accompanying experienced actors as Max van Sydow, Jürgen Prochnow or Patrick Stewart, which seem overwhelmed by the shear vastness of the source material. Nevertheless Director David Lynch kept his attention mainly on art direction and sound design, trusting his as before collaborating cinematographer Freddie Francis with the camera movements, which had been kept to a minimum.The second half of "Dune" (Theatrical version) starting at approximately running time mark 1h16mins00sec explores the spiritual aspects of the source material. The character of Paul Atreidis becomes stylized to a saviour of cave-hiding race on the planet Arrakis. He must confront gigantic sandworms in order to gain control over the occupied opposition of the Harkonnen. Paul Atreidis receives a new name by the native tribe of Arrakis, called the Fremen. He will be known as Muad'Dib, entrusted to train and lead the natives into battle against the occupying forces on the desert planet.Drained in all-familiar religious symbolism of the Messiah, who shares his advanced knowledge with primitive Fremen. The film gets reduced to a montage of almost randomly threaded visualizations of the novel. It seems the 1984 theatrical version had been rushed to be finished on a deadline. The producer with an editor Antony Gibbs disregard David Lynch's directorial vision from the first hour of "Dune" and punch together as much visual information as possible in less then sixty minutes of the movie's second half. By the end the spectator had been overrun with a sandworm-charging attack on the besieged palace of Arrakis.New characters as Paul Atreidis' sister get introduced too quickly. Other character developments as the one of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, played by actor Kenneth McMillan, were pushed aside for the sake of being faithful to Frank Herbert's novel. A fact which has become Producer Raffaella De Laurentiis' decent of completing the picture in restricted parameters concerning length and story-telling schemes. Hard to recover, how Director David Lynch must have felt, when suddenly carefully built character developments get thrown overboard for the sake of spectacle and widely expected resolution techniques in concluding the screen-story."Dune" may have been the masterpiece of its time period, if the producer had been granting the director and editor further creative freedom to create an esoterically justified picture by taking the chance of stepping away from the source material and pave its own path to a satisfying conclusion in which the spectre finds a higher intellectual value.© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (for Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC) edited version
classicalsteve "Dune" the novel is possibly the greatest science fiction novel ever written and this film will go down as one of the worst in SF film history. Even with a large budget, David Lynch and company managed to gut everything beautiful and compelling about "Dune". Although the sets and costumes were reasonably good much of the look and effects of "Dune" were disastrously disappointing, and the film lacked the charm and wit of other SF offerings, such as Star Wars, not mention lacking the spectacular vision of Herbert's original novel.The setting is one of the most complex ever devised in a science fiction novel. The known "galaxy" is made up of noble houses which seem very similar to the Italian city-states of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. The House Atreides is the focus of the story. At the story's beginning the House of Atreides has been ruling a lush water planet Caladan. However, now upon a command of the Emperor, Atreides has been assigned to take over the desert planet Arrakis. Arrakis is a mostly desolate desert planet nicknamed "Dune" with only one vital commodity. Arrakis is the only place in the known galaxy where the spice mélange can be mined and harvested. Mélange offers not only sensational properties to those who consume it, but it contains healing and even life-prolonging attributes. It is the most coveted commodity in the galaxy. However, the spice is difficult to harvest, not only because of the bitter climate of the desert, but large sand worms with maws the size of Star Trek's the Doomsday Machine and about the length of four 747's. They tend to be attracted by the mining equipment used to harvest the spice.The House Atreides moves to Arrakis where the Emperor forced the evil and immoral House Harkonen to abandon their residence. Harkonen was abusing the spice trade not allowing the spice to "flow" to other parts of the galaxy without hefty inflated prices. While the Emperor doesn't entirely trust House Atreides, he feels the spice trade will prosper better under the direction of Atreides. The main family consists of Duke Leto I Atreides, the current head of the House Atreides, his son Paul Atreides, and his concubine Lady Jessica, mother of Paul.Infuriated by their forced exodus from Arrakis, Baron Vladimir Harkonen has vowed revenge against House Atreides. He desires to subdue House Atreides and reclaim possession of Arrakis. The plot essentially surrounds the conflict between House Atreides and House Harkonen and their battle for the fate of the Dune planet. Paul Atreides begins to hear of a prophecy, a messiah who will come to Dune from out-world and save the Fremin, the main people of Dune.Hollywood film executives thought David Lynch was the most appropriate director for the project. (Ridley Scott was the first choice but booked for "Blade Runner".) Problems were apparent going in. Lynch had never directed a science fiction film before, he was not really a science fiction enthusiast, and he had never read the original novel. The end-product was one of the worst disasters in both film history and cinematic science fiction. Not only was it a terrible film which didn't do justice to Herbert's novel, it bombed miserably at the box office.First off, the script was very confusing. While there are a lot of characters in the novel, it would have behooved the project to focus only on Paul Atreides and his immediate family and the baddies the House Harkonen. Only someone who really knew and understood the novel thoroughly would be able to follow the script. Films of this sort can't be targeted only to readers of the novel, and thee were too many disjointed scenes. To give the film a few positives, the casting was pretty good, and Kyle MacLachlan was a good choice for Paul Atreides. However, the acting didn't seem quite up to Herbert's material.Even given the large budget, some of the special effects looked cheap and silly. The sand-worms didn't come off as menacing as they do in the book. These are supposed to be the equivalent of sand sharks but the film made them seem more like woolly mammoths with long tales. The filtered look of the film itself was also much to be desired. For the entire film, I thought I was trapped in a sandstorm. Yes, I understand it's a desert planet, but even a desert planet should be made to look beautiful and inviting which is often part of the point of SF, again another reason David Lynch was probably not the best choice to direct it. Even the cover art of the first edition of "Dune" shows some green.The film was also needlessly violent. The biggest blunder of the entire project was the portrayal of Baron Vladimir Harkonen, the equivalent of Darth Vader. While Darth Vader was certainly evil and menacing, Vader was never insufferable. Vader was also regarded as one of the best baddies in SF cinema, maybe the best ever. The Baron was portrayed so disgustingly insufferable, I didn't want to watch him. Herbert does describe him as overweight, but not disgusting. Lynch decided to portray him as a revolting and sickening blob of flesh with skin melting like wax. Who wants to watch such a horrid thing? Every time the Baron entered a scene, I wanted to look away. By contrast, the SF Channel's rendition is much more palpable. He's already an insufferable character; the filmmakers didn't have to add to the character's baddiness by making him so revolting I almost wanted to lose my lunch.Overall one of the biggest mistakes in SF film history. Lynch's "Dune" is not even as entertaining as "Plan Nine from Outer Space". It's a humorousless, pointless, and unentertaining two hours of your life you'll never get back. And it had no heart, and that's the tragedy of this film. It had some of the look and feel of the novel, but none of its heart.