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Dune (Movie)Dune is a 1984 movie, based on the book, Dune, by Frank Herbert, starring among others Kyle MacLachlan and Sting. The movie is estimated to have cost between 38 to 42 million dollars, and was shot in Mexico. With an unusually international cast, Dune was the largest movie production of its time, with a full studio complex, housing 75 sets. Still, the movie was far from successful, which according to fans of the series may have several reasons, most important being it's excessive length (despite of being cut down at the request of producer, Dino de Laurentiis) and complex story. The movie was directed by David Lynch. Cast (in credited order) Different Versions The movie has been released in at least three versions over the years. - Theatrical version, 2 hours and 17 minutes long. Often found on videocassette.
- The "Allen Smithee" version (also dubbed the "4-hour" version, but actually closer to three hours in length). David Lynch didn't play a role in the editing, and so insisted on having his name removed and replaced.
- "Channel 2" version, made and aired once in 1992 by KTVU, a mix of the Allen Smithee version and the theatrical version.
Adaptation The movie is an adaptation of the first part of a series of novels (see Dune (novel)), by Frank Herbert, containing elements from the later parts. Lynch originally wanted to create a much longer movie; his 135 page screenplay resulted in a three and a half hour long movie. During post production, though, producer Dino De Laurentiis did not want to risk releasing a 40 million dollar movie that was three hours long, so he had David Lynch cut the film down to 137 minutes. Box office In financial terms, the movie was a disaster, renting only $15 million in its domestic run off an estimated $42 million budget. Departures from the novel The film was not only unsuccessful with the general public: it also angered many fans of the original novel with its numerous alterations: - A major fan complaint is that in the novel, the "Weirding Way", properly termed "prana-bindu training", is a sort of super-martial art form that allows an adept like Paul to move with literally blurring speed. The Lynch movie replaced this with "Sonic Guns" that a user shouts into, and the sound is then amplified into destructive force. Thus in the movie, the Fremen followers of Paul shout his Fremen name, Muad'dib, into their weapons to power them. In the movie, this leads Paul to make the remark "my name has become a killing word". Fans of the novel found this cheesy in the extreme: in the novel, Paul says his name has become a death-prayer of sorts because the Fremen shout "Muad'dib!" before killing an opponent, like a battle-cry.
- Furthermore, casting Sting as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was considered a somewhat shameless cameo: essentially he was considered eye candy, not really contributing to the story. During the one scene from the novel where Sting has something to do, his final duel with Paul, fans regard his dialogue and delivery as melodramatic overkill. In the novel, Paul and Feyd get into a raging knife-fight. In the movie, Sting-as-Feyd holds up a knife and paces around the screen, shouting "I...will...kill...him!" in a hammy way, and there is little if any fighting. The Dune miniseries made the scene far closer to the novel scene; Paul and Feyd strip down and engage in a raging knife battle that degenerates into a fast-paced martial-arts face off.
- The final scene of the film was also changed from that of the novel. In the novel, the final line, spoken by Jessica to Chani, is "Those of us who bear the name of concubine, history will remember as wives" (in reference to Paul's marriage to and refusal of Irulan). In the movie, the final line (spoken by Alia) are "He IS the Kwisatz Haderach!".
- Finally, the movie ends with Paul commanding it to rain on Arrakis. In the novel, this is only accomplished through years of terraforming, and it does not rain for decades after Paul ascends the throne. This is because there is nothing mystical about Paul's powers; he is the product of genetic breeding and training, and could not possibly command the sky to rain on Dune.
Many fans of the novel consider the movie an unfaithful adaptation that tainted the public's perception of what the book was actually about. Miniseries Dune was recently remade as a three part miniseries for release on cable and rental video/DVD; as noted above, it is considered to have come much closer to the philosophical and thematic point of view of the original. Cult success and revisions Despite the original complaints by some disgruntled Herbert fans, the movie has become an enormous cult favorite. Many science fiction fans enjoy the movie as an unusually dark and disturbing version of the Star Wars-style space opera. The less-seen 3 hour "Alan Smithee" version is a cult classic on its own. Prepared originally for syndicated television (and later seen on basic cable networks), it has just been released into some markets (including Canada and Europe) on DVD. The missing footage includes a painted montage at the prologue, and some scenes added back into the mix, including the "little-maker" essence-of-spice scene. The TV version was edited almost haphazardly (for example, certain shots were repeated throughout the film to give the impression that footage had been added). Lynch objected to these edits and had his name removed from the credits of the TV print (his name remains on the theatrical print as it is the only version authorized by the director). Influence The film inspired a praised series of video games, including , by Westwood games. Westwood also published Dune 2000, which featured live actors (including John Rhys-Davies as Thufir!), in cut-scenes. Westwood's ground-breaking games were obviously inspired by, and are faithful to, the Lynch movie. See also: All Dune universe articles Other Topics List of fiction inspired by Dune External links *
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