Dune (1984)

Director:

David Lynch

Writers:

Frank Herbert (novel)
David Lynch (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 December 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

You are about to enter a world where the unexpected, the unknown, and the unbelievable meet.

Plot:

In the distant future, a man appears who may be the prophet that a long-suffering galaxy has been waiting for.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Duke | Emperor | Baron | Spice

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Francesca Annis	...	Lady Jessica
Leonardo Cimino	...	The Baron's Doctor
Brad Dourif	...	Piter De Vries
José Ferrer	...	Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV
Linda Hunt	...	Shadout Mapes
Freddie Jones	...	Thufir Hawat
Richard Jordan	...	Duncan Idaho
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Paul Atreides
Virginia Madsen	...	Princess Irulan
Silvana Mangano	...	Reverend Mother Ramallo
Everett McGill	...	Stilgar
Kenneth McMillan	...	Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
Jack Nance	...	Nefud
Siân Phillips	...	Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (as Sian Phillips)
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Duke Leto Atreides

Runtime:

137 min | USA:190 min (special edition) | 177 min (extended edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Italy:T | Spain:13 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 (special edition) | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (uncut) (1986) | UK:PG (original rating) (cut) | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Churubusco Studios, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

De Laurentiis

Trivia:

Director David Lynch and producer Raffaella De Laurentiis arranged a screen test in New York with Sean Young for the role of Chani. Young's agent never told Young about the meeting, and she was in fact booked on a flight that evening to Los Angeles. Lynch and De Laurentiis missed their flight back to Los Angeles, and ended up catching the same plane as Young. During the flight, De Laurentiis noticed Young and told Lynch, "I bet that girl's an actress." A stewardess told the pair that her name was "Sean Young", and De Laurentiis confronted Young about standing him and Lynch up. The misunderstanding sorted out, the three ended up drinking champagne and reading the script together upon returning to Los Angeles.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Some shots were reversed. The most obvious is when Paul Atreides takes the Water of Life; the nose piece of the stillsuit changes sides many times during that scene.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Princess Irulan: A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then, that is is the year 10191. The known universe is ruled by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam the Fourth, my father. In this time, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Space Chimps (2008)

Why does Lynch hate this one?

To begin with, I have to say that I saw the movie first, and read the book years later. This seems to be important: Nearly everybody who read the book first hates the movie, but most of those who saw the movie first seem to like it.

Now, why is this so? I cannot really understand it because, in comparition to other movies based on existing literature, what we have here is a film which stays very close to the original story and does not add many new elements.

When I read the book, I could see the movie in front of me in nearly every chapter. So I really don't understand what Herbert-Fans had expected from this movie...

I for my part like it a lot. It has a very mystical atmosphere about it and the story develops nicely. Of course there are some elements which are simply not explained and are therefore very confusing, but somehow this seems to be a thing Lynch tends to do in every of his movies, so what? I like some simple scenes like the opening monologue a whole lot. I LOVE the music (which played in my mind all the time while I read the book), and I think the characters are very strong and (for example Letho Atreides) sometimes full of tragedy.

The part I like the most though is the worm-part. I think the special effects are not always brilliant, but seeing the scenes with the worms, I am really awestruck because they are so impressing.

All in all, I think this is one of the more underrated movies in Science Fiction history. It may be because the director himself was not happy with it, or because fans expected too much from a simple two hour movie. I always enjoy watching this film and listening to the soundtrack. And I would love to see a Director's Cut version.