David Lynch, the guy behind movies and TV shows like Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks, is one of the most innovative popular filmmakers in cinema history. When it was announced in the ’80s that Lynch, a rising star at the time, would be helming an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed sci-fi novel Dune, it seemed like a match made in heaven. But the film flopped and the box office and was a mix with critics; to this day, Lynch looks back on it with ridicule, even going as far as having his name removed from the credits.
Dune is notoriously difficult to adapt to film. The story relies heavily on inner monologues; dense descriptions of alien planets, species, and technologies; and complex philosophy that doesn’t always translate well into a visual medium. Lynch’s version was a campy, weird, silly mess that was torn apart by the studio. An upcoming new adaptation from Arrival director Dennis Villeneuve is likely to be a very different experience. Villeneuve has been clear that his film was not influenced by the Lynch movie in any way. That’s probably a good thing on balance, but Dune fans have a special place in their hearts for Lynch’s bizarre space opera. So before Villeneuve’s version hits theaters, let’s give it a little bit of love even as we acknowledge its shortcomings. Is it worth watching before the new Dune comes out?
Is David Lynch’s Dune movie still worth watching?
The universe of Dune is famously complex, full of warring factions, strange technology and a lot of internal drama. It mostly takes place on the planet of Arrakis, aka Dune, a desert world where giant sand worms roam and the native Fremen people eke out a hard life on the unforgiving landscape. It is here — and only here — that the Spice is made, a highly addictive substance crucial to the functioning of the galactic empire. The planet has newly come under the control of the noble House Atreides, headed by the Duke Leto, his concubine the Lady Jessica, and their son Paul.
Dune 1984 is worth watching simply because it does a good job of bringing the audience into this bizarre universe. Lynch is a great visual stylist and does an excellent job of making each individual planet, house and kind of person look distinct, all without the aid of modern special effects. The 1984 movie has the right amount of weirdness mixed with beauty, whether in the costumes, sets or campy green screen scenes.
So the movie is fun to look at. Unfortunately, strange editing choices make the pace choppy, with a lot of exposition that doesn’t allow characters to develop and feel like real people the audience can connect with.
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
One of the biggest failures of Lynch’s Dune is in the character of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan). The story’s main antagonist is a disgusting, pedophilic monster who aims to destroy House Atreides and conquer the galaxy through fear, oppression and slavery. The Baron is physically repulsive, but he is a formidable enemy due to his intelligence and mercilessness.
Lynch seemed to ignore that idea altogether. The Baron in his movie is a grotesque man in a floating chair who screams and spits each line. He’s hilarious and disgusting, and one of the more intriguing elements of the film. However, he is a huge betrayal of the character from the books.
Stellan Skarsgard is set to play the Baron in the Villeneuve’s movie, but we’ve seen very little of what he’ll look like. But with Villeneuve being the sort of clinical filmmaker he is, we’re betting this version of the Baron won’t be truer to his roots in the novels.
Dune, Parts 1 and 2
Herbert’s book is long and dense. The Lynch adaptation is a mangled cut of the director’s original vision, which is reportedly much longer. Whether you are familiar with the book or not, it’s clear that there’s a lot of plot missing from Lynch’s movie, particularly from the vital middle section of Herbert’s book. The novel chronicles a struggle that plays out over a number of years, but Dune 1984 is forced to rush through essential moments that impact the story in profound ways and set up everything that comes after.
Villeneuve’s movie, on the other hand, will only adapt the first half of Herbert’s story, which suggests he’s not planning to skip anything important. This is a story that needs space for its most interesting elements to breathe and develop; we only hope the first film is successful enough for Warner Bros. to give the green light Part 2.
The casting of Dune
By and large, Dune 1984 is well cast. Kyle Maclachlan is fantastic as Paul Atreides, and the movie is worth watching if for no other reason than see him at the top of his game. In fact, the movie does a good job with pretty much all of the members of House Atreides; Lynch makes us fall in love with the loyal soldiers in Duke Leto’s service, and there’s a lot of emotional payoff as they find their way back to one another after the Baron attacks.
Villeneuve has also assembled an excellent cast for his film that includes the likes of Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa and Josh Brolin. Hopefully they can match the performances given by actors like Francesca Annis, Patrick Stewart and Max von Sydow in the original movie.
Prescience, space cats and special effects
Without a doubt, the special effects in the new version of Dune will be far more advanced than the ones in Dune 1984, which by and large are pretty campy, if lavish. True, it was a product of its time, but by the time it came around movies like Star Wars and Blade Runner had already showed what then-modern SFX technicians were capable of, and Lynch’s movie fell somewhat short. The book series has many fights that Lynch did not do a good job of portraying on screen. There are the obvious green screen moments, and the shield fights don’t measure up to what’s described in the novels. If you enjoy campy silliness, Lynch’s Dune will make you smile, but the new version is sure to put it to shame.
One of the most difficult elements of the Dune books is the idea of “prescience.” Frank Herbert is obsessed with the conflict between destiny and choice. Paul Atreides is cursed with prescient visions that allow him to see every possible outcome, every possible future. This was too complicated to squeeze into Lynch’s movie, which pretty much drops it completely. It will be interesting to see how it gets incorporated into Villeneuve’s movie.
We have to mention one other thing about David Lynch’s Dune: the cat! The best part of the movie, and its true saving grace, is the weird cat that appears in multiple scenes. They never address the animal, there’s no reason for it to be there, and it feels like this weird mistake or joke that they just kept in. It’s absolutely phenomenal. If there is to be any homage to Lynch’s film in the new movie, please let it be the inclusion of a random cat for no reason.
In conclusion, Lynch’s Dune is worth watching for the fun and silly special effects and seeing a young Kyle MacLachlan ply his trade. It’s not a success for a myriad of reasons, but if you’re interested in becoming acquainted with Dune, it’s still a fun ’80s sci-fi romp that entertains despite its many shortcomings.
Dennis Villeneuve will hopefully do much better. Dune is set to premiere in October 2021.
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