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Dune
USA / Mexico 1984
produced by Raffaella De Laurentiis, Dino De Laurentiis (executive) for the Dino De Laurentiis Company, Estudios Churubusco Azteca/Universal
directed by David Lynch
starring Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Kenneth McMillan, Jürgen Prochnow, Dean Stockwell, Sting, Max von Sydow, José Ferrer, Siân Phillips, Virginia Madsen, Patrick Stewart, Sean Young, Alicia Witt, Silvana Mangano, Everett McGill, Brad Dourif, Leonardo Cimino, Linda Hunt, Freddie Jones, Richard Jordan, Jack Nance, Paul L. Smith, Danny Corkill, Honorato Magaloni, Judd Omen, Molly Wryn
screenplay by David Lynch, based on the novel by Frank Herbert, music by Toto, cinematography by Freddie Francis, mechanical special effects by Kit West, creatures created by Carlo Rambaldi
Dune
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Somewhen in the tenth millenium: The planet Arrakis is at the same time
a barren rock hanging in space, its surface covered entirely in desert
that's deemed almost uninhabitable - even if there are rumours it's
peopled by a race called the Fremen -, and the most important planet of
the universe, as it's the only planet that produces the spice, a
drug needed for space pilots to "fold" space. And thus, the
Emperor of the known universe (José Ferrer) uses Arrakis as bait to stir
up war between the two ruling houses, the House of Atreides and the House
of Harkonnen. Very well aware how much it will upset Baron Harkonnen
(Kenneth McMillan), the Emperor hands Arrakis over to Duke Atreides
(Jürgen Prochnow), who plans big things, unaware that his own doctor
(Dean Stockwell) is a traitor who drugs the Duke, brings down all defense
systems, and opens the door for an attack - and Atreides' men are
hopelessly outgunned by the Harkonnen forces. Somehow, Atreides' son Paul
(Kyle McLachlan) and his concubine Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis), Paul's
mother, manage to make an escape into the desert, where they are almost
swallowed up by a giant sandworm, creatures that roam the surface and hunt
by vibration. Somehow they make it to safety and into the cave system of
the Fremen, who are much larger in numbers than thought and that plan an
uprising once they have collected enough water to cutlivate the planet.
Now it has to be mentioned here that Paul's mother has been trained in
mystical arts by the Bene Gesserit, a powerful sect feared in the known
universe, and she has passed the teachings on to Paul, until his abilities
surpassed her won, teachings that can also be used in combat, and
teachings he now passes on to the Fremen, who soon celebrate him as their
Messiah. And once they've mastered the skills, and have learned how to
ride sandworms, they first destroy all spice mining stations, and
ultimately launch an attack on the Harkonnen palace. But in the meantime,
the Emperor has learned what's going on on Arrakis, and sends his troops
as the Baron's reinforcements ... This movie's supporting cast is pretty
much guest star galore: Sting, then at the height of his popularity with
The Police, plays Harkonnen's psychotic son, Virgina Madsen the Emperor's
daughter, Patrick Stewart Paul's combat coach, Sean Young his love
interest, Silvana Mangana a Bene Gesserit mother superior, and Max Von
Sydow a space ship pilot. To jump onto the Star
Wars bandwagon in the early 1980s, Dino De Laurentiis produced
not one but two films based on material that has been a direct influence
on George Lucas' series, one was Flash
Gordon in 1980, the other was Dune of course - and both
films initially flopped at the box office but later became cult items on
home video. But this is where the similarities end, as where Flash
Gordon was an unapologetic piece of camp, Dune is a very
intelligent and complex piece of science fiction that's as much heavy on
philosophy as it is on spectacle, and that affords itself its quiet
moments. And while it's true that the film simplifies Frank Herbert's book
to some extent and loses some of its complexity, that's more due to the
fact that there's only so much you can cram into a two and a quarter hour
film. And while the film remains pretty close to its source throughout,
it's still all David Lynch, with its trippy sequences, spots of
surrealism, elements that catch the audience completely off-guard, and
plenty of craziness. And while Lynch himself has more or less disowned the
film, as he didn't have final cut, it has still very obviously his
handwriting all over, and is totally worth a watch.
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