Everything about Dune Film totally explained
» This article is about the 1984 film. See Frank Herbert's Dune for the 2000 adaptation.
Dune is a
1984 science fiction film written and directed by
David Lynch, based on the 1965
Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars
Kyle MacLachlan as
Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known
American and
European actors in supporting roles, including
Sting,
Jose Ferrer,
Virginia Madsen,
Linda Hunt,
Patrick Stewart,
Max von Sydow, and
Jürgen Prochnow, among others. It was filmed at the
Churubusco Studios in
Mexico City and included a
soundtrack by the band
Toto. As in the novel, the central plot concerns a young man foretold in prophecy as the "
Kwisatz Haderach" who will protect the titular desert planet from the malevolent
House Harkonnen and save the universe from evil.
After the success of the novel, attempts to adapt
Dune for a film began as early as 1971. A lengthy process of what is known in the film industry as
development hell followed throughout the 1970s, during which directors such as
David Lean,
Alejandro Jodorowsky, and
Ridley Scott were considered. In 1981, David Lynch was hired as director by
executive producer Dino De Laurentiis.
The film wasn't well received by critics and performed poorly at the American box office at the time. Upon its release, director David Lynch distanced himself from the project, stating that pressure from both producers and financiers restrained his
artistic control and denied him
final cut.
Fans of the
Dune series are polarized by the movie, although in the years since its release, the film has become a
cult favorite, and at least three different versions have been released worldwide. In some cuts of the film Lynch's name is replaced in the credits with the name of a fictional director
Alan Smithee, a pseudonym used by directors who wish not to be associated with a film for which they'd normally be credited.
Plot
» Note: The following synopsis refers to the "Theatrical cut" version of the film, which features departures from the original novel.
In the year 10,191 A.G. (After
Guild) (23,190 AD), the known universe, a sprawling
feudal galactic empire, is ruled by the
Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. In this time the most precious substance in the universe is the spice
melange, which extends life, expands consciousness and is vital to space travel. The powerful
Spacing Guild and its
Navigators use the orange spice gas to achieve a sense called prescience by which they safely guide the interstellar ships to any part of the universe using the quantum mechanics of Holtzman generators, an extremely complicated machine which "folds space" (in effect, the ship is moved instantaneously across vast distances).
Four planets draw the attention of the Spacing Guild:
Arrakis, a desert planet and only source of spice in the universe;
Caladan, home of
House Atreides;
Giedi Prime, home of
House Harkonnen; and
Kaitain, Home of the Emperor Shaddam IV. The Guild, fearing a plot that might jeopardize Spice production, sends a third stage Navigator to Kaitain demanding explanations from the Emperor, who confidentially lets the Guild know of his plans to destroy House Atreides. The popularity of
Duke Leto Atreides has grown within the
Landsraad, and as Leto is suspected to be creating a secret army with a technique involving
sound, he's now a threat to the Emperor. Shaddam's plan is to give the Atreides control of Arrakis, replacing the Harkonnens, who at an appointed time would launch a sneak attack on the Atreides. Upon being informed of the plot, the Navigator commands the Emperor to kill the Duke's son,
Paul Atreides, a young man who dreams prophetic visions of his purpose. The cryptic assassination order draws the attention of the
Bene Gesserit sisterhood, as Paul Atreides is tied to their centuries long breeding program in search of the
Kwisatz Haderach.
Before departure, Paul is tested by
Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam with a deadly
gom jabbar at his throat. Paul is forced to place his hand in a box, which subjects him to excruciating and increasing pain; he passes to Mohiam's satisfaction, withstanding more pain than anyone has before him. Meanwhile, in the industrial world of Giedi Prime, the sadistic Baron
Vladimir Harkonnen tells his nephews
Glossu Rabban and
Feyd-Rautha about his plan to eliminate their centuries long enemies, House Atreides, by manipulating someone very close to the Duke into betraying him.
The Atreides leave Caladan for Arrakis, a mysterious world of vast deserts, filled with gigantic
sandworms and populated by the
Fremen, mysterious people who have long held a prophecy that a
messiah would come to lead them to true freedom. Upon arrival to Arrakis, Duke Leto is informed by one of his right-hand men,
Duncan Idaho, that the Fremen have been largely underestimated, as they exist in vast numbers in Arrakis and could prove to be powerful allies. Duke Leto gains the trust of the people of Arrakis, proving to be a charismatic and just leader. But before the Duke can establish an alliance with the Fremen, the Harkonnen launch their attack more quickly than the Atreides expect.
While the Atreides anticipated a trap, they're unable to withstand a devastating Harkonnen sneak attack, supported by the Emperor's elite troops, the
Sardaukar, and aided by a traitor within House Atreides itself, Doctor
Wellington Yueh. Captured, Duke Leto dies in a failed attempt to assassinate the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen using a poison gas capsule planted in his tooth by Dr. Yueh, but his concubine
Jessica and his son Paul escape into the deep desert. With Jessica's Bene Gesserit abilities and Paul's developing skills, they manage to join a band of native Fremen. Paul emerges as Muad'Dib, the religious and political leader the Fremen have been waiting for. Paul teaches the Fremen to use the weirding modules and begins targeting mining production of spice. The Emperor is warned by the Spacing Guild of the situation on Arrakis, as the Guild fears that Paul would eventually take the
Water of Life. The fears of the Spacing Guild are revealed to Paul in a prophetic dream. Paul drinks the Water of Life and enters a coma that disturbs all Bene Gesserits in the universe. The water of life prompts several visions to Paul, and upon awaking Paul is transformed and gains control of the sandworms of Arrakis.
Upon the Emperor's arrival at Arrakis, Paul launches a final attack against both the Harkonnen and the Emperor. His Fremen warriors, armed with weirding modules and riding sandworms, defeat the Emperor's legions of Sardaukar while Paul's sister
Alia kills the Baron Harkonnen, who floats through a wall breach to be eaten by a sandworm. Paul faces the defeated Emperor, and avenges his family in a duel to the death with Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. After making Feyd's organs burst by screaming at his corpse without a weirding module, Paul commands rain to fall on Arrakis. Alia reveals to everyone that Paul is the Kwisatz Haderach.
Cast
With the exception of Kyle MacLachlan,
Dune featured a large, international cast of well-known actors, including two
Academy Award-winners in secondary roles. Almost every major character from the book is present in the film.
In credited order:
- Francesca Annis as Lady Jessica. Prior to Dune, Annis was known in the United Kingdom both in television as well as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
- Leonardo Cimino as The Baron's Doctor.
- Brad Dourif as Piter De Vries, the twisted Mentat. Dourif was notable for portraying other deranged and psychologically unstable characters in many films, including Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), John Huston's Wise Blood (1979) and his role as Billy Bibbit in 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
- José Ferrer as Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. The Puerto Rican actor had starred before as the Turkish Bey in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, a character that, like the Shaddam IV, also represents the old Imperial order. The story of T. E. Lawrence shares similarities with the plot of Dune and has been cited as an influence of the novel. Ferrer won an Academy Award (Best Actor, Cyrano de Bergerac, 1950) prior to performing in Dune.
- Linda Hunt as the Shadout Mapes. Hunt also won an Academy Award prior to performing in Dune (Best Supporing Actress, The Year of Living Dangerously, 1983). A deleted scene featuring Mapes proving her loyalty to Lady Jessica is featured in the Alan Smithee cut.
- Freddie Jones as Thufir Hawat. Jones had worked with David Lynch in The Elephant Man. While in the novel, Hawat chooses to sacrifice himself instead of betraying his Duke, this scene was cut from the film. It is, however, featured as a deleted scene in the Extended Edition DVD; Thufir removes his heart plug and dies in Paul's arms.
- Richard Jordan as Duncan Idaho. Jordan was known for his career both on Broadway as well for a number of secondary roles in film.
- Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides. MacLachlan stated that Dune had been his bible ever since he was 14 years old. After Dune, MacLachlan continued to work with David Lynch, in Blue Velvet as well as Twin Peaks. MacLachlan was 25 at the time, while in the novel Paul Atreides is only 15 years old.
- Virginia Madsen as Princess Irulan. As with MacLachlan, Dune was Madsen's first major role in a mainstream film. In the Alan Smithee cut, she's heard to speak just one word; "Father?"
- Silvana Mangano as Reverend Mother Ramallo. Mangano was the wife of producer Dino De Laurentiis.
- Everett McGill as Stilgar, a role for which his muscular 6' 5" build was well suited. McGill would later appear in director Lynch's Twin Peaks.
- Kenneth McMillan as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. McMillan's portrayal as the evil Baron is arguably his most famous role; he died five years later in 1989.
- Jack Nance as Captain Iakin Nefud. Nance starred in almost every project by David Lynch until his death in 1996. Nefud disappears from the film in its climax, and can be only glimpsed at the end with scars in his temples, suggesting he was victim of a lobotomy.
- Siân Phillips as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. Phillips was known for numerous television performances in the United Kingdom, such as Livia in 1976's BBC series I, Claudius. She was married to Peter O'Toole from 1959 to 1976.
- Angélica Aragón as Bene Gesserit Sister. Aragón was a well-known telenovela actress.
- Jürgen Prochnow as Duke Leto Atreides. Before Dune, the German actor was already known for his portrayal as the submarine captain in Das Boot as well as his role in the 1983 Michael Mann feature The Keep, in which he co-stars with a dubbed Ian McKellen.
- Paul L. Smith as The Beast Rabban (credited as Paul Smith). Before Dune, Smith was best known for playing the brutal Turkish prison warden in Midnight Express.
- Patrick Stewart as Gurney Halleck. Stewart had appeared in the 1981 film Excalibur, and with Siân Phillips in the I, Claudius. Much of his part in Dune was left in the editing room, such as his scene of Gurney playing the baliset, which was later restored by the Alan Smithee cut.
- Sting as the Machiavellian Feyd-Rautha.
- Dean Stockwell as Dr. Wellington Yueh. Stockwell was known at the time for his starring role in the Wim Wenders feature Paris, Texas.
- Max von Sydow as Dr. Kynes. The Swedish actor, better known for his collaborations with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, and for his role as Father Lankester Merrin (The Exorcist) worked with Dino De Laurentiis in Flash Gordon prior to performing in Dune.
- Alicia Witt as Alia (credited as Alicia Roanne Witt). Dune was Alicia Witt's feature film debut; she was only nine years old at the time.
- Sean Young as Chani. Portraying the daughter of Liet-Kynes and the love of Paul Atreides, Young's previous film was Blade Runner.
- Honorato Magaloni as Otheym (credited as Honorato Magalone)
- Judd Omen as Jamis. In the novel, Jamis challenges Paul to a fight to the death. The Jamis fight wasn't included in the theatrical cut, although it's included in the Alan Smithee Version.
- Molly Wryn as Harah, Jamis's wife, who is also not included in the theatrical cut.
Production
Shot almost entirely in Mexico, the movie is an adaptation of the first part of a series of novels (see
Dune, by Frank Herbert) and containing elements from the later parts.
The pre-production process was
slow and problematic, and the project was handed from director to director. In 1971 the production company Apjac International (APJ) (headed by
Arthur P. Jacobs) optioned the rights to film
Dune. As Jacobs was busy with other projects (such as the sequel of
Planet of the Apes) the project was delayed for another year. Originally, it was to be directed by
David Lean (with
Robert Bolt writing the screenplay) and scheduled to begin shooting in 1974. In 1973, Arthur P. Jacobs died.
In December 1974, a
French consortium led by
Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the rights to the movie from APJ. The director this time would be
Alejandro Jodorowsky.
In 1975, Jodorowsky tried to film the story as a ten hour feature, in collaboration with
Orson Welles,
Dan O'Bannon,
Salvador Dalí,
Gloria Swanson,
Hervé Villechaize and others (nicknamed by him as "his seven samurais"). The music would have been done by
Pink Floyd. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris that consisted of
Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction periodicals,
Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for
Metal Hurlant magazine, and
H. R. Giger. Moebius began designing creatures and characters for the film, while Foss was brought in to design the film's space ships and hardware. Giger started designing the Harkonnen Castle based on Moebius' storyboards and Dali was to play the role of the Emperor for a reported $100,000 an hour. Jodorowsky also hired
Dan O'Bannon to head the special effects department. Dali and Jodorowsky began quarreling over money and just as the storyboards, designs, and the script were finished, the financial backing dried up. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that two million dollars of the 9.5 million budget were already spent in pre-production and that the Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook" Herbert recalled). Although Jodorowsky took several creative liberties with his novel, Herbert stated that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship.
The rights for filming were yet again sold, this time to Dino de Laurentiis. Although embittered, Jodorowsky states that the Dune project changed his life. Dan O'Bannon entered a psychiatric hospital after the failure of the production and worked on 13 scripts afterwards; his 13th script was
Alien.
De Laurentiis commissioned Herbert to write the screenplay in 1978. However, considering that an average script is 110 pages long, Herbert's 175-page script was rejected.
With De Laurentiis holding the rights for filming, he hired director
Ridley Scott in 1979 (with Rudolph Wurlitzer writing the screenplay and H.R. Giger back from the Jodorowsky production). Scott worked on three scripts using
The Battle of Algiers as a point of reference and intended to split the book into two movies before moving on to direct another
science fiction film, 1982's
Blade Runner. As he recalls, the pre-production process was slow and to get the project done would have taken more time:
But after seven months I dropped out of Dune, by then Rudy Wurlitzer had come up with a first-draft script which I felt was a decent distillation of Frank Herbert's. But I also realised Dune was going to take a lot more work — at least two and a half years' worth. And I didn't have the heart to attack that because my older brother Frank unexpectedly died of cancer while I was prepping the De Laurentiis picture. Frankly, that freaked me out. So I went to Dino and told him the Dune script was his. — From Ridley Scott: The Making of his Movies by Paul M. Sammon
By 1981, the nine-year deal was expiring. De Laurentiis re-negotiated the rights again and settled the rights for
Dune sequels (written and unwritten). Raffaella De Laurentiis, after seeing
The Elephant Man, decided that
David Lynch should direct the movie. Around that time Lynch was receiving several other offers, including, and agreed to direct and write
Dune.
David Lynch worked on the script for six months with Eric Bergen and Christopher De Vore, eventually adapting the movie into two scripts. The team split up after this first attempt because of creative differences. Lynch would continue to work on five more different scripts. Shooting of
Dune finally started with the 135-page 6th draft of the script on
March 30,
1983. With a budget of over 40 million dollars,
Dune required 80 sets built upon 16 sound stages and a total crew of 1700, with many of the exterior shots filmed in the
Samalayuca Dunes in
Chihuahua. The rough cut of
Dune under completion was over four hours in duration without post production effects, but Lynch's intended cut of the movie as reflected in the seventh and last draft of the script was three hours long.
However, Universal Pictures and the film financiers expected a standard two-hour cut of the film. To shorten the film, producers
Dino De Laurentiis,
Raffaella De Laurentiis and director David Lynch removed numerous scenes, filmed new scenes that comprised simplified or concentrated elements of the plot, and added voice over narrations, including a new introduction by Virginia Madsen, into the final cut. Contrary to popular rumors, Lynch made no other version of the movie outside the
Theatrical Cut; no longer, three to six hour version ever existed in its complete form.
In the Introduction for his 1985
short story collection
Eye, Frank Herbert discussed the film's reception and his participation in the production, and listed scenes that were shot but cut from the released version.
Herbert stated he was satisfied with the end result of the movie, but expressed disappointment that some of the scenes he saw on the rough cuts of
Dune were not included in the Theatrical Cut.
Release
Dune's premiere was on
December 3, 1984 at
The Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C. and was released worldwide on
December 14. Publicity for
Dune was extensive before its release, not only because it was based on a best-selling novel but because it was directed by David Lynch, who had success with
Eraserhead and
The Elephant Man. Several magazines followed the production, and published articles praising the film before its release, all part of the advertising and merchandising of
Dune, which also included a documentary for television as well as items placed in toy stores.
Reception
In his review, critic
Roger Ebert gave
Dune one star out of four and wrote "This movie is a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time." Ebert added that "The movie's plot will no doubt mean more to people who've read Herbert than to those who are walking in cold," and later named it "the worst movie of the year." On
At The Movies with
Gene Siskel and Ebert, Siskel began his review by saying "it's physically ugly, it contains at least a dozen gory gross-out scenes, some of its special effects are cheap — surprisingly cheap because this film cost a reported 40 to 45 million dollars — and its story is confusing beyond belief. In case I haven't made myself clear, I hated watching this film." The film was later listed as the worst film of 1984 in their "Stinkers of 1984" episode. Other negative reviews focused on the same issues as well as on the length of the film.
Janet Maslin of
The New York Times also gave
Dune a negative review of one star out of five. She said that, "Several of the characters in
Dune are psychic, which puts them in the unique position of being able to understand what goes on in the movie" and explained that the plot was "perilously overloaded, as is virtually everything else about it."
The staff of
Variety gave
Dune a more favorable, but still negative review stating "
Dune is a huge, hollow, imaginative and cold sci-fi epic. Visually unique and teeming with incident, David Lynch's film holds the interest due to its abundant surface attractions but won't, of its own accord, create the sort of fanaticism which has made Frank Herbert's 1965 novel one of the all-time favorites in its genre." They also commented on how "Lynch's adaptation covers the entire span of the novel, but simply setting up the various worlds, characters, intrigues and forces at work requires more than a half-hour of expository screen time." They did enjoy the cast and said that "Francesca Annis and Jurgen Prochnow make an outstandingly attractive royal couple, Siân Phillips has some mesmerizing moments as a powerful witch, Brad Dourif is effectively loony, and best of all is Kenneth McMillan, whose face is covered with grotesque growths and who floats around like the
Blue Meanie come to life."
Richard Corliss of
Time magazine gave
Dune a negative review, stating that "Most sci-fi movies offer escape, a holiday from homework, but
Dune is as difficult as a final exam. You have to cram for it." He noted that "MacLachlan, 25, grows impressively in the role; his features, soft and spoiled at the beginning, take on a he-manly glamour once he assumes his mission." He ended by saying "The actors seem hypnotized by the spell Lynch has woven around them — especially the lustrous Francesca Annis, as Paul's mother, who whispers her lines with the urgency of erotic revelation. In those moments when Annis is onscreen,
Dune finds the emotional center that has eluded it in its parade of rococo decor and austere special effects. She reminds us of what movies can achieve when they've a heart as well as a mind."
While most critics were negative towards
Dune, critic and science fiction writer
Harlan Ellison was of a different opinion at the time. In his 1989 book of film criticism
Harlan Ellison's Watching, he says that the $42 million production failed because critics were denied screenings at the last minute after several re-schedules, a decision by Universal that, according to Ellison, made the film community feel nervous and negative towards
Dune before its release. Ellison eventually became one of the film's few positive reviewers.
More even-handed criticism praised Lynch's
noir-
baroque approach to the film. Others compare it to other Lynch films that are equally hard to access, such as
Eraserhead, and assert that in order to watch it, the viewer must first be aware of the
Dune universe. In the years since its initial release
Dune has become a cult favorite, and has gained more positive reviews from online critics and viewers.
As a result of its commercial and critical failure, all initial plans of
Dune's sequels were cancelled. It was reported that David Lynch was working on the screenplay for
Dune Messiah and was hired to direct a second and a third
Dune film.
In retrospect, "Lynch admitted he should never have directed
Dune," and prefers not to discuss it in interviews. Universal has approached him for a possible
Director's Cut of the film, but Lynch has rejected every offer.
I started selling out on Dune. Looking back, it's no one's fault but my own. I probably shouldn't have done that picture, but I saw tons and tons of possibilities for things I loved, and this was the structure to do them in. There was so much room to create a world. But I got strong indications from Raffaella and Dino De Laurentiis of what kind of film they expected, and I knew I didn't have final cut. — David Lynch, on Dune
Departures from the novel
The film makes departures from the novel, most notably in the case of the
Weirding Way, which in the novel is a super-
martial art form that allows Paul Atreides to move with lightning speed (and is properly termed "
prana-bindu training"). In the film it's replaced with "
Weirding Modules," sonic weapons that resemble small video cameras and amplify the user's voice into a destructive force. Since the time of release, this has been controversial among
Dune fans. Reportedly, the original technique was left out because it was thought that a pitched combat of
Fremen fighting
Sardaukar while using the book's Weirding Way would resemble an unsophisticated
kung-fu film; additionally, the Weirding Modules provided an opportunity for the use of special effects. This change literalized a moment in the novel in which Paul says his name had become a death-prayer, as the Fremen shout "Muad'dib!" before killing an opponent. In the film, a Fremen training with the weirding module says "Muad'dib" and accidentally destroys a ceiling leading Paul to make the remark "my name is a killing word." These Weirding Modules were also given as one of the main reasons why the Emperor wanted to destroy House Atreides, because he feared they made the House's troops too powerful, while in the novel the Emperor wanted to destroy the Atreides because the fierce loyalty of the House's troops made them too powerful and dangerous. In addition, Duke Leto's growing popularity in the Landsraad was a growing threat; both of which were due to the Atreides' traditional honor and morality.
The film grants the Bene Gesserit
telepathy, while the novel notes their keen, nearly superhuman awareness. In a scene in which Spacing Guild members are responsible for covering up the Guild Navigator's activities, they can't speak normally, but instead use a translating device, which has the appearance of a vintage radio microphone. The Guild's reason for needing the Spice is changed as well; in the novel, the Guild needs Spice to gain enough
prescience in order to navigate at faster-than-light speeds, whereas in the film the Guild needs the Spice to gain the ability to "fold space." Iakin Nefud plays a musical instrument which makes horrible squeaking noises, and Hawat is forced to milk a gruesome captive cat daily for the antidote to the
residual poison in his body. The Harkonnens drink the juices of crushed insects; they also have heart-plugs, sadistic devices that terminate slaves by "unplugging" their hearts (in the novel, the heart-plug is a filter to eliminate toxins).
There are several distinctive visual and
aesthetic choices made in the film that don't seem directly inspired by Herbert's novel. In the film, the Bene Gesserit women adopt shaven heads when they become Reverend Mothers and the Mentats have enormous eyebrows. The 'thopters (
ornithopters) are depicted as wingless, jet- or rocket-propelled aircraft, while the color of the Arrakeen sky is changed from silver to orange.
Perhaps most conspicuously, both Paul and Feyd-Rautha are older in the film than in the novel. There is no mention in the film of the reasons for their mutual hatred, which are explained in detail in the novel. Furthermore, their climactic duel is reduced in both significance and length in the film.
Several characters are entirely excluded from the film adaptation, presumably as a result of time limitations, such as
Count Fenring, his Bene Gesserit wife
Margot, and several other minor characters. The deaths of characters such as Thufir Hawat, Baron Harkonnen, and Rabban were altered or omitted altogether.
The final line in the novel, spoken by Jessica to Chani, is "We who carry the name of concubine - history will call us wives" (in reference to Paul's marriage to and refusal of Irulan). In the film, the final lines (spoken by Alia) are "And how can this be? For he
is the
Kwisatz Haderach!", and are delivered after rain falls on Arrakis.
Some of the novel's central themes were minimized for the adaptation; political topics such as the "unstable tripod of power" in the novel's universe (Emperor, Landsraad, and Guild) were not depicted faithfully. The Guild treat the Emperor like a lackey rather than an equal power, while the Landsraad is almost non-existent. The book has the Guild operating behind the scenes, and their dependence on spice is only revealed at the end. It isn't said that they were involved in the original plot against Duke Leto Atreides.
The Emperor's main concern in the book is that the Fremen are potentially as dangerous as his Sardaukar, the toughness of each group being reckoned to come from the harshness of their environment. He is less concerned with spice, reckoning he'll get his share whoever controls it.
The ecological themes were not addressed as they were through the series: the film ends with rain falling on Arrakis, apparently at Paul's command. In the novel, this was accomplished decades later, through great efforts by the Fremen and years of
terraforming. Additionally, a plot complication is created because rain falling on Arrakis would effectively stop spice production, as in the novel, water is the only thing that poisons worms.
Versions
Despite initial failure, the movie has achieved a respectable cult status of which at least three other versions outside the original theatrical cut have been released. In grand total, five versions of
Dune are known.
Theatrical cut
Released worldwide in 1984, it was edited by 37 seconds in the UK to pass PG rating, at a total running time of 137 minutes. Though this 137-minute version wasn't David Lynch's intended cut, it's the only director-approved version and the only official version he ever made of the film for release. It is widely available on both VHS and
DVD. In 2006 it was remastered for a special DVD release, and as of late 2006 has been released on HD-DVD with many of the special features seen on other disks.
Alan Smithee version
The less-seen 189-minute "
Alan Smithee" version is a favorite on its own, released in 1989. Prepared originally for syndicated television (and later seen on basic cable television networks) for a two-night broadcast, it was prepared without either participation or authorization by David Lynch. The missing footage includes a painted montage at the prologue, and several scenes reinserted, including the "little-maker" essence-of-spice scene. The television version was edited in a seemingly haphazard way (for example, certain shots were repeated throughout the film to create the impression that new footage had been added). Lynch objected to these edits and had his name removed from the credits of this print (which were replaced by Alan Smithee and
Judas Booth). This version was initially only released on laserdisc in Japan, but has also been found as a poorly recorded VHS on the bootleg market. It is now available worldwide on DVD.
Channel 2 version
In 1992,
KTVU, a
San Francisco, CA
Fox affiliate, pieced together a hybrid edit of the two previous versions for broadcast in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is essentially the television version with all the violence of the theatrical version reincorporated into the film, along with many of the "fabricated" shots objected to by Lynch removed.
An Extended Edition DVD version was released in Europe in November 2005. It includes, among its many extra features, an extended version of the film, credited to Alan Smithee, which is 177 minutes long. The booklet explains that this version was created for an American television channel, and is most likely the aforementioned Channel 2 Version. Neither the video nor the audio was remastered, exhibiting a poor television-like quality. Although the cover states that the soundtrack is in mono sound, it is, in fact, in stereo.
Extended Edition
An Extended Edition was released by Universal Home Entertainment in the US on DVD on
January 31 2006. The DVD contains both Lynch's 137-minute theatrical cut and a 177-minute edit of the Alan Smithee television version (the latter being presented for the first time in its original
anamorphic aspect ratio). It also features a documentary on the production design and special effects, as well as a supplementary section of outtakes and scenes not included in any previous version of the film, including an alternate ending.
Workprint version
An
assembly of all footage after the completion of principal photography was shown to the crew in Mexico, as well as to Frank Herbert. Contrary to popular fan rumors, it was by no means the Director's Cut of the film. This workprint version is the basis of such rumors, but there was never a four-hour cut of the movie in its complete form. In the
fan edit online communities, attempts have been made to re-assemble a "Workprint" of the film closer to David Lynch's intent and the original novel by using the deleted scenes and fixing any technical errors from the Smithee version.
Influence on popular culture
]]
The film inspired the
Cryo Interactive video game
Dune, which used elements (such as the Weirding Modules) unique to the film. The character of Paul Atreides was designed to look like Kyle MacLachlan, and the CD version of the game included footage of the film.
The
Westwood Studios Dune games (
Dune II,
Dune 2000 and ) were also visually influenced by the film. For example, the Emperor in
Dune 2000 and the
Reverend Mother in
Emperor: Battle for Dune resemble the equivalent characters in Lynch's film.
Dialogue and music from the film has been sampled in various songs. On their album
Machine Language, the techno-music DJ group
Dynamix II's song "Get Out of My Mind" samples the Mohiam/Alia scene which features the titular line. Virginia Madsen's opening monologue is also featured in several songs by artists including
Aphrodite,
Astral Projection, and
MFG. The Christian
industrial/
dance band
Mortal samples from the film in their 1993 album
Fathom, including Baron Harkonnen's line "I'm alive!" featured in the song "Alive and Awake."
Dune is the likely inspiration for the lyrics "Walk without rhythm, it won't attract the worm" in the song "
Star 69 / Weapon of Choice" by
Fatboy Slim. In the novel, Paul notes "We must walk without rhythm" to avoid notice by a sandworm as he and Jessica cross the desert; Lynch's
Dune (1984) features Paul's line "If we walk without rhythm, we won't attract the worm" 82 minutes into the film.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Dune Film'.
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