Frank Herbert’s sprawling science fiction novel couldn’t possibly be tamed in the space of a single movie. Now”Dune: Part 2“Complete Denis Villeneuve’s Spice Odyssey with box-office stunners (until the director started production”Dune: Messiah”, at least), it’s more obvious than ever that David Lynch’s 1984 single film adaptation of a crown jewel of genre literature was always destined to be as doomed as poor Leto Atreides fail.
In a parallel universe, Lynch might make “Jedi Counterattack“on the contrary. The director, best known in Hollywood for the Oscar-nominated “Like Man,” ultimately turned down George Lucas’s offer of a trip to a galaxy far, far away. But soon after, he turned down an offer from George Lucas. With funding from Dino De Laurentiis, the eccentric Flash Gordon producer (and subject of many Hollywood anecdotes), he hitched a ride into outer space again.
For example, “Flash Gordon”, “Black Hole”, “Krul” Along with numerous other sci-fi/fantasy films of the era, 1984’s Dune was at the vanguard of Hollywood’s efforts to cash in on Dune‘s massive success.Star WarsThere’s a degree of irony, then, in that Villeneuve’s film draws more inspiration from Lucas’ beloved trilogy, effectively making Star Wars borrow from Herbert After the desert planet setting and the “child with messianic destiny” plot, things are back to square one.
Villeneuve doubled down on Lucas’ gritty foundation and used aesthetics to create a believable space universe—a stylistic choice that has become a blueprint everywhere.alien” arrive”Rebellious Moon– Lynch’s more fantastical film embraces the absurd. Mentas (the human computer) has incredibly gorgeous eyebrows and looks like something out of a Terry Gilliam movie, while the costumes Lean into sophistication — and there’s no doubt that Lynch’s Arrakis exists on a similar trajectory to “Flash Gordon’s” Mongo.
The depiction of the tyrannical Harkonnens is particularly shocking, their comically bright orange hair and penchant for theatrics ensuring they are never considered the villains of this production.
Kenneth MacMillan effectively plays the eccentric patriarch Baron Vladimir for laughs, contrasting with the character’s casual cruelty. Sting, meanwhile, brought plenty of rock-star energy to psychotic heir Federer Lautha, but – thanks in large part to his eccentricity – Highly accessible underwear selection – He’s not Darth Vader. Neither can match Villeneuve’s creepy, hairless reimagining of Arrakis’s most despised family – Stellan Skarsgård (as the Baron) and Austen ·Butler (as Feder-Lausa) is both menacing and charismatic.
However, 1984’s Dune fares particularly poorly in terms of storytelling compared to its 21st century Usurper.
Frank Herbert’s original novel—a tale so packed with lore that it even has its own glossary—is harder to adapt than most, and it’s worth noting that Lynch and Villeneuve’s retelling makes it easy Newcomers to Dune are a bit confused. Indeed, Villeneuve’s much-praised dualism may fail to convey why the spice/concoction found on Arrakis was such an interstellar event. Voyager, mutant humans whose overuse of spices gave them visions of piloting starships across folded space, is barely a footnote.
But let’s not pretend that the appearance of Voyager – imagined as a bizarre, fish-like puppet by Alien designer Carlo Rambardi – gives Lynch a free pass for the film. Herbert’s original novel made heavy use of the characters’ internal monologues, but it was brazen as Kyle MacLachlan (Paul), Francesca Annis (Lady Jessica) and other actors poured out their thoughts through voiceover The literary device feels very clumsy. The few female characters in the 1984 film are also underserved, especially Paul’s Freeman love interest Chani (Blade Runner’s Sean Young), who, aside from the one facing Arakis There’s not much to do except giggle.
In contrast, most of the liberties Villeneuve’s film takes with the source text—particularly regarding Chaney and Paul’s mother Jessica—positively enhance the story’s plot. For Villeneuve, the newly ordained priest Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is her son’s biggest supporter of his rise to power, while Chani (Zendaya) becomes the only cynical member of the Fremen. , voices with different opinions. Jessica’s telepathic unborn daughter Arya is more disturbing than the precocious child in Lynch’s film, and the manipulative Bene Gesserit gets her deserved time in the spotlight as the cosmic mastermind.
Ultimately, however, the biggest difference between the two adaptations is Villeneuve’s ability to tell Herbert’s story in five hours. With a running time of only 130 minutes, the 1984 film is always rushed, especially in the final scene, in which Paul moves with unnerving speed to his predicted fate (as Kwisatz Haderach).
Despite Lynch’s film’s notoriety in Hollywood, it did a lot of things right. The stills, thumpers, and glowing blue eyes of the desert-dwelling Fremen closely resemble how Villeneuve would have imagined them decades later, while the meticulously rotoscoped 1984 vintage battle shield is a perfect match for Minecraft The perfect fusion of “World” and “Tron”. The visual effects used to create the giant sandworm were also impressive for the era, and you can forgive the lack of an ornithopter, as, creating convincing dragonfly-like wings in the pre-CG era was nearly impossible, even for George ·The same goes for Lucas’ industrial lamps & magic. The catchy soundtrack by rock band Toto provides plenty of earworms to complement the sandworms.
In Lynch’s defense, it’s known that the director was denied a final cut of the film. Producers reportedly ripped up the script while he was working in order to keep it brief, and Lynch has since said: “I’m proud of everything. [I’ve made] ——Except “Dune.” Despite its flaws) effort to the big screen doesn’t deserve to be buried in the sand.
Dune 1984 is available to watch on Max in the US and MGM Plus in the UK