Dune (1984 David Lynch)

[Simone]

I haven't seen Dune since the 80s or early 90s - that's at least over 25 years ago. Today, I noticed that it's streaming on Amazon Prime and I immediately started to watch it. I now remember how bad it was, especially in light of reading this excellent novel, the plot holes in the film and the gaps made this film a hot mess. It's a very dated film, with dated sci-fi special effects. However, with all this said, I highly recommend you all to watch it on Amazon Prime if you can so that you can at least see one adaptation of Dune and compare it to what you read from the book, or if you haven't read the book yet, this will familiarize you with what to expect from the Villenueve production.

Kyle McLaughlin was a very handsome Paul and functional with what he had to work with. But Sean Young's Chani was one note and dull, nothing like how she comes across in the book. What are your thoughts on the Lynch film?

[Deleted]

Hello. I am a long-time Dune fan. I loved reading the House Trilogy (Prelude to Dune) and Legend of Dune series. I couldn’t put those books down when I read them. They were very good. I read most of Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson’s books. I read all of Frank Herbert’s books in the Dune series. But it was so long ago that I can’t remember it all. Still, Dune remains my favorite book for many years. When I first read Dune, I loved it because the opening scene hooked me. I really liked Paul and the plot of the story.

Dune became an obsession in my mind dreaming it could be adapted into a great film. I know the feeling of excitement for another new Dune movie directed by Denis Villenueve because I can remember being excited when I saw the first Dune directed by David Lynch in 1984. I read Dune in 1982 a couple years before the movie. One day I read somewhere that they were going to make a Dune movie. Back then there was no internet, so to follow the film news it was hard to find. Sometimes, it showed up in a small paragraph in newspapers or magazines. It’s not like what we have now, very instant. I had a magazine that featured photos of the sets and costumes from the 1984 Dune film. It had pictures of Paul’s bedroom on Caladan, the Great Hall of the Arrakeen Palace, the Great Throne, Princess Irulan, the Harkonnen’s lair and the Imperial Sardaukar running through the blazing desert surrounded by hazy black smoke. I remember being wide-eyed, astonished and excited to see the world of Dune artistically come to life on the screen. I liked Lynch’s film although it had some flaws and was disappointed by the screenplay. I felt the film rushed during the end. They cut out a lot of key scenes from the book. I recommend seeing the 3-hour version of Dune by Spicediver. He is a fan who restored most of the missing scenes back into the film.

I have several Dune memorabilia from the 80’s film, including the Dune terminology sheet that was handed out to me before the movie in the theater. The terminology came from the back of the book. It was very cool to keep. Kyle MacLachlan, the actor who played Paul – I was charmed by his charismatic look and stature. I think after you have read the Dune trilogy: Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune – I recommend that you watch Sci-fi channel Dune miniseries (2000) and Children of Dune miniseries (2003). It is a very well-done sweeping epic story. The music in Children of Dune is worth hearing. The Dune series is a tremendous universe so take your time reading or rereading it.

[Simone]

If you still haven't seen the 1984 version, I recommend you check it out. If you aren't interested in reading the book, the movie will suffice.