Dune (1984)

A Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis when they assassinate his father and free their desert world from the emperor's rule.

Director:

David Lynch

Writers:

Frank Herbert (novel), David Lynch (screenplay)

Stars:

Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino, Kyle MacLachlan

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Francesca Annis	...	Lady Jessica
Leonardo Cimino	...	The Baron's Doctor
Brad Dourif	...	Piter De Vries
José Ferrer	...	Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV
Linda Hunt	...	Shadout Mapes
Freddie Jones	...	Thufir Hawat
Richard Jordan	...	Duncan Idaho
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Paul Atreides
Virginia Madsen	...	Princess Irulan
Silvana Mangano	...	Reverend Mother Ramallo
Everett McGill	...	Stilgar
Kenneth McMillan	...	Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
Jack Nance	...	Nefud
Siân Phillips	...	Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (as Sian Phillips)
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Duke Leto Atreides

Storyline

In the far future, a duke and his family are sent by the Emperor to a sand world from which comes a spice that is essential for interstellar travel. The move is designed to destroy the duke and his family, but his son escapes and seeks revenge as he uses the world's ecology as one of his weapons.

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Plot Keywords:

planet | duke | emperor | spice | baron | 

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Taglines:

Its surface is barren. Its true strength hidden. Its foreboding desert conceals the power to fold space, to slow time, to send the mind where the body cannot go. It is the source of the ultimate power. It is the deadly battleground where a young leader will emerge to command an army of six million warriors against the tyrannical force that threatens to enslave the universe. It is the clash for the greatest prize of all... The planet called Dune.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Studios Home Entertainment [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

14 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Duna

Filming Locations:

Churubusco Studios, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$27,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Laurentiis

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min 190 min (special edition) 177 min (extended cut) 314 min (Extended Edition)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One scene called for Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow) to be strapped to a black stretcher and drugged. During one take, a high-powered bulb positioned above Prochnow exploded due to heat, raining down molten glass. Remarkably, Prochnow was able to free himself from the stretcher, moments before glass fused itself to the place he had been strapped. During the filming of the dream sequence, the Baron (Kenneth McMillan) approached Leto, who had special apparatus attached to his face so that green smoke would emerge from his cheek when the Baron scratched it. Although thoroughly tested, the smoke gave Prochnow first and second degree burns on his cheek. This sequence appears on film in the released version.

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Goofs

Some shots were reversed. The most obvious is when Paul Atreides takes the Water of Life; the nose piece of the stillsuit changes sides many times during that scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Princess Irulan: A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then, that is is the year 10191. The known universe is ruled by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam the Fourth, my father. In this time, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. A product of the Spive, the red Sapho juice, stains the lips of the Mentats but allows them to be human computers, as thinking machines have been outlawed. The spice is vital to space travel....

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Crazy Credits

This Film Is Dedicated To Federico de Laurentiis

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Connections

Referenced in Atop the Fourth Wall: Kamandi at Earth's End #1 (2011)

User Reviews

Why does Lynch hate this one?

To begin with, I have to say that I saw the movie first, and read the book years later. This seems to be important: Nearly everybody who read the book first hates the movie, but most of those who saw the movie first seem to like it.

Now, why is this so? I cannot really understand it because, in comparition to other movies based on existing literature, what we have here is a film which stays very close to the original story and does not add many new elements.

When I read the book, I could see the movie in front of me in nearly every chapter. So I really don't understand what Herbert-Fans had expected from this movie...

I for my part like it a lot. It has a very mystical atmosphere about it and the story develops nicely. Of course there are some elements which are simply not explained and are therefore very confusing, but somehow this seems to be a thing Lynch tends to do in every of his movies, so what? I like some simple scenes like the opening monologue a whole lot. I LOVE the music (which played in my mind all the time while I read the book), and I think the characters are very strong and (for example Letho Atreides) sometimes full of tragedy.

The part I like the most though is the worm-part. I think the special effects are not always brilliant, but seeing the scenes with the worms, I am really awestruck because they are so impressing.

All in all, I think this is one of the more underrated movies in Science Fiction history. It may be because the director himself was not happy with it, or because fans expected too much from a simple two hour movie. I always enjoy watching this film and listening to the soundtrack. And I would love to see a Director's Cut version.