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:

Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Francesca Annis

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 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:

spice | space travel | dune | desert planet | giant worm | 

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Taglines:

You are about to enter a world where the unexpected, the unknown, and the unbelievable meet.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Studios Home Entertainment [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Duna

Filming Locations:

Yuma, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$30,925,690

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min 190 min (special edition) 177 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Weirding Module was written into the film to replace the Bene Gesserit martial art referred to by the Fremen as the Weirding Way. David Lynch's decision to use modules was taken because he found the idea of the Weirding Way unworkable on film, stating he did not want to see "Kung-fu on Dunes". The Weirding Modules was later seen in the computer games Dune (1992) and Emperor: Battle for Dune (2002) as powerful hand-held weapons used by the Fremen Fedaykin special unit. In the games Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (1992) and Dune 2000 (1998) the Weirding Modules are the inspirations of 'sonic tanks' deployed by House Atreides.

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Goofs

After Baron Harkonnen kills a young man in Giedi Prime, there is a head-shot showing Baron's face covered in black oil. Camera focuses briefly Feid Rautha (Sting) and then backs to the Baron, but his face is cleaner than before, and there is blood in the left side of his forehead.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Princess Irulan: A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then, that it is the year 10191. The known universe is ruled by the Padisha Emperor Shaddam IV, my father. In this time, the most precious substance in the Universe is the spice melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The Spacing Guild and its navigators, who the spice has mutated over four-thousand years, use the orange spice gas, which gives them the ability to fold space. That...

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Crazy Credits

Gurney's Baliset is Based on "The Stick" Created by Emmett Chapman

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Killer Shrews (1992)

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.