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IMDbPro

Dune

  • 19841984
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 17m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
161K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
691
115
Sean Young and Kyle MacLachlan in Dune (1984)
Theatrical Trailer from Universal Pictures
Play trailer3:10
5 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureSci-Fi
A Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis to free their desert world from the emperor's rule.A Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis to free their desert world from the emperor's rule.A Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis to free their desert world from the emperor's rule.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
161K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
691
115
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • David Lynch
    • Writers
      • Frank Herbert(novel)
      • David Lynch(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Kyle MacLachlan
      • Virginia Madsen
      • Francesca Annis
    Top credits
    • Director
      • David Lynch
    • Writers
      • Frank Herbert(novel)
      • David Lynch(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Kyle MacLachlan
      • Virginia Madsen
      • Francesca Annis
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 886User reviews
    • 209Critic reviews
    • 41Metascore
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos5

    Dune
    Trailer 3:10
    Dune
    'Dune' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:30
    'Dune' | Anniversary Mashup
    What to Watch Right Now on IMDb TV
    Full Episode 3:36
    What to Watch Right Now on IMDb TV
    What We Know About 'Dune' ... So Far
    Video 4:12
    What We Know About 'Dune' ... So Far

    Photos635

    Francesca Annis in Dune (1984)
    Dean Stockwell in Dune (1984)
    Sean Young and Kyle MacLachlan in Dune (1984)
    Kenneth McMillan in Dune (1984)
    Kyle MacLachlan in Dune (1984)
    Sting, Jack Nance, and Siân Phillips in Dune (1984)
    Sean Young and Kyle MacLachlan in Dune (1984)
    Sting in Dune (1984)
    "Dune" Sting
    Francesca Annis and Kyle MacLachlan in Dune (1984)
    Virginia Madsen, José Ferrer, Kyle MacLachlan, Patrick Stewart, Sting, Freddie Jones, Silvana Mangano, and Siân Phillips in Dune (1984)
    "Dune" Kyle MacLachlan

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kyle MacLachlan
    Kyle MacLachlan
    • Paul Atreides
    Virginia Madsen
    Virginia Madsen
    • Princess Irulan
    Francesca Annis
    Francesca Annis
    • Lady Jessica
    Leonardo Cimino
    Leonardo Cimino
    • The Baron's Doctor
    Brad Dourif
    Brad Dourif
    • Piter De Vries
    José Ferrer
    José Ferrer
    • Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV
    Linda Hunt
    Linda Hunt
    • Shadout Mapes
    Freddie Jones
    Freddie Jones
    • Thufir Hawat
    Richard Jordan
    Richard Jordan
    • Duncan Idaho
    Silvana Mangano
    Silvana Mangano
    • Reverend Mother Ramallo
    Everett McGill
    Everett McGill
    • Stilgar
    Kenneth McMillan
    Kenneth McMillan
    • Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
    Jack Nance
    Jack Nance
    • Nefud
    Siân Phillips
    Siân Phillips
    • Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
    • (as Sian Phillips)
    Jürgen Prochnow
    Jürgen Prochnow
    • Duke Leto Atreides
    Paul L. Smith
    Paul L. Smith
    • The Beast Rabban
    • (as Paul Smith)
    Patrick Stewart
    Patrick Stewart
    • Gurney Halleck
    Sting
    Sting
    • Feyd Rautha
    • Director
      • David Lynch
    • Writers
      • Frank Herbert(novel)
      • David Lynch(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Writer and director David Lynch has said he considers this movie the only real failure of his career. To this day, he refuses to talk about the production in great detail, and has refused numerous offers to work on a Special Edition DVD. Lynch claims revisiting the movie would be too painful an experience to endure. Many fans hope that he will eventually come around.
    • Goofs
      When the Guild navigator visits the Emperor in the beginning, as the black container enters through the two gold doors, an assistant to the navigator trips and falls on the left side of the container.
    • Quotes

      Paul: I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will let it pass over me and through me. And when it has passed I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where it has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

    • Crazy credits
      The closing credits play out over shots of the Caladan ocean, and feature a montage of the main cast.
    • Alternate versions
      As of 2006, the Alan Smithee version had been released in a two disk set containing both the Lynch version and the extended version. However, many scenes were edited out once again: The heart plug scene when the baron is introduced is not in the extended version anymore (it is still in the original). The scene where Thufir discovers the burning wierding modules is also missing, as well as Thufir's death scene. (Thufir's death scene is included as a deleted scene in the special features)
    • Connections
      Edited into Destination Dune (1984)

    User reviews886

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Dune's Devil in David's Details
    My review covers both versions of Dune, the 2 hour release and the extended 3 hour "Smithee" version aired on television. The first cut of the film was over four hours long, but there was never any intention to release this, and Lynch himself shot scenes which consolidated the final product into a more manageable length.

    Allen Smithee, a protest pseudonym adopted by Lynch when he disassociated himself with the 3 hour version of this film, is also alluded to in Lynch's latest film - Inland Empire. A portion of a film studio in Inland Empire is "Smithee's Room" - a metaphorical insight into Lynch's feelings about Dune, and studio-controlled film-making in general.

    Given the tremendous investment made by the studio, Lynch's general distaste for the final product, the repetitive cliché soundtrack, and the occasionally bizarre use of voice-over narrative in the TV version, it seems more a DeLaurentis film than a Lynch film. Although I am very interested in Lynch's films and other projects, I am evaluating this solely from my own perspective. Despite the great director's poor opinion of this film, I enjoyed it and it is one of my favorite sci-fi films.

    Frank Herbert, author of the novel upon which it is based, approved the theatrical version, but he had the benefit of knowing what he was going to see. If you haven't read the book, these films can be somewhat difficult to understand. And if you come to the experience expecting something like Star Wars, you should probably find something else to do.

    The soundtrack is repetitive and only interesting the first time you hear the film's major theme (the Eno composition). The use of rock orchestration simply does not work in this film. Happily, Lynch learned from the experience and used rock instrumentation beautifully in later films (especially Wild at Heart and Lost Highway). The camera work is generally less inspired than the rest of Lynch's portfolio. There are occasional visually striking scenes which will remind you of the film's origin, but there are too many static shots - especially during the action scenes. The soundtrack is easy to explain - like the inclusion of Sting in the cast - this is a marketing move by the production company, not a creative choice of the director. The camera work is much less easily explained. Perhaps Lynch was asked to avoid doing anything surreal or bizarre with this film (sort of like asking Groucho Marx to avoid being funny), or the studio was trying to appeal to fans of Star Wars by simplifying and sterilizing its story.

    The recently released special edition DVD reveals some very interesting aspects of the production. Lynch's influence, not surprisingly, is best explored in the short documentary concerning the film's design. As an artist, Lynch spent a great deal of time and energy envisioning the material culture – both historical and modern – of each culture depicted in the film, helping to create a consistent and unique characterization for each. This spilled over quite naturally into costume design. The sets and costumes used in this film are really spectacular. The special effects, often derided by contemporary viewers, required a great deal more effort that the synthetic art of today's computerized extravaganzas and, the documentary concerning their production on the DVD is also appropriately respectful.

    What you will see is an intense visualization of several, fully realized alien cultures whose art, architecture and general heritage are as well realized, if not more so, than in Herbert's epic novel. To fully appreciate this, don't just check out the extras on the DVD, turn down the sound and just watch the sets, costumes, and effects move through each scenes. There is, as with Lynch's entire portfolio, a great deal to be seen. And the acting and direction are fine throughout the film.

    The longer version fleshes out the stories, themes and intricate subplots of Herbert's book more thoroughly, and maintains a much steadier pace than the cinematic release. Even so, both films, to some extent, suffer from too much story, overwhelming visualization, and a un-Lynchian frenetic pace. The later TV mini-series by the sci fi channel does a better job of telling the story in its entirety, but runs about 246 minutes and does not compare to the original in terms of design. Lynch's cinematic release, by contrast, rushes through components of the book and often feels inconsistent in pace.

    PLOT: Dune is the story of Paul "Muad'ib" Atreides, the son of Duke Leto Atreides the Just and his Bene Jesserat concubine Lady Jessica. Combining aspects of fantasy, sci-fi and anthropology, the story follows young Paul through a series of tragedies which find him seeking redemption for an entire galaxy by leading an adoptive tribal culture to a revolutionary cleansing of the malignant imperial system from which he sprung. The plot is exceedingly complex – in both Lynch versions of the film much is left out of Herbert's original work. Subplots abound, but, true to form, Lynch avoids short-cuts as much as possible and attempts to show his audience what is going on rather than resorting to a great deal of voice-over narrative in the theatrical release. The TV version, however, attempts to provide even more detail, and uses voice-over to patch up the areas glossed over by Lynch's script.

    SUMMARY: If you're a Lynch fan and not a big Herbert fan or you don't have a great deal of patience, see the cinematic release. It is the class of the lot.

    If you haven't read the book, or you are a Herbert purist who will accept only what was written, choose the Sci-Fi Channel version (review forthcoming soon) - but be forewarned - it is very long.

    If you want something that compromises between story and cinematic artistry, go for the TV version. The weakest link, but still OK.
    helpful•83
    41
    • mstomaso
    • Apr 9, 2007

    FAQ7

    • What is Dune about?
    • What are Weirding Modules?
    • Why did Shaddam IV want to destroy House Atriedes?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 14, 1984 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Mexico
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Der Wüstenplanet
    • Filming locations
      • Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
    • Production companies
      • Dino De Laurentiis Company
      • Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $40,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $30,925,690
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $6,025,091
      • Dec 16, 1984
    • Gross worldwide
      • $30,979,816
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 17 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

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