Dune (1984)

[Maggie Levine 1]

The Baron's heart plugs alone are reason to watch/rewatch this trainwreck of a movie.

[MattBiedermann 1]

OK, so I'm a huge Lynch mark and a Dune fan to boot, so I unabashedly love this movie. That said, it is truly one of the craziest, most confusing films ever made. I feel like this would make for one hell of an episode.

[seanotron 2307]

Yup. It's a fascinating movie if you just treat it as something independent of the original Herbert novels. If you treat it as a straight adaptation it's kind of infuriating. Lynch infamously hates it and refuses to discuss it in interviews.

 

It does feature some of the most beautiful production design I've ever seen.

[AdamMeier 5]

I love Dune, it is equal parts awesome and terrible. I watch this movie anytime its on.

[MirKamranMeyer 0]

This movie is terrible. But how? David Lynch, fresh off of Eraserhead and the Elephant man. Tons of cash. Based on one of the most beloved science fiction novels of all time, and yet it's was a total critical and commercial dud. HOW DID THIS GET MADE (so badly)? David Lynch actually refuses to discuss this film in interviews, and some cuts list the director as Alan Smithee.

 

This movie features miles of terrible exposition, characters thinking out loud, giant sandworms that Robert Ebert likened to Kermit the Frog, a creepy laser eyed kindergartener, talking vagina-mouthed monster spacemen in giant fishbowls, time-bending spacefarts (literal time-bending spacefarts), David Lynch himself as a blue collared miner, Sting (yes, he's in it) with abs, Virgina Madsen with no on camera lines, and Brad Dourif, the guy who provides the voice of Chucky the kliller doll.

 

What's not to love?

 

Also, you guys would be a hit at the Castro Theater in San Francisco! Swing by!

 

Kamran

[seanotron 2307]

Part of the problem is they made Lynch cut it down from nearly 4 hours down to 2, and because the plot is pretty damn complex the film becomes mostly incoherent as a result. I still don't know if it would work for the podcast...what version would they do? The theatrical? The extended cut? I could see Dune driving Zouks to madness.

 

But can we talk about the soundtrack for a minute? Toto & Bryan Ferry! It's freakin' epic.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6BscgIzz8g

[dlo burns 129]

Part of the problem is they made Lynch cut it down from nearly 4 hours down to 2,

 

Oh there's rumors that there was an eight (or more) hour cut. I feel like the story worked better as a miniseries* mostly because that damn book is a bible-and-a-half sized**. It seems to me the best adaptations are of shorter stories where they can be expanded (like the works of Philip K Dick, al a "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" to Total Recall or "Second Variety" to Screamers) rather than cutting down a tome into a reasonable running time.

 

Anyways it's on my get round to it list but there's a documentary about Alejandro Jodorowsky attempting to produce Dune before Lynch/De Laurentiis but it would of been un-filmable due to the grand vision of it (and that it would of been a 14 hour running time).

 

*a miniseries of silly hats

**that's a valid way to measure books, right?

[seanotron 2307]

 

Oh there's rumors that there was an eight (or more) hour cut. I feel like the story worked better as a miniseries* mostly because that damn book is a bible-and-a-half sized**. It seems to me the best adaptations are of shorter stories where they can be expanded (like the works of Philip K Dick, al a "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" to Total Recall or "Second Variety" to Screamers) rather than cutting down a tome into a reasonable running time.

 

Anyways it's on my get round to it list but there's a documentary about Alejandro Jodorowsky attempting to produce Dune before Lynch/De Laurentiis but it would of been un-filmable due to the grand vision of it (and that it would of been a 14 hour running time).

 

*a miniseries of silly hats

**that's a valid way to measure books, right?

 

I think Jodorowsky's Dune is one of those legendary aborted projects that we're all better off never seeing happen. Based on everything I've seen (concept art, etc.) it wouldn't really have been Dune so much as a fever dream put on film. I mean, he wanted Orson Welles and Salvador Dali in the cast.

 

If you were going to do Dune in movie form, you'd have to go the Peter Jackson/LOTR route and split the books into multiple movies. Just the first book could easily fill 3 movies (the book is actually kind of broken into 3 sections anyway).

[dlo burns 129]

 

I think Jodorowsky's Dune is one of those legendary aborted projects that we're all better off never seeing happen. Based on everything I've seen (concept art, etc.) it wouldn't really have been Dune so much as a fever dream put on film. I mean, he wanted Orson Welles and Salvador Dali in the cast.

 

If you were going to do Dune in movie form, you'd have to go the Peter Jackson/LOTR route and split the books into multiple movies. Just the first book could easily fill 3 movies (the book is actually kind of broken into 3 sections anyway).

 

I think part of the problem with adapting Dune also is that it's such a language dense book where the faux-medieval is really damn corny

, and that so many other things have taken from it (Star Wars, Fifth Element) going back to the original and keeping a straight face would be pretty damn impossible, in the same way that most people now had a hard time swallowing John Carter.

 

Also isn't every Jodorowsky film not but a fever dream on film? Zoom back camera. We are images, dreams, photographs. We must not stay here. Prisoners! We shall break the illusion. This is magic! Goodbye to the Holy Mountain. Real life awaits us.

[Han Solo Bolo 40]

I have to bump this because it is bonkers. I just watched this again and yeah... Cardiac rape? Yes. Hairless cats for milking? Obviously. First gen CGI! Big eyebrows! Space magic!

 

Makes Zardoz seem reasonable.

[Lando 2019]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-OwMoAsP38

[jarrycanada 2483]

here you guys go, enjoy.

 

[Han Solo Bolo 40]

Plus you could have John Hodgman on for it.

[WayneMiller 37]

But can we talk about the soundtrack for a minute? Toto & Bryan Ferry! It's freakin' epic.

 

That'll be Brian Eno... Both from Roxy Music, wrong Brian.

 

I love love love this movie.... For me, I tend to ignore the trainwrecked-ness of it, and just let it wash over me. So many things to marvel at... Patrick Stewart finally talking like he's from Yorkshire (like he is), Brad Dourif's real eyebrows (probably), the sight of Sting emerging from a steam shower wearing an eagle codpiece... Sean Young being generally terrible. The Baron and his diseases, and the aforementioned removal of the heart-plug scene, 8 year old Alicia Witt clearly overdubbed with someone else, and the story's narrator Virginia Madsen gets one line in the actual movie... ONE LINE! "Father?"....

 

David Lynch says that the reason this hurts so much, is that he was never allowed final cut on the movie by the De-Laurentiis' and by that he believed he sold out, and this is why when the TV version surfaced as a different cut, he had his name removed from the film.

 

There are numerous fan-cuts of the movie online, and this (I believe) is the 2nd most fan-edited movie apart from Star Wars (prequel trilogy). Some are worth a watch.

[LLJK 0]

Just finished watching this for the first time and agree that it would be a wonderful episode of HDTGM. I really enjoyed the book and have been working through David Lynch's work, which I think has been great. I paused a number of times to dig deeper into the production and reception of the film after getting a sinking feeling very early on that this was not going to be what I expected. i think its something I could rewatch with an audience and don't expect it to really be selected for a podcast because it seems pretty obvious the various places where things went wrong, but man, totally deserves a recommendation.

[huntz0r 0]

I signed up just to cast my vote for Dune. All-star cast, famous successful director, major producer, huge budget. And... that was the result.

 

The standard cut would work just fine for our purposes and is readily available. Like Zardoz, everyone needs to experience this film once.

[DOMIDARKO 7]

This movie is grotesque

[DOMIDARKO 7]

The "Jodorowsky's Dune" documentary is just as amazing as this movie. It should be required viewing to join this whole forum.

[nthurkettle 148]

I feel like sci-fi and space odysseys really bring out the best in the HDTGM team. Jupiter Ascending, After Earth...this definitely should happen.

[AlienDingus 264]

the spice must flow.

[jarrycanada 2483]

some of you may have already seen this but here goes.

 

Dune Week: Spice Stuffed Sandworm Bread

 

 

 

whats really wrong with this movie if anything at all. is the mindless voice overs from all of the actors. each character has his or her own narration, Like "he will know the ways is if born to them" at one point in the picture every characters got this narration or voice over.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBNsDi6jI5M

 

it's like your watching a movie for the visually impaired.

[ChristopherEstrada 0]

So I showed this to my wife for the first time yesterday and we're watching it again today because my wife can't even and needed to see it again because she had a June moment and needs to understand this movie. It's batshit, doesn't explain anything unless it super explains it. Random voice overs from every character, several wig talk with June hair pieces, it has gorgeous cinematography and art direction. Super weird and also feels like much is missing from adapting such a huge book. Gigantic penis worms and it ends with a knife fight involving motherfucking Sting.

[JormpJomp 1]

PLEASE let this happen. Such a fascinating, unforgettable mess.

 

Sting wearing a space diaper! (young, but still looks the same) Patrick Stewart! The mayor of Portland! Giant bushy eyebrows galore! We need wormsign.

[NathanGordon 1096]

The mayor of Portland!

Charlie Hales is in Dune??? Or is this a Portlandia reference? (Locals loathe the show).

 

whats really wrong with this movie if anything at all. is the mindless voice overs from all of the actors. each character has his or her own narration, Like "he will know the ways is if born to them" at one point in the picture every characters got this narration or voice over.

The book is all about political intrigue, religious conspiracy, and these thousand-year plans to control the universe; every character has complicated motivations and is rarely being honest when speaking with other characters. As a result of this, there is a TON of internal dialogue all the time, as well as mind reading and magic shit, so at times it more or less reads like it does in the movie. The difference being that it's spread across hundreds of pages, and not compressed into a two hour movie.

 

And then even with all that exposition, the studio still felt that they had to add an additional narrator (the princess).

[JackChristensen 177]

OK. I no shit, 100% legit LOVE this movie. It's one of my favorite movies ever made. But it would be PERFECT for the show.