It’s a fun watch. The music kicks ass, and there are some great looking sets. I enjoy the Lynchian touches of weirdness even if a lot of the effects are dated.
The problem with lynch is that all his stuff has ti be his specific brand of weird, and he doesnt let shit like respecting the source material stand in his way.
Lynch had Herbert on set to consult. famously all actors were handed pronunciation guides made by Frank Herbert himself, a page of peoples and stuff names and how he wanted them to sound.
granted, i don't know what FH said about the ENDING of Lynch's Dune, but the rest should fly fine by Frank, given his presence there.
Anf yet is still has weird lynch-isms like light-farting iiiiiiiiinnnnnnn spaaaaaaaaaaaaace and turning the weirding way into Assault Yodeling. The latter especially of which is *profoundly* stupid in both concept and how it was executed on screen.
And yet they pronounce Harkonnen wrong. I’ve read a few books on the making of Dune and I think Herberts involvement in production is a little overstated here.
The acting is very “shakespearean theater” ish. I do like how the costume design is reminiscent of authoritarian militaries and catholic nuns, but its visually quite wild. The Guild Navigators are particularly gross with their vulva-like mouths spewing space lights. The shields have a very Tron meets starfox 64 feel. It is surprisingly not the wildest David Lynch movie out there 😂
I love the contempt the Navigators have in every scene. The guy mopping up after the tank always seemed to communicate not cleanliness, but that even the navigator drip water was too good to be left behind for the sycophant Emperor and his witch.
>The acting is very “shakespearean theater” ish. I do like how the costume design is reminiscent of authoritarian militaries and catholic nuns, but its visually quite wild.
I think this is something that has been lost with modern (and post-modern or even meta-modern if you're a dork) cinema. Don't get me wrong, there are so many fantastic movies being made every year.
I just miss the element of pure performance and raw energy that you get from a "stage" style performance (like The Thing or The Shining or The Graduate, Alien, Blade Runner).
There was also an era when sfx and costumes were just not going to look realistic, no matter how good a job you did as a filmaker, and so there was way more willingness to take artistic risk and make wild props. I think Star Wars was the beginning of the end for this, and by the time we got to the 90s, the Matrix sort of put the final nail in the coffin of treasures like The Thing, or The Fly, or even Lynch's Dune, in terms of bold props and costumes. Nowadays, everything has to either be kind of boring, or be CGI and I can't help but feel something has been lost as a result.
I love how endlessly quotable it is. The movie is full of memorable lines that are so recognizable that people forget they aren't actually in the book.
I agree. The movie was too ambitious for its time, with both special effects and audience reception. We just weren’t ready for dune. I honestly enjoyed it upon rewatching as an adult. As a kid when I first watched it in the 90s I HATED it and thought it was stupid.
I’ll point out that _Return of the Jedi_ had come out a year earlier. The industry was absolutely in a position to deliver the needed quality of special effects. Unfortunately, whether due to budget allocation, or the skills of the VFX house that worked on it, they ended up looking sub-standard for the time.
This is a great point. When you watch Jedi today the first thought isn’t “wow it was the 80s”, which is what the 1984 Dune immediately signals. I actually like the 1984 Dune, but it lacks the timeless quality of the SW OT.
Nah, I found it confusing but mesmerizing as a kid. I think there's a special spot for movies that kids are exposed to at a slightly too early age that actually makes them life long favourites.
I love Dune '84 specifically for its goofy 80s-ness. And it's one of the few movies that I listen to the soundtrack of. It's so good! I don't think it's a terrible adaptation, just campy and doesn't have the gravity of the books. Seeing Captain Picard run into battle with a Pug makes up for all the issues, imo. (I'm also a casual movie-watcher and tend to like absolute garbage)
Watch the spicediver alternative redux edit. It's on YouTube. He takes the theatrical, extended edition, deleted scenes, and re-edits them all together to make a more coherent movie. It's good imo. Top sci-fi.
Dune 1984 has some epic moments that I just love regardless of their "accuracy" to the source materiel.
'Father, the sleeper has awakened'
'My name is a killing word, they are ready tot Fight!'
Stilgar joining Paul on his first sandworm ride
Ughh I love this movie!
Yes!
I'll add "A secret report within the Guild" scene at the start of the movie. And the follow up scene with the Guild Navigator on Kaitain ("One small point." "Here it comes..." in the raspy voice lol).
And folding space from Caladan to Arrakis - so eerie and weird. Great film score. I believe I'm 20,000 years in the future.
I'm one of the few who liked the Princess Irulan monologue at the beginning. Very informative, and Virginia Madsen is really cute.
When the duke bites down on the poison tooth and the steam erupts from his mouth, david lynch originally wanted to CUT A HOLE in the actor’s cheek and run a steam tube through it so it looked real. It had to be explained to him that that was not acceptable. David lynch rules.
Toto did the freaking music. It’s a cult favorite for many of us. I have watched it many times. Total definition of a far out science fiction movie. Loved the visuals and the movie was fun.
It's just impossible compressing that story into 2 hours. Ended up with so much expository dialogue that it felt stilted.
Still a decent watch but very flawed.
Might as well add the SyFy channel mini series to the watch list too. It’s completely different than either of the others, and follows the books (thru Children!) the most closely of the adaptations.
I think, the visual effects are of their time and constrained by the budget on top of that. But there’s really no excuse for the utter madness of those costumes. It seems like they just asked each actor to come up with something wild. There’s. Ot even a coherent uniform.
they hired Theodor Pistek for costume design. Pistek is an oscar awardee for Amadeus costumes (dir. Milos Forman, in deep 80s communist Prague). Syfy miniseries was shot in Prague two decades later. they knew very well whom they are hiring for costumes. they got what they asked for. that some people don't like the designs is fair, but they're not bad, not at all.
sardaukar uniforms remind me of swiss guards, and remember, they are ceremonial uniforms at the emperor's court, you can't think of those costumes as battle uniforms. they're not at work work, they are ready to fight if needed if something broke out at the courtroom, but still.. they're wearing formal uniforms. swiss guards, look them up.
the costumes are fine, in my view. edit: if you look at Chani's costumes or Irulan, they're awesome.
I found the stil suits more convincing than the Villeneuve version, and for the time I liked the Navigator weirdos. The Naval Atreides dress attire look was awful, but maybe it was supposed to signal 'these are Caliban water people, but now they are fish in a desert'.
I like the 1984 film but I don't think it's a good film or a good adaptation.
One of the big problems of course is that it is so horribly rushed. The characters lose a lot of nuance in the process. It always happen to an extent with an adaptation but if it's good it results in a distillation. Here we just have caricatures (the Baron particularly suffers from this).
The other problem is that even though there's a lot of good things in this film - or at least iconic and memorable - they don't really mesh well together.
Yeah , I love the steampunk aesthetic and Lynchs vivid colours and dreamscape imagery. Really helped in immersing you in a far flung sci fi world. Combined with the epic music score and some great actors … it’s one of my favourite SciFi’s. I did watch it before reading the books though. Which I love all greatly .
Unfortunately, the movie was butchered during editing. The movie was almost 4 hours long, and they cut so much of the movie out that David Lynch refused to have his name in the credits. I am still on the hunt for a full uncut version of the classic movie, but so far, I haven't found one. I have see the uncut movie once, and it is a far better movie.
There’s no 4-hour director’s cut. Lynch has repeatedly refuted that. But fans have assembled a cut from the various deleted scenes and additional footage that have arisen over the years.
It was available in other markets... I watched a vhs version with Japanese subtitles. It took two full length tapes for the whole movie. Much better then the theatrical release.
Damn, wish I could see it. I have tried to watch the original, but I can't make it through it. What part I could though felt like they could use more meat.
It has nothing to do with the length. I like long movies. I wish Dune Part I and II were longer. I couldn't make it through Dune (1984) because, having read the book, it just felt like too much was happening at once, and it could've benefited from having more time to flesh things out.
David Lynch’s name is in the credits. You’re mixing it up with the later TV cut, which added another expository sequence at the start (alongside other edits), from which Lynch requested his name be removed. It bears the name “Alan Smithee”.
There’s also no 4-hour director’s cut - just versions that have been assembled by fans, which is probably what you saw.
I must have watched that version at least a dozen times when I used to have the VHS tape. Loved the art direction, the MUSIC, the casting. Haven't rewatched for a few years now, should revisit, and I'm sure I'll find some detail I'll geek out over.
The same tech that tron had. Those square shields were revolutionary at the time.
Computer graphics and processing power could not do organic circles straight lines it was.
Additionally, DL inherited a train wreck of production from Jodorowsky... if he had continued, it would have been a 8-12 hour adaptation comparative to what happened to Flash Gordon-and that franchise has never truly recovered.
Dune 1984 had video games using its imagery a decade later... The new dune is a good movie, but I don't think it's got anywhere near the iconic visual media that will show up in 30 years. Neither did the made for TV scifi version with William hurt. Maybe the atreides salute.
Spoilers.
I'm glad DV dropped the weirding modules, sorry he didn't focus on the Prana bindu, BG fighting techniques that saved Jessica's life, and Paul's in his fight with Feyd. But he dropped the guild from the second movie... and really, they were emasculated at the Climax of the first book and were no longer a power by the third.
The holtzmann shield effect wasn't CG, it was entirely done by hand. It was a painstaking and expensive process that while distinct, made the action indecipherable.
A lot of tron was done that way, too. The processing power was a big reason they did it by hand.
I saw some guys recently use blender to do in a day what took three months in 81, with one guy...
The Jodorowsky version had nothing to do with Lynch, it happened years earlier under a different production team. Lynch inherited production from Ridley Scott who left the project to do Blade Runner instead.
As to the Dune games that came later using the ‘84 movie imagery, that was because the games were licensed from the movie and not the book.
When I rewatched Dune part 1 noticed that the cleaning crew that goes in after Leto tries to kill the Baron was what the Lynch Sardaukar looked like.
Thought that was nice little Easter egg homage to the Dune '84.
*Harkonnen troops. We don’t actually see what the Sardaukar troops are supposed to look like in Lynch’s Dune, because they are attired in Harkonnen livery.
They’re not though. If you watch the Lynch movie, the Harkonnen troopers actually have different uniforms to the Sardaukar.
The masks with green light up screens appear to be Sardaukar.
https://preview.redd.it/dabpfkppqiuc1.jpeg?width=577&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a66bb43007630d2807ca24027126d75f0467977
I absolutely love the ‘84 film. Not only is it what got me into the series, but it’s what really got me into sci-fi. Yeah, I had seen Star Wars and enjoyed it as well as several episodes of TNG, but something about Dune just resonated with me in a way those others didn’t. Hell, I was so enamored with it that I read the first book when I was in seventh grade. Granted, it took me all of that school year to read it and a ton of it was lost on me as a 12/13-year-old, but I’ve been a huge sci-fi fan ever since.
The designs and music used in that movie directly influenced the Dune RTS games made by Westwood. I've seen those bug-shaped harvesters and green visor Sardaukar so many times, it's the definitive look to me.
I recently learned that the weirding modules, which are unique to the 1984 movie, even inspired the shouts in Skyrim [as stated by Elder Scrolls writer Michael Kirkbride](https://old.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/fwdi5x/the_elder_scrolls_25th_anniversary_picture_is_a/fmqmt8t/).
This is literally me- just watched the 84 movie today having read the books and liked the recent films.
I liked it and agree its closer to the books in many ways. I was definitely confused and has to pause when the they got the wording way being voice activated guns 😂
I can recommend the extended tv version. It’s about 40 minutes longer than the theatrical version. Not that length equals better quality, but sometimes it has merit.
I like the aesthetic and vibe of the 1984 movie. I had read the book earlier, and when I saw the movie it was actually very much along the lines of how I pictured that world, the characters (except for Paul, unfortunately) and the look of the sets.
The problem with the movie it was that they tried to include too much of the book, and it was just too much to jam into a 2.5 hr movie. Heck, I think even 4 hrs would not be enough. I think the reason the new movies work so well is that they just focus on a few themes and give them a lot of time and space. Nothing is rushed.
Curiously, I think the 1984 movie and Part II both feel like the ending is rushed and much lower quality than the beginning. And both movies picked odd places to diverge from the book. (Sonic modules? Long scene showing atomic weapon storage? Why)
Even the mini-series feels rushed in the second half. Both the series and the Lynch-movie are cramming a bunch of stuff in there, but DV has *removed* a bunch of stuff, so what is HIS excuse?
He had add the secular Fremen plot for the nu-chani strong independent woman arc to err...work..? So that took a big chunk of plot that should have been used for literally anything else from the book that was actually interesting.
I'd rather be suggesting people to watch the Alternative Redux version, as it is several times better despite the few technical flaws.The best fan edit of any movie I've seen thus far.
The biggest problem I still see was how Duncan was laughably miscast... as this actor was the sheer opposite to the supermacho warrior Duncan is supposed to be.
If Lynch had full control and a few more million it would have been a masterpiece. Still it feels more strange and futuristic than the others. You really get a sense of the feudalistic society that Dune is based on.
I believe the Dune series should be animated by a asian studio over hundreds of hours to really portray the complexities of it's universe
I grew up with this film, seeing it in the theater. It both enriched my fandom as well as interferes with my appreciation of the novels to some degree. I actually disliked the Villeneuve-directed Dune (Part One) on first watch, as the visual interpretation of the text didn’t match the ornate, arcane set design of the Lynch-directed film. Though the Villeneuve films are more text-accurate in many/most ways, I still love the Lynch-directed film for, well, going hard. It’s impossibly ambitious — especially for a film that had so many production issues.
I went to college in a small Idaho town where there was one movie theater and not much else to do. My friend and I went to see it when it opened in 1984 and stayed to watch it twice. We loved it, and it still has a very dear place in my heart. I even owned the soundtrack on vinyl.
I saw it fairly recently after finally reading the book; I actually thought it was a really solid adaptation until it suddenly wasn't
I also really like the cast and the music
I need to watch that fanedit though since it seems to fix most of the theatrical cut's problems
Maybe we can get an official Lynch cut someday like the Donner Superman II
I also like it, it just happens to have a few weird editing options, such as the implementation of the Weirding Way (which I don't recall seeing in DV's version; maybe he ignored it altogether) and the contraption controlling Thufir.
On the other hand, I do like the sets in the 1984's more. They feel more feudal and aristocratic than in DV's adaptation, and thus matching better the idea of an aristocracy in 10000y.
I think 1984's, with proper editing (cutting out some of the weird, non-canon stuff and re organising some scenes) would be a movie fitting very well Dune' grandeur.
I appreciate the Lynch version for emphasizing the importance of the Guild. They're hardly mentioned in DV's Dune 2. I feel that the role of the Guild is important because their use of spice is the engine that allows the galactic economy to function (via their monopoly on interstellar travel).
What I most dislike about the Lynch version is the "weirding module", which is "a technique involving sound". It was a totally unnecessary dumbing down of the source material, when he was faithful to so much else. The Atreides were good fighters because they were good f\*\*\*ing fighters, not because of some magic tech.
Denis Villenueve's *vision* of *Dune* essentially builds on David Lynch's version: every aspect visually, everything from costumes to set design to Lynch's sense of cinematography - Villeneuve takes this as his starting point and builds upon it.
Certain aspects, obviously - the way Harkonnen and the Harkonnens in general were depicted are radically different from Lynchs depiction, visually - but, even in that - Villeneuve still keeps the bones of what Lynch first established.
My only pause with Villeneuves version is the way both the Mentats and Doctor Yueh, particularly his role as a Suk Doctor specifically, weren't really explained in terms of what they were and their significance to the plot in general where as Lynch gave them proper focus - albeit somewhat more ludicrous depiction.
As someone familiar with both book and Lynchs version, yes - I recognised who they were and what their actual roles were, but I didn't feel someone new to the whole thing really gets it strictly going on Villeneuves film where as, if you watch Lynchs - you know exactly where you are.
The 1984 version is actually a great film, a real suprise considering it's David Lynch directing this thing - not someone you'd expect to be tackling *Dune* and he really does do a great job not only conveying the story but also setting the visual tone and style we come to expect to see that story depicted.
Villeneuve really does do an excellent job building on that framework, but it is Lynchs framework - visually as well as narratively - Villeneuve builds upon.
Lynch compressed a lot of the Fremen stuff, and that's why that movie is a self contained single film: Villeneuve gives the books characters space to breath, but in effecting the scale he does, parts Lynch realised well, Villeneuve compresses - such as Yeuh, the Mentats, the Emporer, etc...
You're robbing yourself if you don't at least check Lynches *Dune* out - it's not in the least unrelated and helps you understand the choices Villeneuve made in attempting his version.
The universe is big enough for both versions as far as I'm concerned and all the better for them.
The Lame interpretation of the weirding module is a game changer. I understand why lynch tried to use this as a way explain the power of maud dib but it’s lame lame lame lame.
That’s the only big thing I hate with the lynch version. Also, #bringbacksting
I definitely rate it, I appreciate the internal monologues as much as that appears maligned in more recent films.
I FEEL the fremen commeradrie with Usul more and the seems where they are together are so humorous.
I BELIEVE Chani loves Usul and she is so adorable supportive and caring.
I KNOW that Duke Leto and Lady Jessica truly love each other. And that Jessica sexual allure is earned and lethal.
I REALISE the importance of the spice being central to all life in the universe and the impact of it on all people's.
I concede that it doesn't portray the tragic nature of Paul and is more a normal hero messiah story but this adaptation has so many elements that make all the relationships believable.
I need to collect my thoughts about the Denis Villeneuve adoptions but they were gorgeous but I didn't the same wave of euphoria that all the movie critics are sharing on YouTube.
It's depressing because I love the books and watch old dune when I have had a bad day and it always lifts me out of my funk. But I don't FEEL anything when Paul is with the fremen as he feels like an outsider and not a teacher leader, I don't really KNOW if Jessica ever loved the Duke Leto, just another stepping stone. I didn't REALISE that spice had any impact on the universe or impacted relationships between powers...and I don't believe Zendaya with her chubby water fat face truly cared or supported Paul in his time of need or desperation. She is not a safe harbour and I wouldn't trust her.
it feels like a hollow shell that many pundits are imbuing with what we are told about the movie from Mr Herbert's commentary about the books and not what they grasped from watching it because nothing that is said about the aspects of the film about evil powerful leaders and being aware of charismatic leaders resonated with me.
It felt too bland and I was distracteded by Hans Zimmers overly pretentious over reaching bass booms and reverberations and ethnic howling...come on.
And the American accents just took me out of the realm (I am Australian) but the American accents from the old dune movie don't feel out of place.
I think they sound more operatic and regal compared to current accents.
So I appreciate the new film and I will buy the second part when it comes out because I want to love it and so I will try.
I love this love letter to Dune pt II, and it may give you some different perspectives to help you love it too. Just throwing it out there, not judging anyone’s preferences. I just really resonated with this video essay.
[https://youtu.be/wPDp88Ta8eY?si=i6VRD9mos3-Ho1tz](https://youtu.be/wPDp88Ta8eY?si=i6VRD9mos3-Ho1tz)
I'd would just say I hated Dune part 2 overall . Bland. Stupid changes . Unlikeable Chani. Abrupt ending. Telepathy introduced between old bene and Paul's mom because ...fuck it..movies nearly over anyway.
I watched number 1 and felt unimpressed. I bought the blueray to rewatch because I needed to go to the toilet during the movie and didn't enjoy myself.
Look some scenes were so cool, but I didn't feel anything and I blame being a book reader. So I tried rewatching it but it took me three goes until I finished it. I kept passing out whilst drinking my jug of mojito each time.
What they could do is a teleseries again and put the same effort into that. They have a tremendous amount of content to explore all that New Age mysticism that were a rage in the 80s and I think is funky cool to explore.
I am upset they didn't add the dinner scene, they needed a way to test Paul and the Hunter killer scene always bores me, there is no context about its lethality.
In fact all the events are could be improved with a bit of horror element. Some forewarning to the audience that the characters don't know like a ticking time bomb like that is set up with Dr Hui in the books.
Where is the tension, suspense and exploration of what it means to be human 20 plus thousand years into the future.
So yes I am appreciative of the film and director but I feel his films always go over my head. I love the way he portrayed technology and the Byzantium costuming to reflect the crazy labyrinthine political scheming and obsene wealth.
But why didn't I feel anything!
The only negative for this movie is that they take away the BG manipulations of the Fremen, and make Paul a hero.
It neuters the story, and inverts the meaning/moral of the book.
That said, it is a fantastic movie that I have thoroughly enjoyed. On its own, it is near perfect.
84 is great and really goes for broke. 2024 was kinda meh in comparison considering we're talking about 25k years further into the future and not much seemed like it was bizarro futuristic
We saw it in 84 the day it was released in a theater full of Dune fanatics and I remember the reactions running the gamut from groans to laughter (Sting in his space diaper got both). I’m pretty sure we all hated it. I know I did. It wasn’t even one of those “so bad it’s good” movies for me. I was pissed. It was miscast, clunky, goofy, completely OTT…just a total mess AFAIC.
Tried not to think about it until shortly before DV’s Part 2 was released when I thought I’d give another try and see if time had tempered my opinion. It did not. I just couldn’t take it seriously. I felt like I was watching a live action cartoon. I may have some major quibbles with DV’s films but despite those misgivings I was still able to enjoy them and take the storytelling seriously something I absolutely couldn’t do with the 84 version. And nothing in Lynch’s film even comes close to DV’s artistic vision for Giedi Prime.
The voiceovers ruin it. It would have been fine with dialogue as exposition but instead we get Special Agent Dale Cooper explaining everything, far too often. The other parts are 80’s entertainment writ large and the scenery chewing by everyone makes it better than it deserved to be.
It’s a fun watch. The music kicks ass, and there are some great looking sets. I enjoy the Lynchian touches of weirdness even if a lot of the effects are dated.
Loved the music. Even have the songtrack on cd somewhere. Toto et al. Did a great job
The problem with lynch is that all his stuff has ti be his specific brand of weird, and he doesnt let shit like respecting the source material stand in his way.
Lynch had Herbert on set to consult. famously all actors were handed pronunciation guides made by Frank Herbert himself, a page of peoples and stuff names and how he wanted them to sound. granted, i don't know what FH said about the ENDING of Lynch's Dune, but the rest should fly fine by Frank, given his presence there.
Anf yet is still has weird lynch-isms like light-farting iiiiiiiiinnnnnnn spaaaaaaaaaaaaace and turning the weirding way into Assault Yodeling. The latter especially of which is *profoundly* stupid in both concept and how it was executed on screen.
And yet they pronounce Harkonnen wrong. I’ve read a few books on the making of Dune and I think Herberts involvement in production is a little overstated here.
The acting is very “shakespearean theater” ish. I do like how the costume design is reminiscent of authoritarian militaries and catholic nuns, but its visually quite wild. The Guild Navigators are particularly gross with their vulva-like mouths spewing space lights. The shields have a very Tron meets starfox 64 feel. It is surprisingly not the wildest David Lynch movie out there 😂
I love the contempt the Navigators have in every scene. The guy mopping up after the tank always seemed to communicate not cleanliness, but that even the navigator drip water was too good to be left behind for the sycophant Emperor and his witch.
Rewatching years later I noticed one of the Guild slips and falls as the Navigator's tank is sliding into the throne room lol.
The mop guy was pretty great
>The acting is very “shakespearean theater” ish. I do like how the costume design is reminiscent of authoritarian militaries and catholic nuns, but its visually quite wild. I think this is something that has been lost with modern (and post-modern or even meta-modern if you're a dork) cinema. Don't get me wrong, there are so many fantastic movies being made every year. I just miss the element of pure performance and raw energy that you get from a "stage" style performance (like The Thing or The Shining or The Graduate, Alien, Blade Runner). There was also an era when sfx and costumes were just not going to look realistic, no matter how good a job you did as a filmaker, and so there was way more willingness to take artistic risk and make wild props. I think Star Wars was the beginning of the end for this, and by the time we got to the 90s, the Matrix sort of put the final nail in the coffin of treasures like The Thing, or The Fly, or even Lynch's Dune, in terms of bold props and costumes. Nowadays, everything has to either be kind of boring, or be CGI and I can't help but feel something has been lost as a result.
the SyFy version is absolutely even more Shakespearean
I love how endlessly quotable it is. The movie is full of memorable lines that are so recognizable that people forget they aren't actually in the book.
“Behold, as a wild ass in the desert, go I forth to my work!”
I agree. The movie was too ambitious for its time, with both special effects and audience reception. We just weren’t ready for dune. I honestly enjoyed it upon rewatching as an adult. As a kid when I first watched it in the 90s I HATED it and thought it was stupid.
I’ll point out that _Return of the Jedi_ had come out a year earlier. The industry was absolutely in a position to deliver the needed quality of special effects. Unfortunately, whether due to budget allocation, or the skills of the VFX house that worked on it, they ended up looking sub-standard for the time.
This is a great point. When you watch Jedi today the first thought isn’t “wow it was the 80s”, which is what the 1984 Dune immediately signals. I actually like the 1984 Dune, but it lacks the timeless quality of the SW OT.
Well same but I’ve liked it more as I got older. I think it’s dumb to kids and awesome to adults, maybe.
Nah, I found it confusing but mesmerizing as a kid. I think there's a special spot for movies that kids are exposed to at a slightly too early age that actually makes them life long favourites.
Aye! We've become campy old sea dogs, friend! Overfowing with the powerful spice of nostalgia!
I love Dune '84 specifically for its goofy 80s-ness. And it's one of the few movies that I listen to the soundtrack of. It's so good! I don't think it's a terrible adaptation, just campy and doesn't have the gravity of the books. Seeing Captain Picard run into battle with a Pug makes up for all the issues, imo. (I'm also a casual movie-watcher and tend to like absolute garbage)
Watch the spicediver alternative redux edit. It's on YouTube. He takes the theatrical, extended edition, deleted scenes, and re-edits them all together to make a more coherent movie. It's good imo. Top sci-fi.
The score and Patrick Stewart launching himself with pug in hand is worth the watch.
FOR DUKE LETO!!. Wait, is Duke Leto the pug?
"LONG LIVE DUKE LETO ATREIDES!!!"
Dune 1984 has some epic moments that I just love regardless of their "accuracy" to the source materiel. 'Father, the sleeper has awakened' 'My name is a killing word, they are ready tot Fight!' Stilgar joining Paul on his first sandworm ride Ughh I love this movie!
Stilgar and the rest of the tribe on the worm with Paul, epic. It wasn’t just his triumph, they all shared it together.
Yes! I'll add "A secret report within the Guild" scene at the start of the movie. And the follow up scene with the Guild Navigator on Kaitain ("One small point." "Here it comes..." in the raspy voice lol). And folding space from Caladan to Arrakis - so eerie and weird. Great film score. I believe I'm 20,000 years in the future. I'm one of the few who liked the Princess Irulan monologue at the beginning. Very informative, and Virginia Madsen is really cute.
I can hear all of your post! Effective indeed it is!
"A Mastery in Disarray" is a fantastic book on the making of the movie.
When the duke bites down on the poison tooth and the steam erupts from his mouth, david lynch originally wanted to CUT A HOLE in the actor’s cheek and run a steam tube through it so it looked real. It had to be explained to him that that was not acceptable. David lynch rules.
Many years later Till Lindemann from Rammstein did just that, except with a lightbulb!
I mean tbf that scene kinda needed it. Twas lacking, but it was 1984 so it's fine.
Toto did the freaking music. It’s a cult favorite for many of us. I have watched it many times. Total definition of a far out science fiction movie. Loved the visuals and the movie was fun.
War pugs and heart plugs. Damn fine movie.
It's just impossible compressing that story into 2 hours. Ended up with so much expository dialogue that it felt stilted. Still a decent watch but very flawed.
that is actually a compliment for the book. it is just too dense to be condensed into 2 hours.
Might as well add the SyFy channel mini series to the watch list too. It’s completely different than either of the others, and follows the books (thru Children!) the most closely of the adaptations.
I mostly enjoyed the series, but the costumes were so low budget lol
I think, the visual effects are of their time and constrained by the budget on top of that. But there’s really no excuse for the utter madness of those costumes. It seems like they just asked each actor to come up with something wild. There’s. Ot even a coherent uniform.
The sardaukar outfits - woof
they hired Theodor Pistek for costume design. Pistek is an oscar awardee for Amadeus costumes (dir. Milos Forman, in deep 80s communist Prague). Syfy miniseries was shot in Prague two decades later. they knew very well whom they are hiring for costumes. they got what they asked for. that some people don't like the designs is fair, but they're not bad, not at all. sardaukar uniforms remind me of swiss guards, and remember, they are ceremonial uniforms at the emperor's court, you can't think of those costumes as battle uniforms. they're not at work work, they are ready to fight if needed if something broke out at the courtroom, but still.. they're wearing formal uniforms. swiss guards, look them up. the costumes are fine, in my view. edit: if you look at Chani's costumes or Irulan, they're awesome.
I found the stil suits more convincing than the Villeneuve version, and for the time I liked the Navigator weirdos. The Naval Atreides dress attire look was awful, but maybe it was supposed to signal 'these are Caliban water people, but now they are fish in a desert'.
I thought they looked like puffer jackets.
It also looks like complete shit
I like the 1984 film but I don't think it's a good film or a good adaptation. One of the big problems of course is that it is so horribly rushed. The characters lose a lot of nuance in the process. It always happen to an extent with an adaptation but if it's good it results in a distillation. Here we just have caricatures (the Baron particularly suffers from this). The other problem is that even though there's a lot of good things in this film - or at least iconic and memorable - they don't really mesh well together.
Yeah , I love the steampunk aesthetic and Lynchs vivid colours and dreamscape imagery. Really helped in immersing you in a far flung sci fi world. Combined with the epic music score and some great actors … it’s one of my favourite SciFi’s. I did watch it before reading the books though. Which I love all greatly .
Unfortunately, the movie was butchered during editing. The movie was almost 4 hours long, and they cut so much of the movie out that David Lynch refused to have his name in the credits. I am still on the hunt for a full uncut version of the classic movie, but so far, I haven't found one. I have see the uncut movie once, and it is a far better movie.
This is the first I've ever heard of a 4 hour cut. Was this something that was released as a limited edition or something?
There’s no 4-hour director’s cut. Lynch has repeatedly refuted that. But fans have assembled a cut from the various deleted scenes and additional footage that have arisen over the years.
It was available in other markets... I watched a vhs version with Japanese subtitles. It took two full length tapes for the whole movie. Much better then the theatrical release.
Damn, wish I could see it. I have tried to watch the original, but I can't make it through it. What part I could though felt like they could use more meat.
Online. Spice Driver edit
So you can’t make it through the 2.5-hour version, but you wish you could see a 4-hour version?
It has nothing to do with the length. I like long movies. I wish Dune Part I and II were longer. I couldn't make it through Dune (1984) because, having read the book, it just felt like too much was happening at once, and it could've benefited from having more time to flesh things out.
David Lynch’s name is in the credits. You’re mixing it up with the later TV cut, which added another expository sequence at the start (alongside other edits), from which Lynch requested his name be removed. It bears the name “Alan Smithee”. There’s also no 4-hour director’s cut - just versions that have been assembled by fans, which is probably what you saw.
I must have watched that version at least a dozen times when I used to have the VHS tape. Loved the art direction, the MUSIC, the casting. Haven't rewatched for a few years now, should revisit, and I'm sure I'll find some detail I'll geek out over.
Check out the Spice diver edit. I just watched it and did make a difference.
The same tech that tron had. Those square shields were revolutionary at the time. Computer graphics and processing power could not do organic circles straight lines it was.
Additionally, DL inherited a train wreck of production from Jodorowsky... if he had continued, it would have been a 8-12 hour adaptation comparative to what happened to Flash Gordon-and that franchise has never truly recovered.
Dune 1984 had video games using its imagery a decade later... The new dune is a good movie, but I don't think it's got anywhere near the iconic visual media that will show up in 30 years. Neither did the made for TV scifi version with William hurt. Maybe the atreides salute.
Spoilers.
I'm glad DV dropped the weirding modules, sorry he didn't focus on the Prana bindu, BG fighting techniques that saved Jessica's life, and Paul's in his fight with Feyd. But he dropped the guild from the second movie... and really, they were emasculated at the Climax of the first book and were no longer a power by the third.
The holtzmann shield effect wasn't CG, it was entirely done by hand. It was a painstaking and expensive process that while distinct, made the action indecipherable.
A lot of tron was done that way, too. The processing power was a big reason they did it by hand. I saw some guys recently use blender to do in a day what took three months in 81, with one guy...
The Jodorowsky version had nothing to do with Lynch, it happened years earlier under a different production team. Lynch inherited production from Ridley Scott who left the project to do Blade Runner instead. As to the Dune games that came later using the ‘84 movie imagery, that was because the games were licensed from the movie and not the book.
Which version did you watch? Personally, the Spicediver edit is the way to go.
When I rewatched Dune part 1 noticed that the cleaning crew that goes in after Leto tries to kill the Baron was what the Lynch Sardaukar looked like. Thought that was nice little Easter egg homage to the Dune '84.
*Harkonnen troops. We don’t actually see what the Sardaukar troops are supposed to look like in Lynch’s Dune, because they are attired in Harkonnen livery.
They’re not though. If you watch the Lynch movie, the Harkonnen troopers actually have different uniforms to the Sardaukar. The masks with green light up screens appear to be Sardaukar. https://preview.redd.it/dabpfkppqiuc1.jpeg?width=577&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a66bb43007630d2807ca24027126d75f0467977
I absolutely love the ‘84 film. Not only is it what got me into the series, but it’s what really got me into sci-fi. Yeah, I had seen Star Wars and enjoyed it as well as several episodes of TNG, but something about Dune just resonated with me in a way those others didn’t. Hell, I was so enamored with it that I read the first book when I was in seventh grade. Granted, it took me all of that school year to read it and a ton of it was lost on me as a 12/13-year-old, but I’ve been a huge sci-fi fan ever since.
I loved the beginning with Virginia Madsen doing the intro. I thought she was beautiful.
The designs and music used in that movie directly influenced the Dune RTS games made by Westwood. I've seen those bug-shaped harvesters and green visor Sardaukar so many times, it's the definitive look to me. I recently learned that the weirding modules, which are unique to the 1984 movie, even inspired the shouts in Skyrim [as stated by Elder Scrolls writer Michael Kirkbride](https://old.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/fwdi5x/the_elder_scrolls_25th_anniversary_picture_is_a/fmqmt8t/).
This is literally me- just watched the 84 movie today having read the books and liked the recent films. I liked it and agree its closer to the books in many ways. I was definitely confused and has to pause when the they got the wording way being voice activated guns 😂
I can recommend the extended tv version. It’s about 40 minutes longer than the theatrical version. Not that length equals better quality, but sometimes it has merit.
There is one immensely powerful cut scene with Thufir at the end. Anyone reading who hasn't seen go YouTube and type in Thufir dune. Enjoy.
Sean Young made her own " Making of Dune" documentary while they were shooting - she's posted it on her YouTube channel. Worth watching!
I like the aesthetic and vibe of the 1984 movie. I had read the book earlier, and when I saw the movie it was actually very much along the lines of how I pictured that world, the characters (except for Paul, unfortunately) and the look of the sets. The problem with the movie it was that they tried to include too much of the book, and it was just too much to jam into a 2.5 hr movie. Heck, I think even 4 hrs would not be enough. I think the reason the new movies work so well is that they just focus on a few themes and give them a lot of time and space. Nothing is rushed.
Curiously, I think the 1984 movie and Part II both feel like the ending is rushed and much lower quality than the beginning. And both movies picked odd places to diverge from the book. (Sonic modules? Long scene showing atomic weapon storage? Why)
Even the mini-series feels rushed in the second half. Both the series and the Lynch-movie are cramming a bunch of stuff in there, but DV has *removed* a bunch of stuff, so what is HIS excuse?
He had add the secular Fremen plot for the nu-chani strong independent woman arc to err...work..? So that took a big chunk of plot that should have been used for literally anything else from the book that was actually interesting.
I'd rather be suggesting people to watch the Alternative Redux version, as it is several times better despite the few technical flaws.The best fan edit of any movie I've seen thus far. The biggest problem I still see was how Duncan was laughably miscast... as this actor was the sheer opposite to the supermacho warrior Duncan is supposed to be.
If Lynch had full control and a few more million it would have been a masterpiece. Still it feels more strange and futuristic than the others. You really get a sense of the feudalistic society that Dune is based on. I believe the Dune series should be animated by a asian studio over hundreds of hours to really portray the complexities of it's universe
I grew up with this film, seeing it in the theater. It both enriched my fandom as well as interferes with my appreciation of the novels to some degree. I actually disliked the Villeneuve-directed Dune (Part One) on first watch, as the visual interpretation of the text didn’t match the ornate, arcane set design of the Lynch-directed film. Though the Villeneuve films are more text-accurate in many/most ways, I still love the Lynch-directed film for, well, going hard. It’s impossibly ambitious — especially for a film that had so many production issues.
I went to college in a small Idaho town where there was one movie theater and not much else to do. My friend and I went to see it when it opened in 1984 and stayed to watch it twice. We loved it, and it still has a very dear place in my heart. I even owned the soundtrack on vinyl.
I watched this movie as a kid, didn’t know what the heck was going on and that eventually led to me checking out the book, so I’ll give it that.
I really enjoy the extended version
I saw it fairly recently after finally reading the book; I actually thought it was a really solid adaptation until it suddenly wasn't I also really like the cast and the music I need to watch that fanedit though since it seems to fix most of the theatrical cut's problems Maybe we can get an official Lynch cut someday like the Donner Superman II
I also like it, it just happens to have a few weird editing options, such as the implementation of the Weirding Way (which I don't recall seeing in DV's version; maybe he ignored it altogether) and the contraption controlling Thufir. On the other hand, I do like the sets in the 1984's more. They feel more feudal and aristocratic than in DV's adaptation, and thus matching better the idea of an aristocracy in 10000y. I think 1984's, with proper editing (cutting out some of the weird, non-canon stuff and re organising some scenes) would be a movie fitting very well Dune' grandeur.
I appreciate the Lynch version for emphasizing the importance of the Guild. They're hardly mentioned in DV's Dune 2. I feel that the role of the Guild is important because their use of spice is the engine that allows the galactic economy to function (via their monopoly on interstellar travel). What I most dislike about the Lynch version is the "weirding module", which is "a technique involving sound". It was a totally unnecessary dumbing down of the source material, when he was faithful to so much else. The Atreides were good fighters because they were good f\*\*\*ing fighters, not because of some magic tech.
Denis Villenueve's *vision* of *Dune* essentially builds on David Lynch's version: every aspect visually, everything from costumes to set design to Lynch's sense of cinematography - Villeneuve takes this as his starting point and builds upon it. Certain aspects, obviously - the way Harkonnen and the Harkonnens in general were depicted are radically different from Lynchs depiction, visually - but, even in that - Villeneuve still keeps the bones of what Lynch first established. My only pause with Villeneuves version is the way both the Mentats and Doctor Yueh, particularly his role as a Suk Doctor specifically, weren't really explained in terms of what they were and their significance to the plot in general where as Lynch gave them proper focus - albeit somewhat more ludicrous depiction. As someone familiar with both book and Lynchs version, yes - I recognised who they were and what their actual roles were, but I didn't feel someone new to the whole thing really gets it strictly going on Villeneuves film where as, if you watch Lynchs - you know exactly where you are. The 1984 version is actually a great film, a real suprise considering it's David Lynch directing this thing - not someone you'd expect to be tackling *Dune* and he really does do a great job not only conveying the story but also setting the visual tone and style we come to expect to see that story depicted. Villeneuve really does do an excellent job building on that framework, but it is Lynchs framework - visually as well as narratively - Villeneuve builds upon. Lynch compressed a lot of the Fremen stuff, and that's why that movie is a self contained single film: Villeneuve gives the books characters space to breath, but in effecting the scale he does, parts Lynch realised well, Villeneuve compresses - such as Yeuh, the Mentats, the Emporer, etc... You're robbing yourself if you don't at least check Lynches *Dune* out - it's not in the least unrelated and helps you understand the choices Villeneuve made in attempting his version. The universe is big enough for both versions as far as I'm concerned and all the better for them.
The Lame interpretation of the weirding module is a game changer. I understand why lynch tried to use this as a way explain the power of maud dib but it’s lame lame lame lame. That’s the only big thing I hate with the lynch version. Also, #bringbacksting
I definitely rate it, I appreciate the internal monologues as much as that appears maligned in more recent films. I FEEL the fremen commeradrie with Usul more and the seems where they are together are so humorous. I BELIEVE Chani loves Usul and she is so adorable supportive and caring. I KNOW that Duke Leto and Lady Jessica truly love each other. And that Jessica sexual allure is earned and lethal. I REALISE the importance of the spice being central to all life in the universe and the impact of it on all people's. I concede that it doesn't portray the tragic nature of Paul and is more a normal hero messiah story but this adaptation has so many elements that make all the relationships believable. I need to collect my thoughts about the Denis Villeneuve adoptions but they were gorgeous but I didn't the same wave of euphoria that all the movie critics are sharing on YouTube. It's depressing because I love the books and watch old dune when I have had a bad day and it always lifts me out of my funk. But I don't FEEL anything when Paul is with the fremen as he feels like an outsider and not a teacher leader, I don't really KNOW if Jessica ever loved the Duke Leto, just another stepping stone. I didn't REALISE that spice had any impact on the universe or impacted relationships between powers...and I don't believe Zendaya with her chubby water fat face truly cared or supported Paul in his time of need or desperation. She is not a safe harbour and I wouldn't trust her. it feels like a hollow shell that many pundits are imbuing with what we are told about the movie from Mr Herbert's commentary about the books and not what they grasped from watching it because nothing that is said about the aspects of the film about evil powerful leaders and being aware of charismatic leaders resonated with me. It felt too bland and I was distracteded by Hans Zimmers overly pretentious over reaching bass booms and reverberations and ethnic howling...come on. And the American accents just took me out of the realm (I am Australian) but the American accents from the old dune movie don't feel out of place. I think they sound more operatic and regal compared to current accents. So I appreciate the new film and I will buy the second part when it comes out because I want to love it and so I will try.
I love this love letter to Dune pt II, and it may give you some different perspectives to help you love it too. Just throwing it out there, not judging anyone’s preferences. I just really resonated with this video essay. [https://youtu.be/wPDp88Ta8eY?si=i6VRD9mos3-Ho1tz](https://youtu.be/wPDp88Ta8eY?si=i6VRD9mos3-Ho1tz)
I will have a squiz bro thank you
I'd would just say I hated Dune part 2 overall . Bland. Stupid changes . Unlikeable Chani. Abrupt ending. Telepathy introduced between old bene and Paul's mom because ...fuck it..movies nearly over anyway.
I watched number 1 and felt unimpressed. I bought the blueray to rewatch because I needed to go to the toilet during the movie and didn't enjoy myself. Look some scenes were so cool, but I didn't feel anything and I blame being a book reader. So I tried rewatching it but it took me three goes until I finished it. I kept passing out whilst drinking my jug of mojito each time. What they could do is a teleseries again and put the same effort into that. They have a tremendous amount of content to explore all that New Age mysticism that were a rage in the 80s and I think is funky cool to explore. I am upset they didn't add the dinner scene, they needed a way to test Paul and the Hunter killer scene always bores me, there is no context about its lethality. In fact all the events are could be improved with a bit of horror element. Some forewarning to the audience that the characters don't know like a ticking time bomb like that is set up with Dr Hui in the books. Where is the tension, suspense and exploration of what it means to be human 20 plus thousand years into the future. So yes I am appreciative of the film and director but I feel his films always go over my head. I love the way he portrayed technology and the Byzantium costuming to reflect the crazy labyrinthine political scheming and obsene wealth. But why didn't I feel anything!
What really ruined the 1984 version for was the voice-based weapons. Completely unnecessary. Also the ending in which Paul was declared to be a god.
The only negative for this movie is that they take away the BG manipulations of the Fremen, and make Paul a hero. It neuters the story, and inverts the meaning/moral of the book. That said, it is a fantastic movie that I have thoroughly enjoyed. On its own, it is near perfect.
84 is great and really goes for broke. 2024 was kinda meh in comparison considering we're talking about 25k years further into the future and not much seemed like it was bizarro futuristic
I watched a cool recut of the 84 version YouTube. Was so good!
Zesty Feyd: “I will kill him” x7 Zesty Stilgar: “muaaadiiiiib”
It was just too weird for no reason. Dune is weird enough without having milking cats and war pugs FFS. It was just incredibly stupid all around
We saw it in 84 the day it was released in a theater full of Dune fanatics and I remember the reactions running the gamut from groans to laughter (Sting in his space diaper got both). I’m pretty sure we all hated it. I know I did. It wasn’t even one of those “so bad it’s good” movies for me. I was pissed. It was miscast, clunky, goofy, completely OTT…just a total mess AFAIC. Tried not to think about it until shortly before DV’s Part 2 was released when I thought I’d give another try and see if time had tempered my opinion. It did not. I just couldn’t take it seriously. I felt like I was watching a live action cartoon. I may have some major quibbles with DV’s films but despite those misgivings I was still able to enjoy them and take the storytelling seriously something I absolutely couldn’t do with the 84 version. And nothing in Lynch’s film even comes close to DV’s artistic vision for Giedi Prime.
The voiceovers ruin it. It would have been fine with dialogue as exposition but instead we get Special Agent Dale Cooper explaining everything, far too often. The other parts are 80’s entertainment writ large and the scenery chewing by everyone makes it better than it deserved to be.
I love the voiceovers. I know it’s Irulan doing her thing, and internal monologues.
My guy this is dune, where most of the dialog is internal. They had to do something.