While Denis Villeneuve made his version of Dune rather serious and desolate, David Lynch chose the route of campy and audacious. Science fiction movies used to be a lot less serious, and the 1984 Dune is just as playful as the other science fiction franchises operating during that time period.
David Lynch’s Dune sure is a peculiar one, isn’t it? I’m glad I first watched it given the context of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune version decades later because that feels like a more crystalized and straightforward version of the (first half) of the story. The world feels more natural and synthesized with the characters, the performances feel less quippy and ridiculous, and the overall hold over the story is way more prevalent in the 2021 version.
But that’s not to say that Lynch’s rendition of Frank Herbert’s novel is overwhelmingly a bad attempt, rather a movie that was way ahead of its time and an uphill battle to begin with. David Lynch was originally eyed to direct The Return of the Jedi before the first movie in the Dune franchise, and I’m glad he only made the latter because pushing the Lynchian style through the Star Wars engine would’ve been too distinct for its own good. With Dune, he has a chance to build a world from the ground up, completely putting together sets and camera shots that fit both the original text and Lynch’s sensibilities.
And given that I wasn’t familiar with the second half of the core text (Dune: Part Two comes out two weeks from the time of me writing this), I wasn’t prepared for just how weird this movie descends once Paul Atreides (played by Kyle MacLachlan in Lynch’s 1984 adaptation) becomes ingratiated with the Fremen on Arrakis. The original Dune film has to really work through all the plot points in breakneck speed in order to fit it all in – no wonder Villeneuve chose to break the book into two separate films and let the set pieces live a little.
The supporting cast is pretty immaculate and strange throughout, from Virginia Madsen narrating the story and delivering ample amounts of exposition as Princess Irulan, to Sting briefly appearing as the ruthless Feyd Rautha. Much like all of David Lynch’s odd, idiosyncratic stories, the cast here is fully bought into his unique worldview. Even Patrick Stewart is in this thing as Gurney! That guy just has to find his way into every science fiction universe.
There are certainly some aspects that I can understand viewers being turned off by when this film was released in the 1980s, as well as still today. There is A LOT of inner monologuing going on in nearly every scene. Kyle MacLachlan probably has more voiceover lines than the ones he actually gives on screen.
And the sandworms were probably too ambitious for the time period this was made, as well as the horrendous, blocky shielded suits that the Atreides wear – the original inspiration for Roblox. It’s jarringly poor, and the fact that they show up so early in the film sets it up to be a tough one for viewers to get through and take seriously.
So while Denis Villeneuve made his version of Dune rather serious and desolate, David Lynch chose the route of campy and audacious. It doesn’t always pass with flying colors, but there are enough fun ideas and interesting moments to hold you over. Science fiction movies used to be a lot less serious, and the 1984 Dune is just as playful as the other science fiction franchises operating during that time period. It’s much closer to Star Wars and Star Trek in tone than even the 2021 Dune film.
Score: 5/10
- Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Patrick Stewart, Linda Hunt, José Ferrer, Kenneth McMillan, Richard Jordan, Virginia Madsen, Sting, Jürgen Prochnow, Sean Young
- Director: David Lynch
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
- Runtime: 137 minutes
- Rated: PG-13
- Release Date: December 14, 1984
More Reviews for Movies Directed by David Lynch
David Lynch has directed the following movies:
