Subject: Retrospective: Dune (1984)

From: [email-masked] (Mike Watson)
Date: 5 Jan 1998 03:24:00 GMT

RETROSPECTIVE: DUNE (1984)

A film review by Mike Watson.
Copyright 1997 Mike Watson

The following review encompasses two versions of DUNE:

DUNE: THE THEATRICAL VERSION (1984)
Runtime: 137 minutes
Rating: 2 out of 5
Capsule Review: Cut down to just over two hours by nervous studio
executives, the theatrical version of DUNE is a spectacular mess and
may be incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the book.  The film's
visual splendour, mystical beauty and impressive action scenes only
partly compensate for gaping holes in the narrative.

DUNE: THE EXTENDED VERSION (1988)
Runtime: 189 minutes
Rating: 3 out of 5
Capsule Review: A bit of a throw-together assembled by MCA TV Special
Projects for cable television.  It was disowned by director David
Lynch but it's  considerably closer to his original vision by virtue
of its improved characterisation and clearer storyline.  Quality dubs
of this version from the out-of-print Japanese laserdisc release are
available from various dealers on the World Wide Web. 

***THE REVIEW***

Released in 1984 and made on a then mammoth budget of $40 million, the
film of Frank Herbert's cult novel DUNE was eagerly awaited by sci-fi
fans.  Director David Lynch (BLUE VELVET, ERASERHEAD, TWIN PEAKS) was
working on his biggest production to date, a mammoth undertaking
filmed under trying conditions on location in Mexico.  The screenplay
was Lynch's own, chosen after the script submitted by original author
Herbert was rejected.

DUNE is set in a universe ruled by powerful families overseen by a
successive line of Emperors.  The key to cosmic power is the planet
Arrakis (Dune), a windswept desert planet that's home to giant
sandworms and the precious spice melange.  The spice is the most
valuable commodity in the universe.  It extends the life and expands
the consciousness of those who consume it.  Most importantly, it
allows the navigators of the Spacing Guild (once human but now
hideously mutated) to "fold space" and navigate their spacecraft
across mammoth distances instantaneously, enabling interstellar
commerce and trade to flourish.

Lynch's film by necessity excises parts of the book while retaining
the story's two main strands.  One is the long-standing rivalry
between two families, Houses Atreides and House Harkonnen, and their
battle for lucrative mining rights on Arrakis.  The second strand is
the emergence of young Paul Atreides as the reluctant Messiah
long-awaited by the natives of Arrakis, the Fremen.  The deeply
religious Fremen want control over their homeworld, and young Paul may
be the fulfilment of their prophecy that a man would come from the
outer worlds and lead them to freedom.

Unfortunately, this epic story unfolds in a confusing and haphazard
manner in the theatrical cut of the film, which runs 30 to 60 minutes
shorter than what Lynch originally intended.  The thinking among
Universal's oh-so-wise money men was that films over two hours in
duration were not popular with audiences at the time and would not do
well at the box office.  With Lynch's initial cut running at closer to
three or more hours, the studio demanded that further cuts be made.
What a great idea!  Why not trim down an already complex film so as to
make it almost incomprehensible?

The most glaring consequence of this one-eyed stupidity is a
hopelessly jumpy narrative, leaving us with badly underdeveloped
characters.  Thus their personalities are vague, their motivations
unclear and, in the case of Paul's father Duke Leto, their demise
rather meaningless.  The end result is a distinct chill: we can't warm
to most of the cast and we don't care much for them.  And it hardly
helps that the voice-over narration is sparse and that the Dune-esque
language and terminology sounds like so much gobbledegook to those
unfamiliar with the book. 

DUNE is also a very serous film.  The constant "self-talk" by various
characters makes it SO serious and self-absorbed at times that you may
find it hard not to wince with embarrassment.  The overall impression
is a world full of people so intense that no one is allowed a joke
lest the universe come crashing down around them.  Humour - or at
least a gentle kind of humour as distinct from the Harkonnen's mad,
sadistic kind - is hard to find.  You may balk at the comparison, but
as a writer Lynch could well have done with some lessons from George
Lucus' STAR WARS trilogy.
 
The theatrical version is still some way from being a complete
disaster, however.  It still possesses enough of Lynch's stylistic
quirks and enough visual invention to sustain the interest of viewers
with a taste for imaginative sci-fi.  Special effects whiz Carlo
Rambaldi's giant sandworms are an awesome sight.  Both the production
design (Anthony Masters) and costume design (Bob Ringwood) are
striking and original.  And the magnificent score by Toto and Brian
Eno is one of the most underrated soundtracks of the last twenty
years.  With these elements in place and the benefit of Freddie
Francis' lush cinematography, the film is at least a feast for the
senses.  See it in the widescreen format if you can.

And despite all the cuts, several cast members still make a strong
impression, most notably Kenneth McMillan as the supremely nasty Baron
Vladimir Harkonnen.  Sian Phillips also registers strongly as the
Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, leader of the Bene Gesserit
religious order who's secret aim is to manipulate Paul's destiny for
its own shadowy ends.  As Paul Atreides, the young Kyle MacLachlan
starts off somewhat shakily, but as his character grows in strength so
does his performance and he emerges as a credible leader of the Fremen
crusade.

The conclusion?  Any assessment of this film must take into account
that Frank Herbert's original novel is a complex piece of work and
presents a tough challenge for any filmmaker.  David Lynch took a
brave stab at it and, partly due to forces beyond his control, ended
up with an officially released version that fails in several key
respects.  DUNE certainly confused and frustrated a lot of people on
its release.  Many chose to stay away altogether, as the film's
disastrous box office showing attests.

The extended version, however, is a rather different beast.  In 1984
Lynch stated his intention to release his own special edition
"director's cut" of the film on home video, a clear indication of his
dissatisfaction with the version that ended up in the theatres.  But,
alas, he failed to do so, choosing to move on to other projects.  In a
way, then, it is partly Lynch's own fault that what appeared instead
was an unauthorised extended version, put together in 1988 by MCA TV
Special Projects for airing on cable networks in the USA.

Stung into action, Lynch successfully petitioned the Director's Guild
to take his name off the credits and replace it with "Allen Smithee",
the standard pseudonym for directors who wish to disown their own
work.  He also had the screenwriting credit changed to the anonymous
"Judas Booth".

Certainly, looking at the results of MCA's handiwork there's at least
half a dozen instances that, for sheer technical sloppiness, are good
enough reasons for the director to object.  But these gripes must be
considered in light of the improvements that the extended cut of DUNE
offers in several crucial areas.

Most of the changes involve the restoration or extension of cut scenes
and the addition of extra narration, both of which fill many holes in
the original version's storyline.  Paul's relationship with his father
and associates is more intimate, with moments of humour and warmth
lacking previously.  The political skulduggery involving the Emperor,
the Spacing Guild, the Bene Gesserits and the two warring Houses is
far better explained.  Paul's initiation into the Fremen way of life
on Arrakis is also fleshed out considerably.  And as further
background, a new prologue has been added featuring narration and
painted stills to give us a brief history of the Dune universe.

As a piece of storytelling, then, MCA TV's version of DUNE is clearly
superior. As a piece of editing, however, it is at times surprisingly
inept.  The use of painted stills in the new prologue works well
enough, but their occasional appearance once the action begins is
inappropriate.  There's some sloppy cutting, too, and in a few
instances shots even appear out of order.  And the use of repeated
footage to fabricate certain scenes (eg. ships coming and going,
soldiers coming and going) is at times clearly out-of-context.  This
is the kind of thing to which Lynch objected, and rightly so.

It should also be noted that several questionable scenes and shots
from the theatrical version were deleted to satisfy the censorship
demands of U.S. television.  But the most notable omission is a
gratuitous piece of nonsense from Lynch that wasn't even in Herbert's
book.  The scene features Baron Harkonnen killing a beautiful young
man in front of his slobbering henchmen by pulling out his "heart
plug".  Its a surreal and disturbing episode that's very Lynch-esque
but adds nothing to what we already know: the Baron is a nasty piece
of work.

Despite its own peculiar flaws, then, the extended version of DUNE is
a generally superior film.  All up, it contains 35 minutes of restored
footage and approximately another 15 minutes of either altered,
fabricated or newly created sequences.  Unless the idiosyncratic Lynch
has a sudden change of heart, the "Alan Smithee" version remains the
closest we'll get to what the movie should have been.  On repeated
viewings, one suspects it is closer than what Lynch would be prepared
to admit.

Still, as one of this century's great science-fiction novels, some
fans and perhaps the late Herbert himself would argue that DUNE
deserved a better fate in its transfer to the screen.  With rumours
circulating of a new six hour mini-series planned by production
company New Amsterdam Entertainment in 1998, it is unlikely that we
have heard the last of the Dune saga.

*For background information a special thankyou to [email-masked]. who
maintains the website DUNE: THE ARRAKIS FILE at:
http://members.aol.com/Hiphats/arrakis.html