Subject: Retrospective: Dune (1984)

From: [email-masked] (Ram Samudrala)
Date: 4 Oct 1999 04:57:26 GMT

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Dune
http://www.ram.org/ramblings/movies/dune.html

/Dune/ is a sci-fi classic, and a weird one at that.  Based on Frank
Herbert's novel, /Dune/ attempts to bring to life what is left to our
imagination in the book.  The results are somewhat mixed, but are
mostly positive.

Dune (Arrakis) is a planet that is the center of the universe: it is
only here that the spice Melange is available. The spice allows
Navigators (humans that have imbibed too much spice and have been
mutated by it) and their Guild to "fold" space and time and travel
from location to location without physical movement of their bodies.
The spice is what makes travel and trade possible between distant star
systems and whoever controls Dune controls the Universe.

Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (Jose Ferrer), the ruler of the known
universe, feels threatened by the rise in popularity of Duke Leto
Atreides, and orchestrates a plan to eliminate him. The plan involves
pitting the Atreides House against the house of his bitter enemy Baron
Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan), by asking him to take control
of the spice mining operations on Dune.

As the Harkonnen's vendetta against the duke leads to his death, his
son, Paul Atredies and his mother escape from their captors as they
are about to become fodder for the giant sand worms that live on
Dune. They soon run into the inhabitants of Dune, the Freemen and Paul
(or Muad'dib, as he is known to Fremen) trains them the "weirding way"
which involves the use of sound in battle. The Fremen then began to
wage a war against the Harkonnens under the leadership of Paul which
leads to an ultimate confrontation between the Fremen and House
Harkonnen and the Emperor. Paul Muad'dib then fulfills an ancient
prophecy and Arrakis is never the same again.

The film is pretty weird and it is hard to describe, which is what
makes it appealing in my mind. The acting by the primary protagonists
isn't too great and that detracts from a decent (but compressed) story
line. The villains, including Sting (Gordon Sumner) as the cool but
psychotic Feyd Rautha, fare much better.  Dune is definitely worth
renting and seeing again and again for its complex story line and the
mythology it builds.

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