April Review: Dune (1984) (Patreon)

I have to be up-front, I think the biggest thing I've learned in the last few years is I just don't like the story of Dune that much. Yes, I am the weird one, objectively Dune: Part 1 (2021) and Dune: Part 2 (2024) are well-made films. The story has clearly touched the lives of many. I suppose I'm simply not the Kwisatz Haderach.

I bring this disclaimer up because today we're going to be reviewing Dune (1984), a film perhaps more dedicated than any other to making viewers understand the plot of the novel Dune. Directed by David Lynch and staring Kyle MacLachlan as the Maud'dib himself, Paul, Dune (1984) is a true 80s epic, for better and more often than not, for worse.

Herbert's biblical epic can be winding and complex. A tall order for any film to comprehensibly squeeze into a two to three hour window. Our modern Dunes overcome this through splitting the narrative in two, Dune (1984) overcomes this by cramming as much as possible into it's runtime, and then adding "inner voice" lines for clarification. The comedic impact of these lines, voice-over playing on top of pensive looks just off-screen stating what the characters are thinking, fill in the gaps on what is often a difficult break when adapting a book to screen. The monologues put to page for book characters, can't be heard when you're watching an actor. Or at least they couldn't, until Dune (1984). So are they successful? Does all this voice-over help make the plot comprehensible? Well yes and no. Occasionally the voice-over provides a lore drop, explaining something the characters know but a viewer would have to infer. Usually though, they're explaining something that will be stated aloud in the very next shot. take for example, the scene where Paul, the Duke, and the ecologist fly to see the spice harvester, and Paul asks about the worms. Paul thinks to himself "I wonder if the worms and the spice are connected?" and then, out loud to the helicopter, asks, "are the worms and the spice connected?"

But let's talk about those worms. While I wish the lore was less literal, I was delighted that the worms were very real. The special effects throughout scratch a very specific itch, bringing 80s lightning and classic sci fi miniatures together to make shots that could be the screensaver in many a computer lab. I have a lot of love for this era of SFX, and Dune (1984) delivers exactly what you want. The worms peel open their flaps to rustle sand, the spaceships glide in all their mini glory, and those navigators sure do trip on some spice. If you're not hearing the dialogue, as a series of vibes, Dune (1984) is very successful.

Contributing to this vibe is the production design. While the modern Dunes have leaned into a minimalist aesthetic, Dune (1984) instead takes things to the max. Costumes with Elizabethan flair are mashed together with Rococo spaceship doors to create an opulent space empire you really believe was built on the back of spiceploitation. It's a visual feast for the eyes unafraid to play around with mixed up aesthetics, inventing what it needs to and reimagining the rest.

But once you've eaten your images, you have to remember you are watching an adaptation of Dune. The first half of the film is fairly faithful, providing more context for the political moves that lead the Atreides to Dune and the wider world they live in. Paul and his family go to Dune, are betrayed, and he and his mother flee into the desert to join the Fremen. From here, the events play out similarly but the morals change. Instead of Paul learning from the Fremen, he teaches them, and this leads to a much more white savior tilt to the narrative. Dune (1984) lacks the complexity of Paul and the Fremens' relationship from the original novel. It also just lacks complexity in general. Once Paul trains the Fremen, we flash quickly through the rest of the book, seeing in transitions his and Chani's relationship, the ongoing training on Arrakis, the conflict between Harkonnen spice-miners and Fremen, and the birth and tiny costuming of Paul's baby sister. Alicia Witt (Alia) sure played one adorable, creepy all-knowing witch child. All of these events speed through over clips of Paul riding the worm, culminating in an anti-climatic stand-off between every remaining named character in which Paul makes it rain, kills Sting (Fayd), and Dune (1984) ends. It's so quick and so shallow, that it makes all of the lore drops feel even more extraneous. The film is so afraid you won't understand, it simplifies and clarifies to the point of removing all emotional impact.

If the Sting of it all wasn't lost on you, yes Sting is in this movie. Also Patrick Stewart (Gurney), Francesca Annis (Lady Jessica), and Sean Young (Chani). No performance really stands out in Dune (1984), Sting is certainly dialed up to 11 but given very little to do, and Kyle MacLachlan is certainly believable as the boyish Paul, but somewhat less believable as the prophesied savior of Dune. No one is doing nothing, but no one is bringing the house down either. They did put Sir Patrick Stewart in a crazy wig though so props for that.

Overall, looking past my personal disdain for Dune, Dune (1984) is still pretty bad. There are things to enjoy. If you like 80s sci fi aesthetics, cool electric guitar riffs, campy dialogue, and the weirdness of Herbert's lore, Dune (1984) would be a good time. I had enough fun with it to recognize the power of a distinct visual language, but no matter how distracting, it remains an over-explained retelling of a complicated, biblical work of science fiction.

Also, Paul should have named himself "Paul'dib." I said what I said.

5 out of 10 big big worms