As I peel back the pages of Frank Herbert's Dune, I can't help but think of how I came to read the magnificent story within. You see, Dune, when I was a young man spending my free time in libraries at lunchtimes rather then participating in the usual social activities, was little more then a interesting cover among hundreds. I had been to many schools, and they'd had little fear of stocking more adult titles (long before school libraries had strict rules on the content they provided), but the book had always appeared. Sadly, my focus was more on books that depicted monstrous creatures and massive battles, on the cover, because at that age I hadn't realized how clever book covers could be - rarely reflecting the content within. Therein, I'd completely missed out on Dune, and countless other amazing titles. It was SciFi's Dune that had captured my interest in the movies, even though I'd felt that the marketing for this particular entry was completely deceptive (William Hurt is barely in the mini-series, even though some versions call it 'William Hurt's Dune', what do you expect for a Scifi movie though? Am I right?). This had mostly been because I didn't understand what was going on, and I'd heard a bit about there being a Dune movie with tonnes of wild practical effects and grim atmosphere. Clearly, this wasn't the movie I'd heard about, but I did eventually discover Twin Peaks, and through that David Lynch - eventually leading me back to the 1984 version of Dune. I've got to say, though the SciFi adaption of Dune does have far less offensive discrepancies when it comes to the source material, this version is far more interesting, risky, and full of design choices I can't help but adore. David Lynch does present a far more structured story then most else he's made (aside from maybe The Straight Story), but he keeps all of the intrigue and grim implications, his staples, intact. Usually he finds horror in the mundane here, and he does it Dune as well, but it's more for the characters within the story then the viewer. Everything that happens is mundane to the people of this futuristic universe, it's all about deserts and mining, and the life of nobility. Behind it all, like in the books, there are prophecies at work and the nature of everything is less a product of humanities struggle and more to do with outside forces setting things on a certain path. Big things happen but occur slowly, incrementally, and inevitably. However... This movie is highly truncated, a product of wallets dictating the final product, rather then the visionary. Because of this, the movie had been cut to pieces - losing nearly a entire film's worth of content. Wherever Lynch had tried to tell the story as it happened, the studios had felt it to be highly confusing and too long, so they forced content to be cut and voice overs and narration to be put in place. Because of this, the movie is told a little too bluntly at times, and while battles are happening, you are told of the implications and effects rather then being shown. It feels like a abridged form of Dune, however, due to certain things being changed, it fails on that level and provides a questionable experience. At times, three or four chapters of the book are compressed into one scene - such as Paul's training, which crams the brief teachings of his mentors into one scene. At these times, the movie seems to move in far too fast a motion. To this day, fans of the film are dying for a full cut of the movie and, sadly, it most likely won't happen. There is, however, a extremely rare Extended Edition, which, if I can obtain it, I'll do a second review for. As damning as those flaws seem, Dune is a highly entertaining movie and the vision presented here, of Frank Herbert's unique universe, is like no other. Every actor takes their roles seriously, and the effects are tremendous. To this day I cannot think of a film that captures the terror and scale of a creature such as the Sandworms, or the provides such tense and interesting battle scenes. In fact, the entire strength of the movie is its presentation, the performances, set design, and effects. The story is interesting enough to keep you invested, interested, and waiting to see what comes next. Kyle Maclachlan as Paul Atredies was a excellent choice, and he outshines even the talents of Patrick Stewart, Brad Dourif, and Jose Ferrer. As with most of these book-to-movie films, especially those that couldn't possibly fit within a 2 hour run time, I can't help but think of what could have been. But, there wasn't any way Dune could have been portrayed in film form correctly, books are a difficult thing to translate as they rely on vast descriptions, character thoughts, memories, dreams, and so much more. For what it is, this 1984 adaption is probably the best anyone can hope for. Better yet, its not even close to as bad as some people claim. You either like it, or you don't. -L. BROOKS
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