David Lynch's 'Dune' at 40: David Lynch's 1984 adaptation is a true spice oddity

[Admin]

Squeezing Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel into a two-hour movie was always doomed to misfire.

David Lynch's 'Dune' at 40: David Lynch's 1984 adaptation is a true spice oddity : Read more

 

[Airforce002]

I really do not understand all the hate for David Lynch's "Dune" adaptation. I think honestly his work is much closer to the books in terms of dialogue and internal monologuing. I also think the movie holds up very well even today because of the outstanding performances of the actors. I do agree Villenevue's "Dune"s are better movies with better cinematography and score but the acting is actually not that great compared to the origional Dune movie. Chalemet, Austin, and the guy who played the Baron (I'm writing this on my phone and don't want to look up his name) carried the entire two movies to success in terms of the acting.

 

[Lowtechprime]

Nearly everything in that article is so wrong... It's frustrating that every decision that Villeneuve made to deviate from the books is lauded " oh! It's so much better"! What nonsense.. The Lynch version is superior in nearly every way... Except maybe their treatment of Duncan Idaho.. The new films removed nearly everything that makes Dune, Dune.. Mentats are barely mentioned, and you really don't know what they can do. You get no idea as to the capabilities of a Bene Gesserit trained person.. The 'Great Houses' are just regular folks, no air of regalness or formality.. Paul doesn't act like someone who has been raised or trained from birth to be the Duke, he's just some random whiny teenager.... Jessica is a super capable strong woman, but in that first Villeneuve film she's mostly a weepy mess.. The Lynch characters have a believable formality to their speech and interactions, they seem like a 'Great House'.. Making Feyd a disturbing pasty shaved creature removes all the subtlety from his character as he's supposed to be vicious and cruel but also disarmingly handsome, a contrast to Rabban. He's now superfluous since he's really just a smaller Rabban.. What was the benefit of gender swapping Liet Kynes? That was Chani's father... As they had both just lost their fathers, it was one of the things that Paul and Chani bonded over.. Why is anything even shielded ? The Harkonnens can just blow up everything the Atreides have with no problems... Even the 'Spice' and it's properties are barely explored... No Alia/Abomination... No Spacing Guild... No Landsraad... No Tleilaxu.... No explanation for what a Suk Doctor is... Just 2 long Oppressively beige movies..... The only things I thought were decently handled in the new versions was more screentime/presence for Idaho, as he's really the protagonist of the series taken as a whole. Although I think Oscar Isaac should have played him instead of Leto as he looks exactly how Idaho is described in the books. I liked Javier Bardem as Stilgar as well. He's the only character in those films that exudes any leadership. Lastly, the ornithopters were far superior to the little gold box from the Lynch film, those were quite silly... Villeneuve has deviated so far from the source material at this point that any further sequel will most likely have to be primarily fabricated....

 

[Maverick614xyz]

Nearly everything in that article is so wrong... It's frustrating that every decision that Villeneuve made to deviate from the books is lauded " oh! It's so much better"! What nonsense.. The Lynch version is superior in nearly every way... Except maybe their treatment of Duncan Idaho.. The new films removed nearly everything that makes Dune, Dune.. Mentats are barely mentioned, and you really don't know what they can do. You get no idea as to the capabilities of a Bene Gesserit trained person.. The 'Great Houses' are just regular folks, no air of regalness or formality.. Paul doesn't act like someone who has been raised or trained from birth to be the Duke, he's just some random whiny teenager.... Jessica is a super capable strong woman, but in that first Villeneuve film she's mostly a weepy mess.. The Lynch characters have a believable formality to their speech and interactions, they seem like a 'Great House'.. Making Feyd a disturbing pasty shaved creature removes all the subtlety from his character as he's supposed to be vicious and cruel but also disarmingly handsome, a contrast to Rabban. He's now superfluous since he's really just a smaller Rabban.. What was the benefit of gender swapping Liet Kynes? That was Chani's father... As they had both just lost their fathers, it was one of the things that Paul and Chani bonded over.. Why is anything even shielded ? The Harkonnens can just blow up everything the Atreides have with no problems... Even the 'Spice' and it's properties are barely explored... No Alia/Abomination... No Spacing Guild... No Landsraad... No Tleilaxu.... No explanation for what a Suk Doctor is... Just 2 long Oppressively beige movies..... The only things I thought were decently handled in the new versions was more screentime/presence for Idaho, as he's really the protagonist of the series taken as a whole. Although I think Oscar Isaac should have played him instead of Leto as he looks exactly how Idaho is described in the books. I liked Javier Bardem as Stilgar as well. He's the only character in those films that exudes any leadership. Lastly, the ornithopters were far superior to the little gold box from the Lynch film, those were quite silly... Villeneuve has deviated so far from the source material at this point that any further sequel will most likely have to be primarily fabricated....

I couldn’t agree more. I've watched Lynch's Dune many many times and never get tired of it, always in awe. The Villeneuve is short on the acting. Moreover, the changes Villeneuve made strip away so many essential Dune elements—Mentats, Bene Gesserit capabilities, the regal formality of the Great Houses—that it barely feels like Herbert’s universe anymore. Lynch’s version may have its flaws, but at least it captures the formal tone and spirit of the original novel better, IMHO.

 

[Hevach]

I've always had a soft spot for the 2000 version. It sticks closer to the books than either of the others. The part I like the most is the handling of the Harkonnens. They are horrible people with gross habits. They betray one another and plot against everyone in sight. But they keep it in private. Publicly the Baron is respectable, well mannered, and charismatic. He's morbidly obese and clearly overindulges his vices but he has a clean face and soft voice and a jovial nature... When he's not suffering a fool or dealing with an enemy.

The other movies seem to want him to be publicly gross as a visual language. But that just doesn't work for me. He was a politician. He was setting Feyd up to marry a Corrino daughter and scheme his way up the line of succession. And before the Atreides heir walked back out of the desert he almost had it clinched. The emperor of the known universe is not going to marry one of his daughters to the bug eyed exhibitionist with an unhinged flying tumor for an uncle.