Rating: 
Summary: Great movie from a great book
Review: When i first read the words like "weird" or "bizarre" in the Amazon.com review of this fine film the first thing that came to mind was "what are ya talkin' about??" I thought that this was a very fine film and that David Lynch did a fantastic job with a complicated story that brought many different plots into one novel.
The cast is spectacular, Kyle MacLachlan, Sean Young, Sting and Linda Hunt accuratly portray their characters, and the man who played the Baron was incredible.
The special effects were great for the time and were pulled off magnificently.
This is a great science fiction film, it should not be passed up so quickly, just give it a chance, and if you have a problem with it, read the book and watch the movie again.
Rating: 
Summary: A dimming opinion.
Review: I have watched the vhs version enough times to know what scenes were cut out of the sci-fi version a few years back. And when seeing the DVD, I figured it would be a full version and would contain everything from both versions. Well, sad to say I watched in horror as I became more and more dissapointed. Many key linking scenes were cut from this film and made it (as stated in an above review) confusing at times. These key scenes were background history and other important fillins. I recommend the vhs over this DVD anyday. You will find it more appealing.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Cool
Review: Just a good scifi film. A little weird, but good!
Rating:
Summary: DVD vs VHS versions
Review: I've had my VHS tape of Dune practically forever, and when I saw it on the shelf in DVD, I immediately bought it thinking maybe some more footage, or at least the same footage that's on my tape. After watching the movie for a bit I was noticing that DVD version was missing scenes out from the film. The VHS version of Dune I had bought some years back was true to the film, the DVD version has chopped off scenes left and right. Still a good film (Dune always is..) but due to scenes being removed from the DVD version, I would recommend the VHS version.
Rating:
Summary: Science fiction comes alive with this movie!
Review: This movie was well done and has lots of twists & turns to keep you involved in the story. The film really did a good job of following the Dune book series. The actors were believable and keep you intrigued with the different situations that arise. This is one of those science fiction movies you'll want to keep in your video collection.
Rating:
Summary: Dune by Lynch: Brief Diagnosis of a Cult Film
Review: David Lynch's film version of Dune became a highly controversial work. Although it is considered one the most impressive failures of film history, it has also become a cult film among many "Dune" fans. Even today, almost 20 years after it was made, opinions towards it are most of the times polarized.In the early 80's, Lynch was a young director who had just made himself a name with "The Elephant Man". Curiously enough, instead of relying on a mature director, Dino de Laurentis offered him the direction (and the writing of the script) of his next big production: "Dune". Lynch at those times had not even read the novel!. The charge of the production was to be given to another relatively new comer: Rafaella De Laurentis (Dino's daughter). Lynch was given tons of resources to make a classic: a tremendous cast, excellent technicians, magical special effects (for that era), shooting on live locations and many, many etceteras. What resulted from all this was almost great...almost. Yes, the task of translating Frank Herbert's Magnus Science fiction opus to a film has to be considered gargantuan, nevertheless, the film fails not in the "gargantuan" aspects, but in its finesses. Specifically, I consider that the film fails due to its blurred script. Probably it was an error to let Lynch write the script. The issue maybe was that at that time he was not "immersed" enough in the Dune universe so as to achieve a clarity that could make the general public grasp what was going on this complex story. We can give thanks to Lynch that we did not get a kind of "Star Wars" plot that would have been far worse, but as it is, the film remains clueless to many common spectators. I also consider that some of Lynch's added personal details like the heart plugs of the Harkonnen soldiers, the bloody scenes of the Baron, and the terribly awful rain ending are negative points that to my humble opinion can be considered of simply bad taste. Cheap errors that the great cast would have managed to surprass in the case that they would have been given a congruent and effective script. Taking this aside, we can consider "Dune" an impressive achievement in many fields; let's just mention some of them: * An excellent cast lead by a consistent (with the Herbert book) Paul Atreides played by Kyle MacLachlan (whose career unfortunately never went too far), a majestic Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis), an excellent noble Duke Leto (Jurgen Prochnow), a superb Gurney Halleck (a young and impetuous Patrick Stewart!), a loyal Duncan Idaho (Richard Jordan), a tough Stilgar (Everett McGill), a mysterious Dr. Keynes (Max Von Sydow), a wise Thufir Hawatt (Freddie Jones) and we could go on and on. The casting question mark was definitively Sting unconvincingly playing Feyd-Rautha: he never fits along the great group of actors that were around him. Also, to my personal feeling José Ferrer is quite stiff playing the Emperor Padishah. * Nicely developed creatures by Carlo Rimbaldi (take for example the navigator and the worms...considering 1980's standards) and credible special effects lead by Kit West. * A beautiful music score by Toto who managed to create a distinctive "Dune" feeling with an effective synthesis of classic and pop elements. A track by Brian Eno (The Prophecy Theme) added even more weight to the musical part. * Well chosen desert filming sites (it was in Mexico), exuberant costumes and beautifully created and constructed stages (for example the Emperor's Throne Room, The scenes inside Sietch Tabr main room, the Arrakeen and Caladan palaces, etc). Overall, this is a magnificent production marred by an erratic script, which nevertheless is worth viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Out-There... Too idiosyncratic for me.
Review: I've read the Frank Herbert novel and watched the film, but the film it is just too idiosyncratic and far-fetched for me... I know it is somewhat of a cult classic, but it is hard to follow and trails somewhat from the book. Though, it has been repopularized with the advent of popular 'Dune' PC/Video Games from Westwood Studios throughout the 1990's, which I recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Opulent interpretation of a distant future.
Review: This movie version of Frank Herbert's story shines for its opulent settings, very evocative of a time 8100 years in our future (¿maybe?). It is flawed by deviating slightly from the storyline. As in other versions, the impossibility of convincingly representing certain aspects which are better imagined by the readers themselves makes a movie inferior to a book (e.g. ornithopters, eyes of the ibad). But the water discipline of the planet is much better-represented here than in the TV movie, and the actors were well-cast and represent rich characters. Virginia Madsen makes a very good rôle of the Princess Irulan, appearing at the introduction although she plays only a minor character in the story. I think Jürgen Prochnow is - at times - a little stiff as Duke Atreides. But it was a very detailed story to present in movie format and this version did an excellent job.
Rating:
Summary: Stylish
Review: This movie is beautiful and reflects some of excerpts of the true spirit of Frank Herberts vision. Do not even think about bying a Dune miniseries.
Rating:
Summary: Well done
Review: This version of dune is, hence the title, well done. Compared to the later remake, it is remarkable. Not only does is stick to the storyline and details of the sci-fi novel, it portrays it greatly. The effects are well done, there is good talent, and the eyes are enhanced, but not over done. The part of Jessica is the best I've seen yet. All the actors fit the roles perfectly. But what makes it truly great is the fantastic novel that was written by Frank Herbert. If you were dissapointed with the movie, at least go read the book. Some people have considered this movie to be too dark, but I disagree. This is how the story was told in the first place. If you can't handle it, suck it up. It is truly worth watching, even if you're just in it to see the cinematography and effects, even though I'd highly recommend you to follow the plot.
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