Dune

Rating:
Summary: Ludicrous.
Review: I understand that no movie is ever just like the book. However, the movie shouldn't casually discard key premises of the book the way this one does. I think Lynch's decision to convert the Bene Gesserit fighting techniques of the book into "weirding modules" that shoot death rays ultimately cheapened the entire story.

I could live with the weird visuals of the movie if they had been made to serve the purposes of the book, but as it is, Lynch went too far afield.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, yet flawed
Review: I don't think anyone could have ever faithfully crossed Dune from Novel to movie, unless the movie was over 10 hours long with a budget well over $200 million. The biggest problem was that this movie was not long and detailed enough to satisfy the real Dune fans, and too long and detailed for the mainstream. Yet this movie did well all things considered. The acting and screenplay are true to what I felt the characters would be. Even Herbert said he was impressed with the vision of the film. Kyle MacLachlan's portayal of Paul Atreides is masterfully performed for someone of his then young age. Lynch's strange and alien choices for design only serve to heighten the film. His strange yet subtle use of osmotic fluid visuals to describe hyperspace and omniscience are unearthly and almost spiritual for those few who understood it. (While everyone was just trying to figure out what was happening). I only wished this movie showed the entire novel, focusing even more on the convoluted details, mysteries, religions and cultures (which would've wierded out the mainstream audience even more than the original film did!) If you're a hardcore Dune fan, you might be turned off by the relatively short length (over 2 hours), but consider that this movie was made trying to at least break even to the mainstream audience..which was required to pay for its budget. If you're looking for a thought provoking, complex and almost spiritual film..this is it. If you're looking a fun, shoot em up sci fi you'll be very dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: Still a little confused...
Review: This is an unusual movie liberally based on an unusual book. But just because they share a quality doesn't mean they're really that similar. I'll begin with what I liked: the casting was perfect, with the actors looking as much like their characters' prose description as possible (except I don't really see Patrick Stewart as "lumpy" or "ugly," like the book-Halleck was). The acting was phenomenal, the sets were as barren and beautiful as Frank Herbert described. The special effects were great, considering they didn't exactly have the kind of computer-animation that went into present day greats like Titanic. Now for what I didn't care for: the writing. The voice-overs were good, but I give the actors the most credit there. There were times when I had to wonder if David Lynch & CO. had ever read the book. Now, after all but memorizing the book, if I watch the movie, I find myself thinking far too often: this didn't happen this way .... neither did this... etc etc. I realize that there's just no way to condense this book into even an over-long feature film and remain perfectly true to it, but I didn't feel like an attempt was always made. Perhaps a review of a movie based on a book should concentrate more on the movie, however, there's no way one can follow this movie without a pretty good understanding of the book; but after one has read the book, one is often left shaking one's head at the blatant straying from the original. Mr. Lynch definitely had his own ideas about the Bene Gesserit, portraying them as actually having supernatural powers. And nowhere in the book was there any mention of the Reverend Mothers shaving their heads. Quite the contrary, actually. Maybe I'm a bit of a purist, but I feel that, in the case of something as profound as Dune, which is rare indeed, if you can't make the film right, it shouldn't be made. A mini-series *might* be a better vehicle. But it was nice to actually see the worms and it was a huge help with pronunciation. And Kyle MacLachalan as the boy-hero was much better than many other "boy-heroes" we see in sci-fi. And kudos to all the actors for doing so much with so littl

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as it could have been, but not Lynch's fault
Review: I actually saw the 4 Hour TV version on the Sci-Fi channel first, then I read the book, then I watched this version. And I must say, this version was a bit of a disappointment. But from what I understand, that wasn't the fault of director David Lynch. He actually wanted to make a longer version, but the studio wouldn't let him because it wasn't a "popular" idea at the time. Ah, the politics of Hollywood. Anyway, the first time I saw this, I though that it was really, really, REALLY bizarre. "Dune" tells the story of Paul Atreides ( a very YOUNG Kyle MacLachlan), a young man who is moved with his family to the desert planet of Dune (or Arrakis), in order to take over the production of the essential spice called melange. Unfortunately, the move turns out to be a major trap set by the evil Harkonnens (which includes a YOUNG Sting), who kill Paul's father and wipe out most of the Atreides people. Paul and his mother are saved, and end up leading a group of desert people called Fremen in a revolt against the Emporer (who was also in on the trap) and the Harkonnens, ultimately restoring Paul to power and fulfilling a century-old prophecy of a "Chosen One" who would lead the people of Dune to a new paradise. Well, that's the basic setup, but there's so much more involved, and that's really what the movie misses. There are a thousand other elements to this story--such as the overlapping of political, economic, and religious manipulation--that the book captures in great detail, but the movie fails to fully acheive. In truth, it's a very difficult thing when someone tries to take a 500+ page book and narrow it down to a 2 1/2 hour film. I admire Lynch for trying to do it, but I think that he does fall short of the full "Dune" vision. The most annoying thing was the voiceovers, which were meant to convey what the characters were thinking and feeling. It got old after a while, with almost every character whispering to themselves, as if they were in a giant library. Plus some of the special effects are more than a little cheesy. But the cast is good, with a bunch of now-famous actors, and I love the music (provided by Toto and Brian Eno), so this film is worth seeing at least once. And I have to give it credit because it got me interested in Frank Herbert. But for the full effect, I'd recommend that you read the book.

Rating:
Summary: This Movie Kicks Ass
Review: I've seen plenty of movies in my day and i have to say this is the best movie of all times.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic! (In the Sci-Fi genre at least.)
Review: Your reaction to this movie will probably depend on whether you have read Frank Herbert's novel Dune or not. If you have not, then you will probably find your face constantly frowning, while you wonder what is going on and why. When I first saw this movie, I had not yet read the book, but I still found the movie quite enjoyable even though I knew I did not get it all. (A Warning: I am a little bit strange, but aren't we all?)

After I read the book I watched the movie again and I enjoyed it even more. In fact, it is now one of my favorites. I realize that it leaves out a lot from the novel and that Lynch adds a few of his own tweaks here and there, but books and films are two totally different mediums and I don't think a movie will ever do a good book justice.

I found this movie enjoyable for the following reasons: it's high religious content, it's not quite eighties, but not quite any musical genre soundtrack, it's sometimes awe-inspiring, sometimes hysterical special effects, and it's overall off the wall storyline.

I rated this movie four stars from a first-time viewer standpoint. Even though Lynch does a superb job with this Sci-Fi epic, I feel it could have been done in a more user-friendly manner. (Not by me though.)

Rating:
Summary: Truly the greatest story ever told!
Review: After watching the film a thousand times you truly begin to see the epic scope that is Dune and we must approach it as such.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly doesn't suck
Review: This is actually a pretty good movie for something that seemed doomed from the start. Weird director directs Messiah obsessed Science Fiction novel with epic overtones. Giant sandworms, characters thinking and oddly disturbing undertones threaten to completely obliterate all marketability.

But for what it's worth Lynch pulls it off. Kyle Maclachlin portrays a conflicted Paul Atriedes while the Harkonens are completely odious. Creepy character actor Brad Dourif is just fascinating while Sting isn't much more than a guy set up to get killed at the end of the movie. The Toto music could be removed but its got its charms.

If you ignore the slightly incomprehensible backplot this is a fairly straight forward movie about a young man exiled from his royal upbringings who fights his way back and becomes leader of the galaxy. The spiritual mumbo jumbo rendered so fascinating and realistic in the book is confusing in the movie, but not so much that you can't follow it.

One problem that I have with this movie is the whispered voice-overs. WHile the book has a character thinking something with every line he speaks, the movie renders that a little too well and we have voice-overs from beginning to end which may or may not be needed but are definitely irritating.

So, decent movie. Not as bad as some will have you believe. A very enjoyable couple of hours.

Rating:
Summary: Confused mess
Review: Dune, the critical and finacial flop that it was, should never have been made. Well, not in anything less than eight hours. I can't believe this never occured to David Lynch who gave a Readers Digest synopsis of Frank Herbert's book, the greatest sci-fi story ever written. The attempt to condense this MASSIVE story into one movie is beyond understanding - But that's Hollywood. And even Lynch's trademark eccentric touch is annoying - Think Eraserhead meets Star Wars.

The sets are actually impressive (to a degree), but the visuals are some of the worst I've ever seen for a big budget sci-fi. They look like something out of some kind of cheezy Roger Corman flick from the 60's.

You might find this movie somewhat understandable if you're a hardcore (and I do mean HARDCORE) lover of the tale. But if you haven't read the book, this movie is simply unintelligible crap.

Rating:
Summary: Dune, a masterpiece
Review: Dune is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's hard to take in and it moves slow, but is worth it in the end, especially for Sting's final scene.