“A CAN OF SANDWORMS”

By Raymond Benson

In anticipation of the upcoming release of Denis Villeneuve’s remake, the excellent boutique label Arrow Video has issued a superb 2-disk Limited Edition package of David Lynch’s 1984 film, Dune. It comes in two versions—one in 4K Ultra HD, and the other in standard Blu-ray.

Filmmaker David Lynch today refuses to discuss Dune, which he made for producer Dino De Laurentiis (the actual producer was his daughter, Raffaella De Laurentiis) for a whopping $40-42 million. It was a colossal flop at the time, was critically reviled, and audiences didn’t care much for it either. However, over the years, Dune has gained a cult following and it assuredly has its share of defenders, including Frank Herbert, the author of the original 1965 novel.

The history of the production has long been a topic of discussion among film historians and cinephiles. Attempts to film the complex, epic science fiction tome began shortly after the book’s publication. Perhaps Alejandro Jodorowsky’s version has the most legendary status in Duneworld, but his vision never made it past some pre-production work. Producer Arthur P. Jacobs had his fingers in the sand at one time, and even Ridley Scott wanted to make the movie.

Laurentiis ended up with the rights, and he hired Lynch, fresh off the success of The Elephant Man (1980), to write and direct. Lynch had reportedly been offered the job to direct Return of the Jedi around the same time, but he chose to go with Dune. He has regretted it ever since, for he had no idea what a can of worms—er, sandworms—he was opening.

The challenge was to condense the complicated story into a feature-length film. The smart thing at the time would have been to create a television miniseries (as was done by others years later). Lynch’s first assembly after shooting wrapped was around four hours long (prior to post-production visual effects work), but the producer was required by the studio (Universal) to deliver a motion picture half that length. Lynch’s theatrical cut clocked in at two hours and seventeen minutes, and therein lies the problem with Dune.

Dune is a multi-hour story; there is simply no way to tell it in two hours and seventeen minutes. After the experience of making Dune, Lynch would forever insist on creative final cut on anything he would make.

To attempt to capsulize the story in a paragraph is absurd, but here goes. We’re in a universe where noble families residing on different planets vie for control of a desert world called Arrakis, or “Dune,” the source for the most valuable commodity in space—the spice “mélange,” which not only gives consumers the ability to foresee the future but also provides the Spacing Guild the power to “fold space,” i.e., achieve interplanetary travel in the blink of an eye. Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan, in his first film role) is the son of Dune’s current custodian, Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow), and he may or may not be the “Kwisatz Haderach,” a super being who is more a less a messiah of an otherworldly religion. The emperor (José Ferrer) distrusts Leto and gives Baron Harkkonnen (Kenneth McMillan) the green light to attack House Atreides and kill Leto. Paul escapes the slaughter of his people and hides out with his mother, Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis) in the desert among the indigenous Fremen people and the gigantic sandworms that produce the spice. Will Paul become the Kwisatz Haderach, eliminate House Harkkonnen, and take back control of Dune? Only a spoiler will answer that.

So… despite the rather negative reputation Dune has, there is quite a lot to admire about it. Firstly, if one is a fan of David Lynch and his rather unique visual sensibilities, the picture is a feast of wonder, awe, and eye candy. No other movie looks like Dune. Hats off to production designer Anthony Masters who, with Lynch at the helm, created a fantastically grotesque and gorgeously macabre world in which the story takes place. It is part cyberpunk and Jules Verne and yet also very Lynchian in terms of the organically bizarre. Secondly, the cast is terrific. Besides the aforementioned actors named in the synopsis above, we also are treated to eccentric performances by Sean Young, Max von Sydow, Everitt McGill, Brad Dourif, Sting, Dean Stockwell, Linda Hunt, Virginia Madsen, Freddie Jones, Patrick Stewart, Richard Jordan, Paul Smith, Leonardo Cimino, Jack Nance, and many others. Thirdly, technical aspects are top-notch. The visual effects are wondrous and weird, and the cinematography by the great Freddie Francis is masterful. Fourthly, there is no question that the direction displays a command of style and mood that only Lynch can evoke. There is a poetry and melancholy and horror about the proceedings that is unquestionably Lynch’s doing.

Unfortunately, though, all this isn’t enough. Dune fails to engage an audience in its very heady tale that is meant to be as profound as it is visually scrumptious. Lynch was forced to cram important exposition and wholesale sequences into short monologues and dream sequences. It is understandable that those unfamiliar with the novel were completely bewildered by the movie (this reviewer was already well familiar with the book in 1984 and thus enjoyed the picture—to a point—more than most).

Still… for fans of David Lynch and Frank Herbert… Dune is worth seeing.

Arrow Video’s Limited Edition 2-disk package is impressive. The new 4K restoration of the movie itself looks spectacular, much improved over previous releases. It comes with an original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround sound, and optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired. Two new audio commentaries accompany the picture—one by film historian Paul M. Sammon, and another by Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast.

Supplements abound. A few are port-overs from previous home video releases, which include a 2003 documentary on the making of the film, and several featurettes on the technical aspects of the picture. Approximately fifteen minutes of deleted scenes, introduced by producer Raffaella De Laurentiis, are also repeated from an earlier Blu-ray release. Brand new supplements include an excellent feature on the score by Toto (and Brian Eno, for one track), featuring interviews with band members Steve Lukather and Steve Porcaro. A piece on Dune merchandising hosted by toy collector/producer Brian Stillman is interesting for the history of the misguided marketing campaign for a film that couldn’t possibly appeal to children. There is a new interview with makeup effects artist Giannetto de Rossi, and archive interviews with production coordinator Golda Offenheim, actor Paul Smith, and makeup effects artist Christopher Tucker. Destination Dune is a 1983 featurette used to promote the movie at conventions and publicity events. Theatrical trailers, TV spots, and an image gallery round out the disk supplements.

There are goodies, too! A 60-page booklet contains writings by Andrew Nette, Christian McCrea, and Charlie Brigden; a 1984 American Cinematographer interview with sound designer Alan Splet; excerpts from the book Lynch on Lynch; and a Dune terminology glossary. There’s a large fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dániel Taylor, as well as postcard-sized lobby card reproductions. The jewel case sports a reversible sleeve with the original artwork on one side and the new art by Taylor on the other.

No matter what one might think of David Lynch’s Dune, Arrow Video’s Limited Edition release is worth a revisit. Dune may have been a failure, but it is a puzzling, glorious, and fascinating piece of cinematic art that is one of a kind.

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