Dune
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In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.
What critics thought
DivisiveLynch's adaptation was savaged on release — critics found it narratively impenetrable, visually incoherent, and a poor use of its enormous budget — but a persistent counter-current has always argued that its surreal strangeness is a feature, not a bug. The central argument isn't whether it's flawed (everyone agrees it is) but whether those flaws are redeemed by the film's alien visual imagination.
“This movie is a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Several of the characters in Dune are psychic, which puts them in the unique position of being able to understand what goes on in the movie”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“Dune is a huge, hollow, imaginative, and cold sci-fi epic. Visually unique and teeming with incident, David Lynch's film holds the interest due to its abundant surface attractions, but won't, of its own accord, create the sort of fanaticism which has made Frank Herbert's 1965 novel one of the all-time favorites in its genre.”
Variety
“Most sci-fi movies offer escape, a holiday from homework, but Dune is as difficult as a final exam. You have to cram for it.”
Richard Corliss·Time
“It was a book that shouldn't have been shot. It was a script that couldn't have been written. It was a directorial job that was beyond anyone's doing ... and yet the film was made”
Harlan Ellison·Harlan Ellison's Watching
Accolades
Genres
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Cast & Crew
David LynchDirector
Kyle MacLachlanPaul Atreides
Francesca AnnisLady Jessica
Patrick StewartGurney Halleck
Linda HuntShadout Mapes
José FerrerPadisha Emperor Shaddam IV
Freddie JonesThufir Hawat
Brad DourifPiter De Vries
Richard JordanDuncan Idaho
Virginia MadsenPrincess Irulan
Silvana ManganoReverend Mother Ramallo
Everett McGillStilgar
StingFeyd Rautha
Brian EnoComposer
David PaichComposer
Jeff PorcaroComposer
Mike PorcaroComposer
Steve PorcaroComposer
Steve LukatherComposer
Daniel LanoisComposer
Roger EnoComposer
James Newton HowardComposer
Frank HerbertWriter
Freddie FrancisCinematographyDune
In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.
What critics thought
DivisiveLynch's adaptation was savaged on release — critics found it narratively impenetrable, visually incoherent, and a poor use of its enormous budget — but a persistent counter-current has always argued that its surreal strangeness is a feature, not a bug. The central argument isn't whether it's flawed (everyone agrees it is) but whether those flaws are redeemed by the film's alien visual imagination.
“This movie is a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Several of the characters in Dune are psychic, which puts them in the unique position of being able to understand what goes on in the movie”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“Dune is a huge, hollow, imaginative, and cold sci-fi epic. Visually unique and teeming with incident, David Lynch's film holds the interest due to its abundant surface attractions, but won't, of its own accord, create the sort of fanaticism which has made Frank Herbert's 1965 novel one of the all-time favorites in its genre.”
Variety
“Most sci-fi movies offer escape, a holiday from homework, but Dune is as difficult as a final exam. You have to cram for it.”
Richard Corliss·Time
“It was a book that shouldn't have been shot. It was a script that couldn't have been written. It was a directorial job that was beyond anyone's doing ... and yet the film was made”
Harlan Ellison·Harlan Ellison's Watching
Accolades
Genres
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Cast & Crew
David LynchDirectorKyle MacLachlanPaul AtreidesFrancesca AnnisLady JessicaPatrick StewartGurney HalleckLinda HuntShadout MapesJosé FerrerPadisha Emperor Shaddam IVFreddie JonesThufir HawatBrad DourifPiter De VriesRichard JordanDuncan IdahoVirginia MadsenPrincess IrulanSilvana ManganoReverend Mother RamalloEverett McGillStilgarStingFeyd RauthaBrian EnoComposerDavid PaichComposerJeff PorcaroComposerMike PorcaroComposerSteve PorcaroComposerSteve LukatherComposerDaniel LanoisComposerRoger EnoComposerJames Newton HowardComposerFrank HerbertWriterFreddie FrancisCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy