Dune is the one of the best known science fiction works on the Lord of the Rings level with fantasy! This will serve not only as a review of the film, but a primer of sorts for the novel and upcoming Denis Villeneuve movie. It is of course based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert who later continued the story four years later with Dune Messiah (1969) and then four more books! here were fourteen more novels by Brian Herbert, one of the executive producers on the new film, and Kevin J. Anderson. The film was written and directed by David Lynch who was just coming from working on The Elephant Man (1980).
Dune Heretic (1984) also came out at the same year as the movie. SyFy later produced mini-series for Dune (2000) and Children of Dune (2003). The beginning of the film has a star field and then we see the face of Princess Irulan (Virginia Madsen). The actress recently was in the Swamp Thing series. Irulan is known as a royal historian and also a Bene Gesserit, more on the Sisterhood later. She states that it is the year 10,191, a time far beyond anything we know of Earth, but the universe now is almost unrecognizable. Irulan explains that the universe is ruled by Emperor Shaddam IV, of the House Corrino, her father.
The universe is broken up by different Houses in much the same way as Game of Thrones. I suspected a resemblance when I read Game of Thrones (1996); a ruling House, an honorable House faces a powerful, ruthless House, there is a Shieldwall except in GoT it is made of ice, and instead of Sandworms, there is dragons. Irulan continues explaining the importance of the spice, melange. She notes the many advantages of the spice including the power to fold space used by the Navigator Guild. This is a departure from typical sci fi which uses technology, warp speed, to cross intergalactic distances.
Irulan then notes that the spice is on just one planet, Arrakis known as Dune, the homeworld of the desert people called the Fremen. They have a prophecy that a messiah will come to them. This is a massive exposition dump, but Madsen is a good narrator. We also the beginning of the score by the band Toto. The lead singer of Toto is Joseph Williams, the son of John Williams, he wrote the lyrics for songs in Return of the Jedi (1983). Then, we get more exposition with a report from the Spacing Guild noting that spice production is in danger. There are four planets involved; Arrakis, Caladan, the world of House Artredies, Giedi Prime, the dark planet of House Harkonnen, and the ringed planet of Kaitan, home to the Emperor.
The report ends with sending a Third Stage Guild Navigator to demand details from the Emperor. There was a Guild Navigator, but that was in Dune Messiah. The Guild ship lands next to the Emperor’s palace, the strange humanoids who walk out are dressed in black outfits like hazmat suits. The Emperor played by José Ferrer, who won an Academy Award for Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), sits on his golden throne. His court including Irulan are sent away and he is joined by his advisor, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Siân Phillips). She played the witch Charal in Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985). Mohiam is leader of the Bene Gesserit order that is group of all women who possess many abilities.
The Emperor wants her to monitor the meeting through telepathy. A large black tank that spews smoke enters and the head of the Bene Gesserit is sent away. We hear the interior thoughts of the different characters. The panels of the tank retract revealing spice gas and the strange, floating Navigator. It looks almost worm-like with a bulbous head, pock-marked cheeks, and a sieve-like mouth. The creature design is by Carlo Rambaldi who also worked on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). The Navigator demands to know the Emperor’s plans and he explains that the Atreides have developed a secret weapon using sound (added by Lynch).
The Emperor threatened by the popular Duke Atreides is sending the house to Arrakis removing their enemy, the Harkonnen. Baron Harkonnen will then attack and destroy House Artiedes. The Navigator insists that the Emperor kill Paul Arteides and Reverend Mother Mohiam says that she should find out about Paul Artreides. Then, we get Planet Caladan which has stormy seas, a great contrast to Dune. Irulan explains that the Bene Gesserit was manipulating bloodlines for generations to create the Kwisatz Haderach, the messianiac being. One of their order, Lady Jessica, was only supposed to have daughters, but her love for the duke gave them a son.
We see a strange glowglobe pass by in the room of Paul Artreides played by Kyle MacLachlan. A first role for the actor, but he is older than the fifteen year-old character in the novel. He would collaborate again with Lynch with the part of Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks starting in 1990. Paul is young, conflicted by his visions, has to find his place in all of the political factions, and face his destiny. He is in his room looking at a computer pad of the different planets and the Harkonnens.
Paul hears footsteps, three men enter; Thufir Hawat (Freddie Jones), Mentat and Master of Assassins, Dr. Yeuh (Dean Stockwell), a Suk doctor that are well known as the finest medical personnel, he has a diamond tatoo on his forehead, a symbol of Imperial Conditioning that promises loyalty, and Gurney Halleck (Patrick Stewart), Warmaster for House Artreides. Mentats are like the Maesters in Game of Thrones, advisors who fill in the role of computers since they were banned in the Butlerian Jihad. Jones played Mr. Bytes in The Elephant Man. Stockwell is known for the sci-fi time travel series, Quantum Leap. Stewart of course is a well known actor, this was three years before he became Jean-Luc Picard.
Paul has his back turned, but identifies them with a wry smile. Gurney tells Paul they will have shield practice. He draws a dagger and activates his shield, this is an unusual field made of distorted blocks, in the novel it is created by a Holtzman generator on the belt. The shield is projected around a body, it deflects objects that are fast, so combat is with blades. Still, a lasgun against a shield creates a nuclear explosion! They deflect each other with strikes and Paul holds his dagger steadily toward Gurney’s neck, but sees Gurney also has a blade through the shield!
Afterwards, Paul asks Yueh about the Fremen, he is told that they have “blue within blue eyes” from the spice. Thufir has Dr. Yueh place a Weirding module on Paul, a weapon that uses sound, in the book the Bene Gesserit use a fighting technique called the Weirding Way. It is striking with such speed that it looks like a fighter is almost teleporting. Paul has a neck device and a weapon that uses against a training robot almost like something out of steampunk. Later, Paul sees Duncan Idaho (Richard Jordan), Swordmaster of the Ginaz, sorta like Game of Thrones’ Syrio Forel. Jordan of course was in Logan’s Run (1976).
Then, Paul goes to speak with his father, Duke Leto Artreides (Jürgen Prochnow), similar to Ned Stark. He says words that a pivotal to Paul’s destiny, “The Sleeper must awaken.” Paul has dreams of Arrakis; the threatening face of a Harkonnen prince, Feyd Rautha (Sting), and then a Fremen woman, Chani (Sean Young) talking to him. Sting also starred in The Bride (1985) which is interesting since the Alejandro Jodorowsky intended Mick Jagger to play the character in his Dune film. Young starred as Rachael in Blade Runner (1982).
Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis) meets with Reverend Mother Mohiam. Annis played the Widow of the Web in the fantasy movie Krull (1983). Her black dress has a large hood that also serves as protection from the rain. The head of the Bene Gesserit meets with Paul, this is opening of the novel, she gives him the test of the gom jibbar. He places his hand into a box and has Mohiam has a gom jibbar needle ready to kill him if he removes his hand. Paul resolves himself to passing the test with his saying, “Fear is the mind killer.”
We see then the planet Geidi Prime, an industrial planet with statues of gaping mouths. Mentat Piter De Vries (Brad Dourif) pilots a cable vehicle to deliver the Duke’s message. Dourif is of course Wormtongue in the Lord of the Rings films. The Mentats also have bizarre, long eyebrows. He reaches the green-tinted, walled palace where soldiers in black uniforms like hazmat suits complete with gas mask and carry gatling gun-like rifles.
Baron Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan) is in chair getting his pock-marked face drained of blood. McMillan later started in the horror film adapting Stephen King stories in Cat’s Eye (1985). He brings in his nephews, Feyd-Rautha and Rabban (Paul L. Smith), the actor was later in the swords and sorcery movie Red Sonja (1985). Rabban is cruelly nicknamed the Beast. The Duke activates his suspensors to float his massive weight and declares that he will take Arrakis. We return to the elegance and nobility of the Artreides as they leave in a shuttle to the Guild Heighliner, a massive, tube-like, ship which takes the entire planet of ships (!) to Arrakis.
The Atreides descend in their ships to the city of Arakeen, at the northern region of the planet, with the Shield Wall also offering protection. It was the former home of Count Fenrig who may play a part in the Denis Villeneuve movie. Duke Leto meets with Duncan Idaho who is in a still suit, this is the Fremen’s suit that filters moisture from the body into catchpockets, an impressive design by Bob Ringwood, who also designed the costumes in Excalibur (1981) and Batman (1989). They activate the house shield.
Then, Duke Leto and Paul meet with Liet Kynes (Max von Sydow) and Gurney Halleck, all in stillsuits. Von Sydow passed away last year, but had a great part as Emperor Ming in Flash Gordon (1980). Kynes introduces himself as the Imperial Ecologist, but Paul suspects he is Fremen. He is impressed that Paul has put on the stillsuit in Fremen fashion. They take an ornithopter to check on spice mining operations. In this film, disappointingly, it looks like a triangle, gold-colored pod, but the novel has a flying vehicle with flapping wings! The “ornithopter” crosses the Shield Wall and flies across the desert. They see a dust cloud that is an indication of spice mining.
Duke Leto sees wormsign, in the film, electrical currents in what may be static electricity. Kynes contacts the spice harvester about the worm. The harvester is a wheeled factory with a massive dome. He explains to the duke that a carryall, the film has it as a pyramid-like ship, it will lift away the spice harvester at the last minute. The mining crew finds that there is no sign of the carryall. Duke Leto realizes that the Harkonnens have sabotaged the carryall and orders all miners to evacuate to the ornithopter. He compromises his presence and by doing so impresses Kynes that he worries about his people more than the spice.
The ornithopter leaves as the spice harvester is swallowed by the massive jaws of the sandworm. Earlier, Yeuh said that there were reports of sandworms that are 450 meters long, at skyscraper dimensions! They attack any vibrations, walking on the desert, and Fremen honor them. Fremen use their discard teeth in their crysknives! We later find Chani, daughter of Liet Kynes, and Stiller (Everett McGill), leader of Sietch Tabr. McGill is well known as Big Ed Hurley in Twin Peaks.
Paul must survive the ambush of the Harkonnens and find a place with the Fremen. He also gets a baby sister, Alia (Alicia Witt), she becomes important later, and becomes like Arya Stark. It is a fair adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel, he liked the adaptation, but wasn't pleased with all of the changes. David Lynch’s Dune is ambitious, there are memorable moments and lines from the film, and just an odd vision of sci fi and world building! "He who controls the spice, controls the universe!"
Four Crysknives out of Five!
#Dune, #DavidLynch, #KyleMacLachlan, #SeanYoung, #FrancescaAnnis, #PatrickStewart, #SianPhillips, #KennethMcMillan, #JoseFerrer
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