 Dazzling special effects, unforgettable images and powerful performances highlight David Lynch's stunning film version of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction epic about an intergalactic warrior's messianic rise. Starring Kyle MacLachlan, José Ferrer, Max von Sydow, Oscar winner Linda Hunt and Sting, Dune is the ultimate adventure experience that goes beyond the imagination. Cast Notes: Francesca Annis (Lady Jessica), Leonardo Cimino (The Baron's Doctor), Brad Dourif (Piter De Vries), José Ferrer (Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV), Linda Hunt (Shadout Mapes), Freddie Jones (Thufir Hawat), Richard Jordan (Duncan Idaho), Kyle MacLachlan (Paul Atreides), Virginia Madsen (Princess Irulan), Silvana Mangano (Reverend Mother Ramallo), Everett McGill (Stilgar), Kenneth McMillan (Baron Vladimir Harkonnen), Jack Nance (Nefud), Siân Phillips (Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam [as Sian Phillips]), Jürgen Prochnow (Duke Leto Atreides), Sting (Feyd Rautha). User Comment: Nergal-Is-Risen from Where I am now, 22 December 2004 • Yeah, DUNE sure is the runt of the Lynch litter but there are still aspects of it that I really love, even for all its cockeyed, club-footed awkwardness. I didn't see this movie for approximately a decade because it had the reputation, still held in most quarters, of being one of the most infamous bombs of recent memory. However, despite my initial indifference I caught it - by complete accident - on free-to-air TV one night and was immediately hooked from the first sight of its memorable, unexpected future-baroque production design. From that point on, being led through the strange world of the Emperor and his entourage on Kaitain, the oddly-garbed Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, and the Guild Navigator emissaries in all their variously-staged mutated splendour, I was hopelessly infatuated with all things DUNE. Now, I am fully aware that by most conventional definitions DUNE is not a good film. Actually, since having read all the books in the DUNE saga I am astonished to think that anybody thought that such a property could ever be a commercially viable option for mainstream cinema. It has concepts that tend to demand your full attention, which is mostly box office poison. However I loved the sheer scope of it, the fact that I was being bombarded with scores of unfamiliar terms and concepts which to me had always been the essence of pure science fiction. That it made for a choppy and often confusing cinematic experience mattered to me not at all. I was too much in love with the idea of it all and the weird, alien ambiance which only Lynch could have given the movie. Atreides, Harkonnens, Mentats, Fremen, Sandworms - I just wanted more, more, more. Superb cast, alluring music, stunning visuals - all contributing to an uncommonly arresting, unquestionably unique, cinematic experience. For all its failures I can't even imagine what any contemporary of Lynch might have done with the material. My point is this: David Lynch's DUNE, warts and all, made me excited enough to want to read all the books in Herbert's sprawling saga. These volumes had been around for years. I'd seen them gathering dust in my local public library yet I felt no compulsion to read them. After seeing DUNE I couldn't wait to rush down and grab them off the shelves. That's why I'll always defend the film and why I refuse to write it off as the disastrous failure that so many regard it to be. In my mind DUNE is a success because it completely sold me on Frank Herbert's universe - a no more strangely beautiful, intellectually stimulating nor fascinating one had I ever seen on film - and compelled me to go ever further into it. I do accept most of the criticisms that the casual moviegoer has of the film but I simply can't hate it. In short, if you are curious about the film and are familiar with all the bad and discouraging press it has received over the years, yet remain a fan of exceptional fantasy or science fiction, do not be discouraged. You may find that it has elements that may just move you, bewilder you, or tantalise your imagination. You may come to agree, like a growing number of us, that it really is not so deserving of the excoriation that it has suffered at the hands - or pens - of its harshest critics. If you go into it with a forgiving mindset then you may be well rewarded. And then - if you haven't already - read the saga itself. It is formidably great! Summary: I come to praise 'Dune', not to bury it... IMDb Rating (10/16/10): 6.5/10 from 38,738 users
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