Wampyrii doesn't live here any more. Play nice y'all. :)
Wampyrii doesn't live here any more. Play nice y'all. :)
Member since:15.09.2000
Reviews:772
Members who trust:111
Anyone who has ever read any of Frank Herbert's Dune novels will realise the mammoth task which stood before David Lynch when he attempted to translate the first into a respectable movie. Well mammoth task or not he set about trying and the result is well erm...questionable, but at the same time still a damn fine movie. Does that make sense? Well probably not, and neither does the movie to be fair...UNLESS you have read the novel first, otherwise you will undoubtably find youself very very lost.
I am not even going to go into the story very deeply because it is simply going to lose you otherwise. Read the book. Bascically, there is a planet where a mineral known as the spice or melange is found, the only place that this can be found. This spice is the foundation on which all sentient life forms base their lives, as it has the ability to provide stellar travel by 'folding time' the usual sci-fi kind of thing. Its a miraculous thingumy which everyone wants and only found on Arrakis. On Arrakis is a race of people known as the Frenna who believe that the Messiah will come one day to save them and take them to freedom, and when Paul Atreides and his mother find themselves lost on the planet they believe it is him. They go up against the emporer and umm well the rest is history.
This is a whistle stop tour of an extremely complicated and ultimately confusing plot after much of the movie got left on the cutting room floor. The original was some 4 hours long(?), maybe longer even but got whittled down to around two and a half. As a result there is a lot of bad editing here and some parts are very confusing and you wonder whether it would have been better to leave it alone. The movie took five years to make and it looks like 2 years worth got cuts and throw to one side. Still, if you can follow the plot then you DO have a great movie here. David Lynch's visual flair and eye for the bizarre are allowed to run pretty much wild here and his self indulgence is very much our gain. As sci-fi movies go, this is a glorious piece of eye-candy, far better than Star Wars, Close Encounters or any of the others which preceded it. The sets are huge, the variety of aliens impressive and somewhat gruesome in their design...its bizarre and I love it! The best? Well the Baron of course who is so obesely fat and disease ridden that were he to be laid down he would die because his bulk would crush all his internal organs. As a result he floats in mid air in a specially designed suit his body pock marked by oozing sores and emmm...its quite disgusting really...but its an example of just how imaginative the movie is.
There is a fine cast of actors assembled here as well to play the various roles including Max Von Sydow as the Emperor, Kyle Maclachlan('scuse spelling - never my strong point) as Paul Atrides, and well...Sting, as Feyd Rutha who is actually superb here and offers probably the best perfomance out of them all.
Its difficult to know whether to recommend this movie to you, or to tell you to avoid it like the plague, there seem to be such mixed feelings over it. Many critics see it as being a monumental, extravagant mess, whilst others claim it is brilliant - most however would tell you that its pretty confusing. I suppose the best advice I can give is that if you like sci-fi then you'll probably find something of worth here. If you like David Lynch style weirdness then again there's probably more than a little to keep you satisfied here, otherwise maybe this is one to avoid renting. Personally, the first time I saw it, it confused the hell out of me but I liked it anyway. The second time after having read the books I thought it was brilliant, but yes, it is rather full of holes and inconsistencies so you take your chances with it.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Science Fiction, Action/Adventure - Director: Greg Beeman, Allan Arkush - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Zachary Quinto, Masi Oka, Adrian Pasdar, Milo Ventimiglia, Greg Grunberg, Hayden Panettiere, Ali Larter
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Good explanation of a classic.One of my all time favourites.Subtitute spice for oil and put the warring planets on one planet and you have a story not far from home.Where the worms come in God knows?Maybe from the film 'Tremours.' Pity about the outtakes they are probably worth more than the film as it stands.What's wrong with a 5 hour film? Better than some rubbish that critics rave over!
superpricee 31.08.2001 15:38
You're absolutely spot on - it is confusing, and it's brilliant. If ever a film needed to watched more than once, then this it. By the way, 2 wee trainspotters in your op - the people who live on the planet are the Fremen, and it's Jose Ferrer that plays the Emporer; Max Von Sydow plays the doctor bloke who's lived on the planet long enough for his eyes to turn blue. Anyway, great op. cheers - Ricky
camuk84 31.08.2001 15:19
I have never heard of it, but it sounds like a very strange one. I think I'll be giving it a miss though.
Advantages: Great film, great direction, great individual performances, gripping plot Disadvantages: Slightly dodgy lighting, plot not properly explained
Cheesefather 24.01.2002 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Dune (DVD)
Advantages: Great film, great direction, great individual performances, gripping plot Disadvantages: Slightly dodgy lighting, plot not properly explained
Cheesefather 24.01.2002 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Dune (DVD)
![Dune [Special Edition]-DVD](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/103544275.jpg "Dune [Special Edition]-DVD")
![Children Of Dune [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78522515.jpg "Children Of Dune [DVD]")
![Children Of Dune [2003] Dvd Box Set | Cox Sealed](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/127790944.jpg "Children Of Dune [2003] Dvd Box Set | Cox Sealed")
very helpful by (95%):
helpful by (5%):
