Dune (1984)

Amazingly boring

Ok, the special effects are great for the time this movie was made, but that's really all this movie has going for it. I am most disappointed by having to give this a full star rating. The plot is mechanical with a lame voice-over back story. The characters shallow and lacking any legitimate motivations or redeeming quality. Honestly, I can't see what all the hype is about. July 21, 2008

A story too complex for a standard movie

The novel Dune is far too complex to be compressed into the standard 2 or 3 hour movie.

However, David Lynch has in fact successfully managed to summarize not only the basic story concept, but accurately captured the essence and spirit of the characters, the settings, and general atmosphere as depicted in Frank Herbert's most excellent book. The well-crafted soundtrack also greatly enhances this very worthy depiction, and a striking soundtrack can sometimes make all the difference for a film.

Some purely cinematic improvisations were added in order to make an attempt to sell the film to the audience of the time (the use of sonic-enhanced energy weapons, etc.). This will be noted by erudite fans of Mr. Herbert's writing, but the end result was in fact fully endorsed by the author himself. As Herbert's stories are generally more inclined to be of the most intellectual aspects of science-fiction, they are not easily condensed into simple action-oriented features such as Star Wars and Star Trek.

Dune...is merely chapter one in a series of ongoing novels, a tale of human evolution and human potential. Interweaving aspects such as theology, ecology, political and military science, Dune was a book which actually needed a mini-series in order to put everything into perspective. This was finally done in 2000, but it lacks the power that Lynch's visually spectacular film presented. July 18, 2008

David Lynch was right!?!

Well after reading several reviews from people who had great intentions and obviously are Dune fans, I have to tell you ... on my copy of this movie which I bought last month(extended version) it also has the original movie on one side of the double sided disk... Boy did I get lucky!!... David Lynch was right not to put his name to the extended version...that being said I am glad I bought this dvd ... it still has great value with the original movie on it... One thing the original has is the flavor if you will of the book... having read the book first there is a mystic quality ... its like reading the bible....there is this general acceptance of events in a mystical fashion that makes the original movie true to the book...if you didn't read the book you may be missing that quality and the extended version might really work for you.
Lord of the Rings was the same way.. there was plenty missing from the book content of the series but Jackson was true to the flavor .. the mystic quality of the books. We saw the same thing with the movie Wing Commander... Chris Roberts was true to the original writing for the PC games, yet, if you had never played the games you might have looked at the movie from a much different perspective. The original Dune Movie has this Mystic quality .... the material is doled before you to give you these feelings and the feelings guide you through the story. This Story is a Messianic journey, a mystical tale, the book reflects that tone and so does the original movie. Knowing that,had I made the original movie, I certainly would not have put my name on the extended version, however, there are plenty of fans of the original movie that have never read the book! David Lynch was right!?! I think it is a matter of perspective.. but, I'm sure glad they put the theatrical edition on the flip side of the disk.. whew!! I gave this 4 stars...I also still play the PC games.. Dune 2(Dos) and Dune 2000 and I loved the book series.Dune (Extended Edition) June 3, 2008

The extended version is the better of the two.

The 2 hour 17 minute theatrical version is awful,
compared to the 2 hour 57 extended version.

The main reason is that the theatrical version
contains a scene which you do not want to watch,
for it is sickening. It is a scene depicting
the abuse of a boy by a man. It is a scene of
R_obert A_lpha P_epper E_dward. Why other
reviewers would speak fondly of the theatrical
version, I do not know. For it is sickening.

The extended version however, has redeeming
qualities, for what it leaves out, and what
is added.

Another point to consider is that the phrase,
"water of life" appears in both versions.
But to what does this phrase refer to? For
this phrase "water of life" appears in the
Bible (KJV).

In stores ("christian" as well as secular)
you might find poster art, with scripture
from the Bible imprinted upon them. I
find this practise, offensive, to associate
verses from the Bible, with images some
photographer has chosen. For when you come
across that verse in the future, will you
think of that picture? Will you associate
that verse you saw on the poster, with the
image upon that poster? If you hear the
words, "Uncle Sam wants you", does an image
appear in your mind? During WW2, a poster
was created, of a character called "Uncle
Sam", and the caption under his image read,
'Uncle Sam wants you'.

That said, there are two kinds of life.
For it is written that if you want to save
your life, you must lose your life.

In this movie, I guess, the life they refer
to is the life the world offers. The wages
of sin is death. He drinks this life, but
he lives. Duality is an interesting word.
But why would you call what is not life,
life? Why would you refer to sinful behaviour,
for example, as a lifestyle?

Duality is an interesting word. How can a word
have two different meanings, each opposing the
other? George Orwell called this phenomena,
doublespeak, in his book, 1984. For example,
does this word human (ewe + man) refer to a
female man (ie, woman) only? For an ewe
lamb is a female lamb.

If you are a Christian, or a Jew, you may wish
to avoid this movie, for the phrase "water of
life" appears in this film, and I don't think
you want to be reminded of this movie, should
you see (hear) that phrase, again, elsewhere.

May 7, 2008

THE BEST.

THIS MOVIE IS GREAT. NOTE: IT IS LONG, SO YOU NEED A LITTLE PATIENCE. THE ACTING IS THE BEST. GREAT PLOT. GREAT COSTUMES ETC.... IT DOES HAVE SOME GREAT COMBAT AND ACTION SCENES AND SOME GREAT SUSPENSE. THE STORY IS LONG. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A BUNCH OF BLOOD AND GUTS, THIS IS PROBABLY TOO INTELLECTUALLY COMPLICATED FOR YOUR TASTES. THE FIRST TIME I WATCHED IT, I THOUGHT IT WAS OK. I WATCHED IT A SECOND TIME THE VERY NEXT DAY. I LOVED IT. WHY, I UNDERSTOOD THE PLOT AND DETAILS DURING THE 2ND VIEWING. April 11, 2008

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