Nearly four decades before the current award-winning “Dune” franchise started to rake in big bucks at the box office, David Lynch’s take on Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel hit theaters on Dec. 14, 1984. However, unlike the present-day “Dune” films by Denis Villeneuve, Lynch’s space opera was an epic failure at the box office. But over the years, it has become a well-loved cult classic in which a bevy of well-known performers gather in a visually graphic and bizarre space adventure that could only come from the imagination of Lynch. Read on as we celebrate the “Dune” 40th anniversary, starring a then-unknown Kyle MacLachlan.
Due to its overwhelming popularity, there had been previous attempts to translate the award-winning novel onto film, the first of which stalled in the early 1970s when attached producer Arthur P. Jacobs died unexpectedly. In 1974, a French consortium obtained the film rights, with Alejandro Jodorowsky selected to direct. Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, Gloria Swanson, David Carradine, and Mick Jagger were among the cast, with Pink Floyd among the performers set to provide music. So massive was this director’s vision that it inspired a 2013 documentary detailing how Jodorowsky’s script would result in a 14-hour film, ultimately leading to enormous pre-production costs and creative conflicts with the studio that doomed the project.
The rights were next picked up in 1976 by Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis, who began collaborations with director Ridley Scott in 1979. Scott planned to make a two-part adaptation, but eventually dropped out due to the amount of time it would entail, forcing De Laurentiis to move on, and eventually, to find Lynch.
Lynch had first received recognition for his controversial underground cult film “Eraserhead” in 1977, and later for “Elephant Man,” for which he received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (shared) in 1981, and which attracted the attention of De Laurentiis’s daughter Raffaella, who recommended him for the “Dune” project. Lynch also envisioned a two-part epic, but instead condensed the massive story into one film. He then assembled an impressive cast of up-and-coming actors as well as veterans, some (for its time) impressive visuals and a culled-together storyline that struggles to make sense — all of which comes together in 1980s campy glory that has made it a cult favorite.
MacLachlan made his film debut as Paul, the honorable heir to the House of Atreides, who seeks to gain control of the planet Arrakis, which is home to the valuable life-enhancing spice melange. His efforts are hampered by the pus-faced, rotund floating mass known as Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan), and the gigantic sandworms that dominate Arrakis. He is aided by his mother Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis), who is part of a sisterhood of women with superhuman powers, and, later, by a psychedelic trip he endures after drinking the deadly Water of Life.
In a time when the “Star Wars” franchise had filmgoers eager for more space adventures, a story with a young hero fighting evil forces to save his people — and one based on a best-selling novel to boot — should have been the blockbuster smash it set out to be. There’s also a cast of veteran actors that includes Oscar winners Jose Ferrer and Linda Hunt, and Oscar nominee Brad Dourif, as well as up-and-coming starlets Virginia Madsen and Sean Young. And then there’s the adorable pug who is such a faithful member of the House of Atreides, that he storms into battle strapped to the chest of warrior Gurney Hillock (Patrick Stewart). A film brimming with a young hero, beautiful young maidens, a sisterhood of women with superhuman powers and a little doggie whose sole purpose seems to be his cuteness — so, what went wrong? As often happens, the studio stepped in and demanded a shorter runtime than could sustain the events of the story.
Lynch’s original cut of the film ran nearly three hours long, and the studio wanted a typical two-hour movie. To accommodate, Lynch and the De Laurentiises cut scenes, filmed new ones to condense plot elements, included an introduction by Madsen and added breathy voice-over narrations that acted as the characters’ summary of events. What remained was a plot that was difficult to follow unless the viewer had read the books, and melodramatic narration that added a fine layer of cheesiness. The movie not only failed to make a profit, but didn’t even recoup its costs, and was considered a box office bomb.
Over the years, other versions have been released utilizing some of the cut footage, but Lynch chose to have his name removed from those variations, and credit is given to “Alan Smithee” (a moniker used by directors who disavow a film). Although Lynch has been approached about putting together a director’s cut, he has largely distanced himself from the finished product and rarely discusses it.
“Dune” nearly ended MacLachlan’s career. With the negative reviews and box office, he failed to win any parts despite numerous auditions. However, Lynch believed in the young actor, and cast him in “Blue Velvet,” which was released to rave reviews in 1986, and has worked steadily since.
As the years have passed, so has some of the original criticism, and fans have grown to appreciate not only the effort Lynch and crew put in, but to enjoy the 1980s pure campiness. Where else can you see a more odd pairing than MacLachlan and Sting in a duel to the death? Or see that same rock star in a pair of unforgettable space underpants? Or see the voice behind Chucky as the mad sidekick to a floating mass of delightfully pure evil? It might not be the award-winning version that has wowed audiences of late, but the “Dune” of 1984 still found its place in cult cinema history. It’s worth a watch just for the pug.
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