Dune (1984)
Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 38
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 17
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 2.2/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 4
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 68,622
My Rating
Movie Info
David Lynch wades through dark waters in his adaptation of Frank Herbert's cult science fiction novel. In condensing Herbert's rambling and complex book by eliminating characters and compacting events, Lynch succeeds in rendering the story incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the novel and making the film look like a sketchy greatest hits collection of the book for Herbert fans. The story takes place in the year 10,191. The universe is governed through a system of feudal rule, presided over
Dec 14, 1984 Wide
Mar 16, 1998
MCA Universal Home Video
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Cast
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Francesca Annis
Lady Jessica -
Leo Cimino
The Baron's Doctor -
Brad Dourif
Piter De Vries -
José Ferrer
Padishah Emperor Shadda... -
Linda Hunt
Shadout Mapes -
Freddie Jones
Thufir Hawat -
Richard Jordan
Duncan Idaho -
Kyle MacLachlan
Paul Atreides -
Virginia Madsen
Princess Irulan -
Silvana Mangano
Rev. Mother Ramallo -
Everett McGill
Stilgar -
Kenneth McMillan
Baron Vladimir Harkonne... -
Jack Nance
Nefud -
Sian Phillips
Reverend Mother Gaius H... -
Jürgen Prochnow
Duke Leto Atreides -
Paul L. Smith
The Beast Rabban -
Patrick Stewart
Gurney Halleck -
Sting
Feyd-Rautha -
Dean Stockwell
Dr. Wellington Yueh -
Max von Sydow
Dr. Kynes -
Alicia Witt
Alia -
Sean Young
Chani -
Daniel Bryan Corkill
Honorato Magalone -
Judd Omen
Molly Wyrn -
Honorato Magaloni
Otheym -
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Dune Trailer & Photos
All Critics (40) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (27) | Rotten (18) | DVD (35)
Most sci-fi movies offer escape, a holiday from homework, but Dune is as difficult as a final exam. You have to cram for it.
The problem is that the imagery isn't rooted in any story impulse, and so its power dissipates quickly.
Dune is a huge, hollow, imaginative and cold sci-fi epic.
Lynch's third feature may have been a commercial disaster, but it gets under your skin and is marked by unforgettable images and an extraordinary soundtrack.
Top CriticThis movie is a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time.
Several of the characters in Dune are psychic, which puts them in the unique position of being able to understand what goes on in the movie.
Critics at the time labeled it "confusing"; I don't see how, considering that you hear what everyone is thinking, all the time, and they repeat their key thoughts constantly so that their actual acting never has to do the job of telling the story.
There's not a shred of humor in it, and it's a bleak look at humanity's future. But I was swept into the fantastic world.
What we get, at best, are enthralling shots. At worst, most scenes seem out of a stilted chamber-drama, with backstory-burdened dialogue and stiff lines. A soporific languor often takes hold. Certain moments just come off as kitschy.
Misconceived, incomprehensible, and only decently executed, Dune is arguably Lynch's weakest film in an otherwise brilliant output.
It's not for everyone, but if you don't mind the brain-bending confusion of the plot and occasional feeling of '80s high camp, this isn't as bad as its detractors would have it.
Mammoth, unwieldy and completely ahead of its time.
Visually delightful but choppy, confusing, and overloaded with exposition.
Anyone looking for a satisfying and coherent science fiction epic will have to look elsewhere.
Now, in a far less Star Wars saturated landscape, Dune can be viewed as what it is: a brilliant mistake, misguided from the start but still aesthetically satisfying.
The movie is insane; it's textbook Lynch.
Lynch's most glaring failure.
If you think David Lynch is the Kwisatz Haderach, baby, have I got a movie for you.
It's like watching a Reader's Digest synopsis of the novel.
Audience Reviews for Dune
Super Reviewer
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- Baron Vladimir Harkonnen: I want to spit, once, on your head.
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- Duke Leto Atreides: The sleeper must awaken.
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- Lady Jessica: A million deaths is not enough for Yueh.
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- Stilgar: Usually, we have wormsigns the likes of which even God have never seen.
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- Paul Atreides: I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on Dune
June 6, 2008:
Zetumer in Talks to Pen New DuneJosh Zetumer is in negotiations to write the screenplay of the upcoming Peter Berg-directed...
March 19, 2008:
Paramount Confirms Peter Berg as New Dune DirectorIt's official: Peter Berg is headed into the desert to take a crack at getting filmgoers excited...
December 28, 2007:
The Weekly Ketchup: Marvel Madness, Dune Gets its Director, Bruckheimer Makes Promises to PersiaIn this week's Ketchup, we have two tidbits of Marvel madness, major progress on the Dune...
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Foreign Titles
- Dune - Der Wüstenplanet (DE)
- Dune (1984) (CA)
Dune is a rare film that mixes more commercial touches into dreamy and surreal moments with resulting a oddly fascinating whole and world. In it's core Dune is pure Lynch. There are moments of hypnotic brilliance here and from the very beginning it pulls you in into it's fantastical world where anything feels possible.
Dune has often noted as a failure in Lynch's filmography but i find it as one of his most interesting works. This film is actually much more accomplished than his own Eraserhead or the very overrated Blue Velvet. Maybe it is the clash of production clan of Laurentiis and Lynch that makes this so damn interesting to watch. There ae so many elements, so many fascinating characters and most of all so many great ideas at work here that Dune should be seen more than once. It is a film that needs to be seen at least twice.
Dune is also film with great production design by Anthony Masters and cinematography by Freddie Francis is something to behold also.
I just love Dune's atmosphere. Lynch has turned Herbert's world into beautiful dreamland with majestic dunes, dangerous sandworms and endless deserts that make even David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia to pale in comparision.
Dune is one of the most fascinating and best films of 80's. It is flawed and has too many ideas in it, but overall this is one gorgeous film to look and listen at. For the fans of science fiction and Lynch, Dune is a must see.