Official "Dune" thread

[Apositive]

How did you feel about 1984 version of "Dune" by David Lynch? Your thoughts on the SyFy Network's mini-series? Jodoworsky's Dune? The Alan Smythe/extended TV Cut?

The original Books? Expanded Dune novels by Frank Herbert's Son and Kevin J. Anderson?


LJN Toys? Anything related to Dune.......

[Apositive]

I'll start.....I saw Dune in January 1985 following its December 1984 release.....I didn't get all the aspects of the story. I thought the sandworms looked phoney and funny...especially that scene where Paul rides the worm....haha!

I read the books a few years later and "got it"! I liked the film then, very clever. But those worms....a noble try that just looks bad now as it did then.

SyFy's Dune and Children of Dune were interesting....but flawed in some of the key performances...still worth watching though.

I haven't seen the Jodoworsky's Dune documentary.....but I think the best opportunity for a great Dune movie died when that project stalled and died.

The Anderson/Herbert expanded Dune universe were fun reads....but not in the same class as the original series. No way.

LJN figures were nicely done. I'd like to pick up a set down the road......

[sprytel]

I know I am solidly in the minority, but the Lynch "Dune" will always hold a special place in my heart. It is an under-appreciated gem. The movie is definitely its own animal... but I think it has such a unique style to it.

[Mikey]

To be honest, never seen or heard of the movie until I read Captain Picard played in it

[Hedji]

It's a mess that I have irrational nostalgia for. I agree with sprytel, though... it does have style. I saw it when I was 12, and felt like I had just graduated from Star Wars into more "serious" and "epic" scifi.

[Iron Mego]

I'll start by copying what I posted in another thread earlier today:

I loved Dune, and still do. I never really had trouble understanding it, even though I didn't read the book till years later. I just thought it was a completely original story and went along for the ride.

To expand on that, I much prefer Lynch's Dune than the Alan Smithee/expanded version. I remember reading years ago about Jodorowsky's proposed version and it sounded really stupid to me (at that time). Salvador Dali? Orson Welles? Mick Jagger? Then years later when the internet made available some of the concept art by Moebius I started to reconsider my thoughts on his version. Looked awesome, but still sounded WAY off base from the source material. Then I saw the documentary and now I pray that it gets made as a 20 hour miniseries for Netflix or Amazon, even if it's solely CGI it would be awesome. Jodorowsky put together a dream team, all of whom went on to create the amazing worlds in some of our most beloved movies (Alien, Blade Runner, etc.) As far as the SyFy series, I never got past the first half hour or so, but may revisit it someday.

I read the first Dune book, and a few other unrelated novels by Herbert, and found them intriguing but too dense for my liking. He's like the James Joyce of Science Fiction. I don't want my pleasure reading to feel like homework.

[Bruce Banner]

The novel is a sci-fi masterpiece. Love it.

Lynch's film is a very stylish and imaginative (if somewhat odd) interpretation of the book. Great casting for the majority of the roles.
The Alan Smithee cut is interesting solely because it restores so many scenes cut from the theatrical version.

Jodorowsky's Dune would certainly have been fascinating to watch, to say the least.

The Sci-Fi Channel mini-series was a pretty mediocre adaptation. Definitely needed a better cast and a bigger budget.

[Nostalgiabuff]

I have never read the books. always heard they were rather hard to get into

I "liked" the 1984 version. thought the scifi mini was way better. the follow up Children of Dune was lame though

[JediJaida]

I always liked the original 1984 version and the expanded version. In spite of all the problems that the crew supposedly went through to make this, they managed to put out a fine product.

It wasn't their fault that the public was so demanding and fickle as to how it looked.

There is no WAY that you can make a film EXACTLY like the book! AT. ALL.

I tried to sit through the documentary, but I couldn't because it was so far off base it was practically on another continent!

The mini-series bored me to tears. The actress playing the part of the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother was in no way as scary as Sian Phillips was in the original. That woman was freaking SCARY, what with the shaved head, no eyebrows (look at her in closeup, and you'll see what I mean.), and that freaky habit with all of the beads and stuff.

Sadly, Virginia Madsen, who is a fine actress, really didn't get a lot to do with the original version, aside from narrating it.


I could have done without Kyle MacLachlan in the role of Paul Atreides, but after all these years, I really can't see anyone else in the role.

Sting was absolutely PERFECT as Fayd Rautha; handsome, charming, ruthless, cunning, psychotic and had a great body.

Jose Ferrer was all right as the Emperor, but he simply didn't have enough to do!

[Hector]

I love Herbert's book...Dune is my favorite fiction...even over the Hobbit. I also liked reading the sequels.

Love the Mentats...who needs bloody computers, ha.

I do like both film and television versions...obviously I feel more nostalgic with Lynch's version. I'm a big fan of his...love all his surreal weird stuff, lol.

[dee T.]

The 1984 Dune was great. I still have a VCR copy of it and still watch it from time to time. I seen the Sci-Fi mini series and found it rather lame and very boring. I guess not enough action was going on, mostly all talk between the actors. We collected the LJN toys too. We had Paul atreides, Feyd, Stilgar and I think the baron. Still have Feyd and Stilgar today.