DO YOU TAKE YOUR DUNE STEAMPUNK OR SPIRITUAL? By Gretchen Jackson

DUNE. The word is short, but the legacy is … well, Brobdingnagian. (Look it up. I’ll wait.) Frank Herbert’s epic novel(s) encompass a world of political positioning and messianic prophecies. Are his books an indictment of man as a political animal, orchestrating the infinite class struggle between the haves and the have-nots? Are they an examination of religion through the eyes of a messiah? Or, are they a discourse on the evils of man’s destruction of his own environment, for his own selfish gains, and his ultimate arrogance in his ability to do so?

The books, yes. The books are all of these things. And so much more.

To those who haven’t read the books, I offer a link to the Wikipedia page which offers a plot summary.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel)

Having read the first three books and viewed both versions of the film, I can briefly explain the plot of Dune. The planet Arrakis is Earth 10,000 years in the future. Humans have discovered space travel, which depends on the spice mélange. The spice only occurs naturally on Arrakis. Mélange also stimulates psychic visions in those who ingest it. Leto Atreides and his family have been set up to rule Arrakis, but it’s a political ploy. Baron Harkonnen, who formerly ruled Arrakis, is planning to obliterate House Atreides and retake Arrakis by force. Atreides, having all good intentions to settle and cultivate spice and befriend the native Fremens, doesn’t see Harkonnen coming until it’s too late. Leto’s concubine/wife Jessica and his son Paul survive the Harkonnen attack and wander the desert to pursue a prophesied messianic destiny and commune with the Fremen people.

It's a lot to digest.

The films (there have been two, not counting the very famously NOT made 1970s Jodorowsky version and the Sci-Fi Channel mini-series circa 2000) created in Dune’s image could not possibly begin to cover all the allegories and concepts Herbert explored in the books.

But Villeneuve’s Dune 2021 comes close.

With one big, egregious error.

The film is virtually un-understandable to audience members who have not read at least the first book.

I have not included commentary on the Sci-Fi channel mini-series. (Nor Jodorowsky’s Dune documentary, which is fascinating.) To be honest, the mini-series is not very visually appealing from the previews I’ve seen, and it looks like it was made on a shoestring budget ($20 million in 2002) – “shoestring” compared to the 2022 film ($165 million) and the 1984 film ($42 million) versions. The documentary on Jodorowsky’s Dune, however, is a thing unto itself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodorowsky%27s_Dune

Lynch’s (disowned) 1984 Dune, which was produced (and arguably mangled) by Dino De Laurentiis, may not be good, per se. (Sorry.) But it does a very nice job of distilling the vast vision of Frank Herbert’s world in an understandable, if slightly convoluted, manner.

That being said, there are so many things Villeneuve does do right, that Lynch (or, more accurately De Laurentiis) did wrong. Of course, 2021 Dune has the advantage of special effects technology being better now, and the film is only the first half of the first book, whereas 1984 Dune attempts to squeeze the entire first book (and then some) into one film. But it’s hard to measure whether one film is necessarily better than the other.

THE FIRST TEN MINUTES

The first ten minutes of 1984 Dune are terrible. Granted, the effects are dated. The floating head of Princess Irulan (Virginia Madsen), who isn’t even a main character in the first book, let alone the film, gives a confusing verbal interpretation of the sophisticated plot of Dune, the book. To be clear, she’s telling it, the filmmaker is not showing it – breaking one of the cardinal rules of the visual medium of film. This introduction is followed by a scene in which the Emperor (Jose Ferrer) confronts a weird floating black tank holding a creature I don’t remember having read about in the first book. (It might be Guild Navigator Edric from Dune Messiah, the second book, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what he has to do with the plot of this film.) The tank is accompanied by a bunch of crusty guys in black leather outfits, dressed up like members of a weird space-aged S & M cult. This is the Guild, and I have to say, they’re pretty cool. Creepy but cool.

In comparison, the first ten minutes of 2022 Dune immediately communicates several themes that are important to the story. We see Chani (Zendaya), who is Fremen, talk about, basically, colonialism. We watch Paul (Timothy Chalamet) try to use the Voice on his mother (Rebecca Ferguson). This is a central element of the story, identifying the mysticism that serves as a precursor to Dune’s themes of religion and prophecy. The first ten minutes show Paul examining a visual encyclopedia that breaks down things important to Arrakis, the planet his family is assigned to govern. He (and we, the audience vicariously through him) are shown Fremen, spice, still suits, worms – all practical and environmental elements on Arrakis, where he is going. Finally, we meet Duke Atreides (Oscar Isaac) and Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), two men who personify the two distinct sides of Paul’s character – Paul will become both the ruler (the Duke) and the warrior-poet (Halleck).

PLOT, ACTORS & CASTING

1984 Dune is plagued with plot problems. Perhaps the most perplexing choice in the production of this film is the voice-over narration announcing the thoughts of several characters, as they’re having them. I’ve read that this was De Laurentiis’, not Lynch’s, decision. In fact, it may be one of the things that led to Lynch disowning the film and asking that he not be associated with it. (Hello, Alan Smithee.) Whose story is this? Is it Paul’s story? The Emperor’s story? God forbid, Baron Harkonnen’s story? Dune 2021 was very clearly the story of Paul Atreides assimilating with the Fremen people and culture, in concert with the first book.

To be fair to Lynch, I would have to watch his version of 1984 Dune (which is three hours long) to see his interpretation. Not sure I have it in me to venture quite that far into Dune territory, but you never know.

While the casting for 2022 Dune fit more closely with the book’s vision of the characters, and the acting was superior, 1984 Dune’s cast was more compelling. Almost carnival-esque. Baron Harkonnen, played by Kenneth McMillan in 1984 Dune, was monstrous. You can’t take your eyes off him. Boils and all! He spits, he floats joyfully, he even drinks blood! In 2022 Dune, Stellan Skarsgard, normally a force to be reckoned with, is quietly menacing and coldly human and doesn’t stick with you the way McMillan’s haunting portrayal of the Baron does.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK

Buckle up, because here it comes:

Dune 1984: Bad guitar music. The Brian Eno theme music was great. But Dino De Laurentiis decided to insert disjointed guitar music by 80s soft-rock band Toto, if you can believe it! The result is jarring. It doesn’t work. This isn’t 1980’s Flash Gordon, and Toto ain’t no Queen.

Various other things that didn’t work in 1984 Dune:

Mentats who were goofy rather than mechanical. (Brad Dourif – those eyebrows!). The red lips made mentats look like little kids who licked their lips too much. Baron Harkonnen spitting on Jessica’s face. The Bene Gesserit voice, silly rather than intimidating. The blocky shield suits during fighting practice. Slugs aiding in space travel, folding space. (Though “folding space” is a cool concept – was that in the book? Maybe that’s where Madeline L’Engle got the idea for “A Wrinkle in Time.) Duke Leto holding a pug – why? Captain Picard running into battle with a pug in his arms … again, why? Paul Atreides teaches the Fremen to fight using their thoughts. When they go into battle, they vocalize their thoughts. It’s the equivalent of a group of eight-year-olds shouting “Pew! Pew!” while pretending to shoot Star Wars blasters.

Finally, Kyle MacLachlan. Just, Kyle MacLachlan.

Dune 2021. What didn’t work? The music. It was bland. And sad. It worked during sweeping military scenes but faded and felt nonexistent during the more intimate scenes between characters. The film started off really slowly. The whole film could have used a more efficient film editor. Things just lagged and felt really drawn out.

Lastly, Dune 2021 took itself a little too seriously. It was hard to relate to the characters because of that. The film never really pulled me in. And if you didn’t read the books, it was near impossible to follow this film. Dune 2021 is a two-parter, but it failed to make that clear in their initial marketing, so it felt like the film just ended abruptly. Could have been handled better.

THE LAST TEN MINUTES

1984 Dune – Okay, here’s the short of it. The last ten minutes of this film were super-choppy. There’s a long, drawn-out battle between Sting and Kyle MacLachlan; there’s a creepy little girl with an old woman’s voice (Paul Atreides’ sister Alia) who kills Baron Harkonnen; and then water comes to Arrakis – it’s a miracle! (That doesn't happen until the second book which takes place thirteen years later.) It’s a super-rushed ending, but they were trying to cram a lot into this film.

Dune 1984 was conceived as the first installment of a trilogy, like Star Wars. This was probably more at the studio’s urging than it was director David Lynch’s original idea. After post-production hell, and a lot of cutting and re-filming of scenes, the studio even decided to release the film as a two-parter on television in 1988. David Lynch had his name removed from the film, so you can pretty much guess how it turned out. (I haven’t seen this version yet.)

Dune 1984 is a terribly self-conscious film, and it runs two hours and seventeen minutes long, but it still didn’t feel as long as Dune 2021 which rang in at two hours and thirty-five minutes. Only eighteen minutes longer than Dune 1984, but it felt like it was an hour longer.

The last ten minutes of Dune 2021 were like the first ten: economical and packed with important information. When Jessica and Paul Atreides find the Fremen and attempt to join them, there is a battle and Paul kills a member of the sietch (Fremen tribe). Rather than ostracizing him, they embrace him. A sandworm with a Fremen rider passes in the distance, and Chani says, “This is only the beginning.” Not a bad way to end Part One of a Two-Part film.

Frank Herbert, having been offered an advanced viewing, famously enjoyed Dune 1984. Some people were perplexed by that, but I think the film appeared visually similar to what Herbert envisioned. If he had lived to see Dune 2021, I imagine Herbert would have been pleased not only with what it looked like, but also the way that it embraces and communicates the central themes of naturalism and environmentalism found in his book. And because Herbert started off as an environmental journalist, the concept of naturalism and respectful for the planet Arrakis/Earth would be paramount in any extension of his creation.

Not unlike the books and the films, this blog has developed into a lengthy diatribe. (My apologies.) Perhaps it’s naïve to assume anyone has the power to condense such a grand vision into a brief review. I would say this: Dune is worthy of your time. Whether you read the plot summary on Wikipedia so you can follow the films, or take the leap into the literary ocean that is Dune, do yourself a favor and definitely take the time to explore it. Frank Herbert spent four years researching information for his book, and then he spent another four years writing it. The films did not take nearly that much time to develop. So maybe they’re lacking in vision (1984 Dune) or moody and interminable (Dune 2021), but both make a valiant attempt to present Herbert’s world in visual medium.

If you’re looking for style over substance, 1984 Dune is a visual steampunk extravaganza. But if you want something deeper and more meaningful, Dune 2021 is definitely the spiritual and naturalistic product of Herbert’s original literary opus.

Gretchen Jackson

03/20/23