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Dune(1984)...which editions have you seen and like?

Even though the three(of four)hour controversial version that David Lynch removed his name from helped the 1984 film a little, it still wasn't all that cool of an adaptation.

Even remaking it as a mini-series didn't help matters much(despite some of the casting of the main characters).

Now, there is talk of adapting DUNE once again into a cinematic epic.

The industry nees to realize that DUNE is just not adaptable. No matter who or what is involved in the production.

The book is just better, period. WAY MUCH better!
 
The Maltese Falcon was screwed up twice before Hollywood got it right. No reason a third version of Dune can't learn from the previous versions' mistakes, too.

Of course, I think the miniseries is pretty good, but YMMV.
 
Must remember, I am a HUGE dune fan. More of a Dune fan then even a Trek fan, and I have read the novel Dune about a dozen times.

the Lynch film is visually striking, but other then borrowing the most general plot it not Dune. The Miniseries was kinda funny, They spent all there money on the first two hours and then squeezed out the rest of the novel. However if one wanted to make a stage performance out of Dune, the miniseries would be a great place to start. I actually thought Saska Reeves did a great Jessica, but I may be in the minority. If they can make Watchmen into a movie, they can make Dune into a movie. and the Miniseries is close enough to the books, Just that Princess Irulan in the books does nothing, while the miniseries one takes over a number of minor characters roles. What is most noteworthy is that John Hurt did NOTHING as Duke Leto.

The Lynch film does have a better overall cast. While some of the lesser known cast does well, some (Chani is very pretty, but not a great actor, and Silgar came off as odd.) Failed badly.

for those who have not read the book...go and and read it. It the best novel IMO ;)
 
I don't think anyone else has posted this here (I searched, I swear):

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alejandro-jodorowskys-dune-will-finally-187984

They're making a documentary about the attempted Dune adaptation by Jodorowsky. I'm excited since I love his movies and this is as close we'll ever get to seeing his vision of Dune.

Frank Herbert’s Dune has long bewitched filmmakers and despite manyattempts, David Lynch’s unsatisfying 1984 adaptation is the only one that made it to the screen.


Ten years earlier, however, Chilean-born filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky tried to tackle the novel and it’s that attempt that is the centre of a documentary by Frank Pavich, the director of the 1999 music documentary N.Y.H.C.


Titled Jodorowsky’s Dune, the movie is chronicling the two year effort by Jodorowsky and his team of relative unknown artists, artists then went on to become influencers in the sci-fi genre. Among the team were H.R. Giger, who designed the alien in Alien, Dan O’Bannon, who wrote Alien and Total Recall, French artist Jean “Moebius” Giraud, who worked on The Empire Strikes Back, Tron and The Fifth Element, and Chris Foss, who worked on Alien and Superman.
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Seen all three. The mini-series is not great, but is far better than Lynch's version. His material is obviously an inspiration for Kevin J Anderson's and Baby Herbert's rape of Dune.
 
OsmiumJohnnycake said:
I don't think anyone else has posted this here (I searched, I swear):

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alejandro-jodorowskys-dune-will-finally-187984

They're making a documentary about the attempted Dune adaptation by Jodorowsky. I'm excited since I love his movies and this is as close we'll ever get to seeing his vision of Dune.

Frank Herbert’s Dune has long bewitched filmmakers and despite manyattempts, David Lynch’s unsatisfying 1984 adaptation is the only one that made it to the screen.


Ten years earlier, however, Chilean-born filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky tried to tackle the novel and it’s that attempt that is the centre of a documentary by Frank Pavich, the director of the 1999 music documentary N.Y.H.C.


Titled Jodorowsky’s Dune, the movie is chronicling the two year effort by Jodorowsky and his team of relative unknown artists, artists then went on to become influencers in the sci-fi genre. Among the team were H.R. Giger, who designed the alien in Alien, Dan O’Bannon, who wrote Alien and Total Recall, French artist Jean “Moebius” Giraud, who worked on The Empire Strikes Back, Tron and The Fifth Element, and Chris Foss, who worked on Alien and Superman.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...


Was that the bonkers attempted adaptation that would have had Arrakis as a rougue planet without a star and Alia being conceived from a drop of Leto's blood? Or was that a different one altogether?
 
OsmiumJohnnycake said:
They're making a documentary about the attempted Dune adaptation by Jodorowsky. I'm excited since I love his movies and this is as close we'll ever get to seeing his vision of Dune.

Frank Herbert’s Dune has long bewitched filmmakers and despite manyattempts, David Lynch’s unsatisfying 1984 adaptation is the only one that made it to the screen.


Ten years earlier, however, Chilean-born filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky tried to tackle the novel and it’s that attempt that is the centre of a documentary by Frank Pavich, the director of the 1999 music documentary N.Y.H.C.


Titled Jodorowsky’s Dune, the movie is chronicling the two year effort by Jodorowsky and his team of relative unknown artists, artists then went on to become influencers in the sci-fi genre. Among the team were H.R. Giger, who designed the alien in Alien, Dan O’Bannon, who wrote Alien and Total Recall, French artist Jean “Moebius” Giraud, who worked on The Empire Strikes Back, Tron and The Fifth Element, and Chris Foss, who worked on Alien and Superman.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I remember seeing some of Giger's conceptual art for the proposed movie in Starlog magazine a loooong time ago. While I'm impressed with his work, his designs for this movie were way too far out there. One drawing in particular I remember was for the Harkonen palace (on Arrakis?) that looked like an exagerated fat man. The empire was decadent in the novels, but not flat-out bizarre. Giger would not have been a good fit, IMHO.
 
DUNEIV_bettercolor_000.jpg


The concept art is so bizarre it would have worked.
 
I'm a big fan of Dune and despite the miniseries' greater faithfulness to the book, I'd take the Lynch movie any day. It has better music, much better production values (despite their age), and a cast that puts the miniseries to shame. And the miniseries was quite boring; even though I loved the byzantine plot in the novel, it didn't translate well to the screen. I felt like fastforwarding through the whole thing because it felt like they were just going through the motions.
 
I've only ever seen the theatrical cut of Lynch's Dune, which I'll admit I have a begruding fondness for. It might be a bit of a failure as an adaptaton, but it's such a stylish, indulgent and reasonably weird failure.

Never really been inclined to check out the extended version or the TV miniseries, but chances are I might give them a look eventually... certainly, long before I try any of the Brian Herbert books.

DrCorby said:
The empire was decadent in the novels, but not flat-out bizarre. Giger would not have been a good fit, IMHO.
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Pretty much the entire Jodorowsky production sounded completely flat-out bizarre.

As Jodorworsky himself put it:
In film, the Duke Leto (father of Paul) would be a man castrated in a ritual combat in the arenas during a bullfight (emblem of the Atreides house being a crowned bull...) Jessica - nun of the Bene Gesserit -, sent as concubine at the Duke to create a girl which would be the mother of a Messiah, becomes so in love with Leto that she decides to jump a chain link and to create a son, Kwisatz Haderach, the saviour. By using her capacities of Bene Gesserit - once that the Duke, insanely in love with her, entrusts her with his sad secret - Jessica is inseminated by a drop of blood of this sterile man... The camera followed (in script) the red drop through the ovaries of the woman and sees its meeting with the ovule where, by a miraculous explosion, it fertilises it. Paul had been born from a virgin; and not of the sperm of his father but of his blood...
Click to expand...

In that sense Giger fit in perfectly.
 
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^Yeah, that's the one. I remember reading about it years ago. At the time I think I chalked up most of the oddness to a poor english translation, but there's really no getting away from just how bizarre some of this stuff is.

Most of the changes seem completely pointless and it looks like he wanted to needlessly shoehorn in some blatant and rather forced Christ parallels. Talk about redundant.

RAMA said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1iS38VJkeQ

David Brin, opinionated and talented SF, science-tech futurist author weighs in on Dune...

RAMA
Click to expand...

Anyone else getting a serious vibe of condescension from this guy? I don't really disagree with any specific point, but I think he's overestimating why so many fans of the book dislike Lynch's film. I don't think it has anything to do with not being able to sympathise with a character's POV but more to do with the minutia. Changes to the plot, characterisations, production design, etc.

Also, I'd hardly call his pointing out that (in the novel) the Atredies weren't squeaky clean "good guys" a revelation. Hell, I wouldn't even call it subtext. It's all right there, front and centre in the book. Leto, for all of his decency is about as cynical a character as I've ever read and they don't pull any punches when it comes to Gurney or Thufir's tactics. They even get into a discussion about how much they're spending on propaganda and bribes!
 
Reverend said:
^Yeah, that's the one. I remember reading about it years ago. At the time I think I chalked up most of the oddness to a poor english translation, but there's really no getting away from just how bizarre some of this stuff is.

Most of the changes seem completely pointless and it looks like he wanted to needlessly shoehorn in some blatant and rather forced Christ parallels. Talk about redundant.

RAMA said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1iS38VJkeQ

David Brin, opinionated and talented SF, science-tech futurist author weighs in on Dune...

RAMA
Click to expand...

Anyone else getting a serious vibe of condescension from this guy? I don't really disagree with any specific point, but I think he's overestimating why so many fans of the book dislike Lynch's film. I don't think it has anything to do with not being able to sympathise with a character's POV but more to do with the minutia. Changes to the plot, characterisations, production design, etc.

Also, I'd hardly call his pointing out that (in the novel) the Atredies weren't squeaky clean "good guys" a revelation. Hell, I wouldn't even call it subtext. It's all right there, front and centre in the book. Leto, for all of his decency is about as cynical a character as I've ever read and they don't pull any punches when it comes to Gurney or Thufir's tactics. They even get into a discussion about how much they're spending on propaganda and bribes!
Click to expand...

Indeed, Leto is "Good" only in the sense of when he worn down, he kinda Loathes what he must do to be a Duke, and he binds his associates with loyalty and mutual self-benefit instead of fear and terror. Though you wouldn't want to meet Gurney, Thufir, or Duncan in a alley unless they are on your own side. But Jessica makes sure Leto doesn't get too soft ;)
 
I have seen director David Lynch's DUNE 1984 movie version and the (David Lynch removed his name from the longer reedited so the fake substitute name was inserted)director 'Alan Smithee' DUNE 1985 movie version which I like elements of both. They are really a lesson in two ways to present the same story with all the same resources of filmed footage.

As far as the non-Lynch remake DUNE 2000 miniseries and sequel CHILDREN OF DUNE 2003 miniseries they both brought a different production design and obviously cast of actors to Dune that I enjoyed elements of also.
 
I liked the Lynch version very much, but a large portion of it was just gross. The Baron, for one thing (although the lines his doctor has while treating him are hilarious :guffaw: ). And the Guild navigators. But that's a minor nitpick. However gross this movie is, it has Virginia Madsen in it, and that automatically excuses everything. :drool:
 
I've only read the first Dune, and from everything I know about the sequels, I prefer to stay away from them. I like the open-ended and ambiguous nature of the first novel.

At any rate, the Spacing Guild navigators in the movie are depicted as grotesque creatures, mutated presumably from the spice. I do not recall any physical descriptions of the navigators in the novel at all. Is this something that is revealed in the subsequent books?
 
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