Emduneem The Classic Scifi Novel Turned Into The Classic Scifi Movie
Dune (1984) Directed by David Lynch. From the new by Frank Herbert.
A beginning is a very gorgeous time. Know then that it is the year 10191. The known universe is ruled by the Padishah Emperor Shadam the Fourth, my father. In this time the most precious substance in the universe is the Spice Melange. The Spice extends life, the Spice expands consciousness, the Spice is notable to Space Travel. The Spacing Guild and its Navigators who the Spice has mutated over 4000 years use the orange spice gas which gives them the ability to Fold Space, that is, travel to any part of the Universe without moving. Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, the Spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, a desolate dry planet with vast deserts. Hidden away within the rocks of these deserts are a people known as the Fremen, who have long held a prophecy, that a man would arrive, a Messiah, who would lead them to true freedom. The planet is Arrakis, also known as Dune. The words of Princess Irulan.
Thus begins the story of Paul Atreides, heir to the Duke of Planet Caladan.
A Guild Navigator demands an audience with the Emperor. Since the Guild holds an absolute monopoly on space recede, they wield the power to originate such demands. It seems the Guild Navigators have foreseen a problem with spice production. They glance that it is a plot of the Emperor’s. He confirms this, explaining he fears the growing power of Duke Leto Atreides in the Landsraad. He will give Leto governorship of Arrakis and later, support Baron Harkonnen’s military coup to retake the planet.
The Guild has no problem with this; they do however want the Duke’s son, Paul, killed.
This alerts the Emperor’s Truthsayer, The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim of the Bene Gesserit. The Bene Gesserit is a sisterhood dedicated to the preservation and perfection of human life. They work towards a millennia long goal of breeding the Kwisatz Hadarach, the super being, a man with all the mental powers of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, and more. Paul Atreides is of a line predicted to produce such a being in a few generations. He was supposed to be a girl, to be married to the Harkonnen heir, to seal the political breech and to fuse the bloodlines. He was supposed to bear the Kwisatz Hadarach. The Reverend Mother heads for Caladan to interrogate Paul, and to test him, to see if he might be the one, born early.
And she does test him. He is resistant to The Voice, the vocal mind control of the Bene Gesserit. He has the truth sense, and he has self control. For this last, she has him place his hand in a box. A box containing pain.
Mohaim: “I hold at your neck the Gom Jabar. This one kills only animals.”
Paul: “Are you suggesting that a Duke’s son is an animal? ”
Mohaim: “Let us say I suggest you may be human. Your awareness may be powerful enough to control your instincts. Your instinct will be to remove your hand from the box. If you do so, you die.”
Paul feels searing pain, but does not falter. Mohaim is impressed; she pushed the test far beyond what any woman had ever withstood that much. So Paul is pronounced human.
The Reverend Mother orders Lady Jessica, Paul’s mother, (also a Bene Gesserit) to ignore the regular order of training, and teach Paul The Sing, saying it could save him. Paul is much more tantalizing about some of the things he overheard, that his father was destined to die. This is gross coming from a Bene Gesserit; their use of Melange and their mental training gives them formidable powers of prescience and telepathy. Mohaim offers no comfort, but repeats her warning.
The family moves to Arrakis. They know the Harkonnens will leave behind many suicide troops and booby traps. They work to remove the threats.
The Duke has also been busy. He sent his weapons master to scout Arrakis, and Duncan Idaho thinks Arrakis holds a secret. The Fremen are not scattered nomads, but exist in vast numbers. They are fierce fighters, suspicious, but utterly loyal if you gain their trust. They could be the back bone of the Duke’s planned army.
Settling in to Arrakis involves daily acts of sabotage, but the Duke and his family, simply by the virtue of not being arrogant monsters, are better than the Harkonnen. And as the Fremen glimpse that they value the lives of workers over the Spice mined, they begin to hope.
Unfortunately, the Harkonnens have an ace in the hole, a traitor in the Atreides midst. And that traitor proves to be the House’s undoing.
The traitor incapacitates Paul and Jessica, drugging them. He sabotages the House Shields, leaving them open to attack, and he brings down the Duke. But at the same time, he gives the Duke a weapon, a poison gas tooth, to use to kill the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.
House Atreides falls. They are captured, and the Baron gloats over his enemies. Paul and Jessica are to be dumped in the desert to be eaten by the giant worms of Arrakis.
The Duke has a different fate. The Baron does gloat over him, but the Duke, customary, poisoned, misses the target and uses the poison gas against the bent Mentat, Piter DeVries.
In the ornithopter carrying them out to the desert, Paul, drag, but not gagged, uses the voice. “Remove her gag.” Jessica, skilled at using Voice, dispatches the guards and frees Paul and herself. The ‘thopter is damaged, and will be going down. Paul and Jessica find that they have been provided with Still Suits to survive in the desert, plans for the manufacture of the wierding modules, House Atreides new sonic weapons, and the ducal signet ring, symbol of Paul right to rule. The person who provided them? The traitor.
Alone in the desert, Jessica and Paul barely escape one of the giant worms. Sand Worms can approach 750 meters in length, and exposed to one directly, Paul is convinced that they are the source of the spice.
Paul and Jessica are captured by the Fremen; of course, with their Bene Gesserit combat training, it could be said the Fremen were captured by the two of them. At any rate, Paul and Jessica gain their right to live, and join the tribe. Jessica becomes the tribes new Reverend Mother, and Paul meets the girl of his dreams, literally.
Paul sets about turning the Fremen into an army, and retaking all that was stolen from him. Can he conclude such a task? Only if he is some kind of super being.
The Analysis
There are many things good and bad in this movie. The main failing of the movie is that is much like a size 20 girl in a pair of size 6 stretch pants; there is just too much to fit in there comfortably. The epic story is a thick book, and there is very little in it that is not integral to the chronicle. There is an expanded version, but even at almost 3 hours, it is not enough. This was really a story meant to be a mini series.
As a result, there are many things that are not obvious if you have not read the books (and you definitely should read the books.) Some things are explained, frequently by narrator or by the voice over of the characters thoughts. Frequently, while it helps clarity, it seems awkward and unnatural.
Still, inside those constraints, if you have read the books, and you can keep up, this film is a delight. David Lynch gives it the rich subtext so popular in his works, trusting the viewer to keep up with the story. The characterizations are rich and detailed, and for the most allotment true to the anecdote. Where they have been altered, it usually is to bring across some point that needs to be made without explaining it. An instance is the twisted Mentat, Piter De Vries. Mentats are human computers, who perform many vital functions in society. No machine is allowed to think, therefore computers are simple calculators, and humans have to pick up the slack. Piter De Vries is a pervert, twisted, sadistic and horribly, horribly arrogant. To convey this Brad Dourf makes him this twitchy jerk with weird gestures who speaks to everyone like they are a brain damaged idiot, which is how he views them. It makes the character a puny irritating to watch, but saves a great deal of back story, and therefore, it saves time.
There are a few conventions that the movie created that are not supported in the books; for instance, Bene Gesserits shaving their heads. Shields are depicted as gelatinous pink red blocky structures. They were almost invisible in the books. These are matters that have no lasting impact. One however does. In the books, Navigators navigate. They do not fold space, they move through hyperspace, navigating the obstacles by precognition. The entire book is based on precognition, seeing the future, and planning for it, even to the Bene Gesserit Missionaria Protectiva, which seeds myths and legends and prophecies on many worlds for the Bene Gesserit to use later. One of the key functions of Spice is to strengthen this foresight.
Visually, the entire thing is stunning. The sets are done in bronze and gold and black with much natural stone and baroque detailing. Every detail is meticulous, right down to the weathering on the Fremen still suits. The scenes of the desert are breath taking; you can almost feel the heat beating down on you. In the scenes with the crowds of Fremen, you can almost smell them. (Desert planet; water too precious for bathing.)
The Harkonnen planet Geidi Prime is sad, industrial, polluted. It matches the feel of the family. They are red heads; lower ranking members have a shaved space on their heads, impartial a strip take out of the middle. If it sounds stupid, remember some of the hairstyles of the 80’s. The point is there is a feel to the location and people. The same is true on Caladan; a damp planet with warm people. The same is correct of Arrakis, hard bitten survivors with little time or patience for frills.
Of course the actors always originate or rupture any film, and this ensemble is first rate.
As the Movie presents them, in alphabetical order.
Francesca Annis (BAFTA TV Award winner; Lillie 1978) Playing the Lady Jessica, Rogue Bene Gesserit, paddle concubine of the Duke, Mother of Paul Muad’Dib, and St. Alia of the Knife. An incredibly complex character, this one woman derailed 90 generations of planning and plotting by bearing a son instead of a daughter. Francesca gives her the regal grace that she needs to attract and captivate Duke Leto Atreides. She also possesses the strength of character to do justice to the Bene Gesserit.
Brad Dourf (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) plays the perverted Mentat Piter De Vries. Piter is the author of the treachery that brought House Atreides low. Brad gives him a weirdness and arrogance that saves worthy back account development. You glimpse him two minutes, and go, Oh, evil genius. I get it.
Jose Ferrer (Oscar winner, Best Actor, Cyrano De Bergerac) plays the Padishah Emperor Shadam IV. His excellent skills and dignity made him believable as the ruler of the Known Universe, but also his humanity and fear made him accessible, dealing with the all distinguished Guild.
Linda Hunt (Oscar Winner, Year of Living Dangerously) plays the Shadout Mapes. Shadout is an ancient word meaning well dipper. She was the woman in charge of the house hold on Arrakis, and she was the Fremen who judged Jessica, and her son, to see if they were indeed the prophecy come true. Linda Hunt is an excellent actress, and her physicality gave the Shadout the otherworldly quality she needed.
Freddie Jones. (Erik the Viking) The House Atreides Mentat Thufir Hawat is a living computer. He has served the house for three generations, as living computer, and master of assassins. Freddie Jones carries the air of primitive family retainer perfectly; you can tell he loves his young ward. Unfortunately, his best scene, at the end, with the fallen Harkonnen, was left on the cutting room floor. He never stopped being an Atreides.
Robert Jordan (Golden Globe Winner, Captains and Kings) played the Atreides Weapons Master, Duncan Idaho. Though a bit part in the movie, Duncan Idaho plays a vital role in the subsequent novels, a neat trick, considering he was killed in the fall of House Atreides. Jordan does well in the part; it just never gave him a chance to shine.
Kyle Mac Lachlan (Golden Globe Winner, Twin Peaks) as Paul Atreides, Muad’dib, Usul, and The Kwisatz Hadarach. No other actor was as invent or break to this project. No other actor so totally lived up to their full potential. If this movie worked, half the credit belongs to David Lynch, and the rest to Kyle. Incredibly intense, he brings the gravitas needed to be the universes natty being.
Virginia Madsen (Oscar Nominee, Sideways) Princess Irulan is only a minor player, both in the movie and in the Universe, a Pawn by which an ambitious man might ascend to the throne (the Empress is of course, a Bene Gesserit, and has only born him daughters.) Virginia’s heavenly looks make Irulan mysterious and alluring, and brings out a subtle sadness that elevates the role from bit part to cameo.
Everett McGill (Silver Bullet, Twin Peaks) Stilgar, the Fremen leader is given a rawboned vitality by this seasoned actor. He is Maud’Dib’s legal hand man. The actor has no jam with the role, making it approach alive with an earthy quality that reads straight from the pages of the book.
Kenneth McMillan (Salem’s Lot, The Pope of Greenwich Village) Playing the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen was not easy. It is easy playing an over the top crazy, but you have to develop the Baron cunning as well. Kenneth did that. It was not easy either. His suit was too heavy to depart in; he had to be transported by forklift, and spent all his on screen time suspended from wires. Yet that in no map hampered his performance. Few villains are as universally hated as the Baron. Kenneth McMillan made certain of that.
Sian Phillips (Award winner, I, Claudius, Goodbye Mister Chips) The Reverend Gaius Helen Mohaim is a complex character. A master manipulator, diplomat, telepath and pillar of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, it is her failure in recognizing Paul’s good potential that forever froze the Sisterhood out of a control of the Kwisatz Hadarach. She is supremely confident, utterly arrogant, and convinced her plot is the only way. Sian makes the role sing (Isn’t it just the Empress Livia in space, anyway? ) One of the best performances of the film and of her life. And that is saying a very great deal.
Jurgen Prochnow (The English Patient, In the Mouth of Madness) lends the role of Duke Leto Atreides that certain air of regal nobility. Well matched by Francesca Annis as Jessica, the couple seems like royalty. He also wears the mantle of loving father and mentor with a comfortable grace. His accent adds just enough of the exotic to make it all work wonderfully well. He cuts a fine figure as the doomed Duke.
Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men) Plays Gurney Halleck, the Atreides Master at Arms. He is a warrior, a poet, a troubadour, and whatever else is needed. In the book, he was a man on singular ugliness. Patrick Stewart is hardly the type, but plays a man of culture and war exceedingly well.
Sting (Oscar nominated for Kate and Leopold, The Emperor’s New Groove, and Cold Mountain. Grammy Award Winner.) Feyd- Rautha is the Harkonnen heir. A true scion of that house, he is greedy, corrupt, vicious, perverse, perverted, and just stupid mean. It is also important that he be seen as sexy. Only Sting could pull this off. Often over looked for his talent as an actor (see Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels) because of his overwhelming talent as a musician.
Dean Stockwell (Oscar Nominee, Married to the Mob. Emmy winner, Quantum Leap) The part of Doctor Wellington Yeuh is a difficult one. A Suk doctor, he bears the diamond tattoo that marks him as conditioned to be completely incapable of taking life. But Yueh has a secret, and it is one that has to be foreshadowed, but not revealed. Dean pulls it off flawlessly. A man of subtleties, he breaths life into the role. For the part to work, you have to like Yueh, and you do, even after he does what he does. Now that is acting.
Max von Sydow (Nominated for 3 Saturn Awards, Flash Gordon, Needful Things, and Minority Report. The Exorcist) Dr. Kynes is the Planetary Ecologist for Arrakis. He is also Liet, leader of the Fremen. As such, it is he who must be won over by the Atreides. He is, but he is no push over. The part is small, but the performance memorable, something von Sydow excels at doing.
Sean Young (Multiple Razzie winner, Blade Runner.) As Chani, Sean Young is Paul’s one true love. She had to be lovely, but wild, and untamable, like the desert that birthed her. Whether born of good acting, or bad mental health, Sean Young pulls the role off to perfection. Nothing that follows can take away the simple grace she brought to the mother of Maud’Dib’s children.
With a cast like that, how can this movie fail?
Though Dune was made into a very good miniseries by SciFi Channel, this will always be the Movie that defines the story. I give it, despite its flaws, my highest recommendation.
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