Been working on.. Yes.. That Movie.. for a while and my script is complete with 43 1/2 pages, but others are welcome to submit their input as well since we probably won't get this completed till 2009 hopefully in time for its 25th Anniversary release ( December 3, 2009)
http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php/topic,7362.0.html I like the reviews listed in Wiki's layout about the flick..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(film)
Reception:
In his review, critic Roger Ebert gave Dune one star out of four and wrote "This 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." Ebert added that "The movie's plot will no doubt mean more to people who've read Herbert than to those who are walking in cold," and later named it "the worst movie of the year." On At The Movies with Gene Siskel and Ebert, Siskel began his review by saying "it's physically ugly, it contains at least a dozen gory gross-out scenes, some of its special effects are cheap — surprisingly cheap because this film cost a reported 40 to 45 million dollars — and its story is confusing beyond belief. In case I haven't made myself clear, I hated watching this film." The film was later listed as the worst film of 1984 in their "Stinkers of 1984" episode. Other negative reviews focused on the same issues as well as on the length of the film.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times also gave Dune a negative review of one star out of five. She said that, "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" and explained that the plot was "perilously overloaded, as is virtually everything else about it."
The staff of Variety gave Dune a more favorable, but still negative review stating "Dune is a huge, hollow, imaginative and cold sci-fi epic. Visually unique and teeming with incident, David Lynch's film holds the interest due to its abundant surface attractions but won't, of its own accord, create the sort of fanaticism which has made Frank Herbert's 1965 novel one of the all-time favorites in its genre." They also commented on how "Lynch's adaptation covers the entire span of the novel, but simply setting up the various worlds, characters, intrigues and forces at work requires more than a half-hour of expository screen time." They did enjoy the cast and said that "Francesca Annis and Jurgen Prochnow make an outstandingly attractive royal couple, Siân Phillips has some mesmerizing moments as a powerful witch, Brad Dourif is effectively loony, and best of all is Kenneth McMillan, whose face is covered with grotesque growths and who floats around like the Blue Meanie come to life."
Richard Corliss of Time magazine gave Dune a negative review, stating that "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." He noted that "MacLachlan, 25, grows impressively in the role; his features, soft and spoiled at the beginning, take on a he-manly glamour once he assumes his mission." He ended by saying "The actors seem hypnotized by the spell Lynch has woven around them — especially the lustrous Francesca Annis, as Paul's mother, who whispers her lines with the urgency of erotic revelation. In those moments when Annis is onscreen, Dune finds the emotional center that has eluded it in its parade of rococo decor and austere special effects. She reminds us of what movies can achieve when they have a heart as well as a mind."
While most critics were negative towards Dune, critic and science fiction writer Harlan Ellison was of a different opinion at the time. In his 1989 book of film criticism Harlan Ellison's Watching, he says that the $42 million production failed because critics were denied screenings at the last minute after several re-schedules, a decision by Universal that, according to Ellison, made the film community feel nervous and negative towards Dune before its release. Ellison eventually became one of the film's few positive reviewers.
More even-handed criticism praised Lynch's noir-baroque approach to the film. Others compare it to other Lynch films that are equally hard to access, such as Eraserhead, and assert that in order to watch it, the viewer must first be aware of the Dune universe. In the years since its initial release Dune has become a cult favorite, and has gained more positive reviews from online critics and viewers.
As a result of its poor commercial and critical reception, all initial plans of Dune's sequels were cancelled. It was reported that David Lynch was working on the screenplay for Dune Messiah and was hired to direct a second and a third Dune film.
In retrospect, "Lynch admitted he should never have directed Dune," and prefers not to discuss it in interviews. Universal has approached him for a possible Director's Cut of the film, but Lynch has rejected every offer.
I started selling out on Dune. Looking back, it's no one's fault but my own. I probably shouldn't have done that picture, but I saw tons and tons of possibilities for things I loved, and this was the structure to do them in. There was so much room to create a world. But I got strong indications from Raffaella and Dino De Laurentiis of what kind of film they expected, and I knew I didn't have final cut. — David Lynch, on Dune
