I read the book when I was much younger, and I probably watched this 1984 movie at some point over the past 40 years but if I did, I didn't remember any of it. So I went in fresh, my motivation was to see how they treated the source material back then vs the current 2-part Dune movies out now in the 2020s.
It would be easy to dismiss this version with cheesy costumes and marginal special effects, but that would not be fair. Things were a lot different in the 1980s. So, for an older movie it plays as it should.
The story is set over 8000 years in the future, when humanity has figured out how to fold space and travel to anywhere in the universe without moving. Or waiting. That is critical because even traveling at the speed of light in a conventional manner would take so long they could not "explore the universe."
Cut through the futuristic ideas of space and strange worlds and people with telepathic powers, the core story is very common. There is a precious and valuable substance and everyone wants it. The quirk here is "spice" is the most powerful substance in the universe and only one planet contains it. Plus some really large sand worms that are able to track down rhythmic sound patterns.
So all the jockeying leads up to the final scene with lots and lots of explosions. For me it was fun to see a very young (24 during filming) Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and also a very young Virginia Madsen (22 during filming) as Princess Irulan.
It is a good movie, fun to watch, but not a great movie. At home on DVD from my public library.
It would be easy to dismiss this version with cheesy costumes and marginal special effects, but that would not be fair. Things were a lot different in the 1980s. So, for an older movie it plays as it should.
The story is set over 8000 years in the future, when humanity has figured out how to fold space and travel to anywhere in the universe without moving. Or waiting. That is critical because even traveling at the speed of light in a conventional manner would take so long they could not "explore the universe."
Cut through the futuristic ideas of space and strange worlds and people with telepathic powers, the core story is very common. There is a precious and valuable substance and everyone wants it. The quirk here is "spice" is the most powerful substance in the universe and only one planet contains it. Plus some really large sand worms that are able to track down rhythmic sound patterns.
So all the jockeying leads up to the final scene with lots and lots of explosions. For me it was fun to see a very young (24 during filming) Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and also a very young Virginia Madsen (22 during filming) as Princess Irulan.
It is a good movie, fun to watch, but not a great movie. At home on DVD from my public library.