Adapting Frank Herbert's complex galaxy spanning novel to the big screen was never easy. Since the novel's publication, various film makers, including Ridley Scott, have had a go. This version, adapted and directed by David Lynch, charts Paul Atreides' rise to power as the foretold super human 'Kwisatz Haderach' and leader of the Fremen, the natives of the desert planet Arrakis. Arrayed against him are the traditional enemies of his family, the Harkonnens, the scheming Emperor Shaddam IV, the Guild Navigators who control interstellar flight, and the Bene Gesserit who seek to control Paul. All the parties have a common interest in the spice 'melange', which provide the power to fold space and time, and is only found on Arrakis.
The production is lavish and detailed, with huge sets and elaborate costumes. In this universe, humans are cogs in the machine of empire, genetically modified for computation (mentats), space travel (the whale-like Guild Navigators and their attendants with brain drips) or war (the Imperial Sardaukar soldiers encased in environment suits). Characters are often dwarfed by huge steam-belching machines or starships, giving the film a hellish Victorian industrial atmosphere.
A lot of the casting in the film is spot-on: Kyle MacLachlan's Paul believably matures from the son of a noble to a leader; Francesca Annis is radiant and elegant as Jessica; Siân Phillips is a domineering Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother; José Ferrer is the scheming but weak Emperor Shaddam IV; and Patrick Stewart, who has hardly any lines, is effective as Paul's mentor, Gurney Halleck. Most memorable is Kenneth McMillan as the repulsive and cruel Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, with his pustule-ravaged face and flying suit.
The film is overburdened by the sheer number of ideas in the novel and by the filmmakers, to the detriment of the story. There is an excess of explanation, from the initial voiceover by Princess Irulan (Virginia Madsen), to scenes where the characters discuss some background or detail which are followed by internal monologues from each character explaining what was just shown on screen! Perhaps, as a product of the early 80s, there was a concern that audiences wouldn't understand SF ideas unless it was explained to them two or three times (the initial release of 'Blade Runner' also had a voiceover). There is so much exposition that it isn't until halfway through the film that anything actually happens, following which, there is a sense of inevitability about the ending that drains the rest of the film of any surprise or suspense.
Maybe the initial cuts of the film, much longer, are better structured. There is no way of knowing since they were just work prints, nor is a director's cut available. After the film's initial release, a longer version was made for TV without David Lynch's involvement; that version is just unwatchable.
1 out of 5 stars.
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