History Film / Dune

* ReCut: The 1984 theatrical version was not DavidLynch's favored cut. The producers not only made him cut a lot of material from his script, they also cut a lot of scenes that had been shot as well, but it's the only one he's very happy with. In 1988, an Extended Cut was made to be shown on TV, referred to as The AlanSmithee Cut. It used deleted scenes, but reused more footage than ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}''. David Lynch hated it and demanded his name be removed from the writer and director credit. ''Then'', in 1992, a San Francisco TV station made a mix between the original theatrical version of the movie and the Alan Smithee cut, which kept the new scenes but also restored the violence. Finally, a cut known as the Extended Edition came out on DVD, which was a 177-minute edit of the Alan Smithee version.

* ReCut: The 1984 theatrical version was not DavidLynch's favored cut. The producers not only made him cut a lot of material from his script, they also cut a lot of scenes that had been shot as well, but it's the only one he's very happy with. In 1988, an Extended Cut was made to be shown on TV, referred to as The AlanSmithee Cut. It used deleted scenes, but reused more footage than ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}''. David Lynch hated it and demanded his name be removed from the writer and director credit. ''Then'', in 1992, a San Francisco TV station made a mix between the original theatrical version of the movie and the Alan Smithee cut, which kept the new scenes but also restored the violence. Finally, a cut known as the Extended Edition came out on DVD, which was a 177-minute edit of the Alan Smithee version. David Lynch is now a bitter arthouse director. Go figure.

* AdaptationExpansion: The film introduced many elements that influenced later works in the ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' universe. Examples include the Mentat Mantra ("It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion" sounds similar enough to the Litany Against Fear that it feels like a line from the book, but never appeared there), the Atreides research into sound-based weaponry (again, never mentioned in the book. Sonic tanks and the like have turned up in subsequent works), heart-plugs (only briefly mentioned in the book as some sort of filtration device, but turned into something entirely more sinister by the Harkonen), the Baron Harkonen's skin conditions (never mentioned in the book, the Baron is only ever described as morbidly obese with no references made to skin problems), and many elements of the film's "look and feel" are aped by the works that followed (It's very rare to see the Emperor depicted without a neat little beard these days, for example, and Bene Gesserit are often depicted as bald).

* AdvertisedExtra: Sting as Feyd-Rautha, who only has a small part in the film, was advertised heavily.
* AlanSmithee: David Lynch had his name removed from the extended cut of the film, replacing it with this. And then had his script credit changed to "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Judas Booth]]," in case anyone didn't get the message.

* CreatorCameo: Lynch, as the radio operator on the spice harvester that Duke Leto rescues.

* CultSoundtrack: Toto and Brian Eno. This is the main reason why so many adaptations of ''Dune'' (except for the Sci-Fi channel miniseries) such as games have very similar music. Music inspired by ''Dune'' is almost invariably space music instead of more conventional thematic music.
* DidYouActuallyBelieve: A heroic example, where Thufir Hawat (the Atreides mentat) betrays the Emperor and Harkonnens by refusing to kill Paul:

** Lady Jessica's hairstyle is a Freudian wonderment.
** The Guild Navigator (portrayed in true Lynchian fashion as a giant floating Film/{{Eraserhead}}) breathes through what can only be described as mouth-vagina.

-->"I'm alive, eh?! '''I'M ALIVE!!!''' I'M...'''''ALIVE!!!''''' I'M ALIVE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

* PrettyBoy:
** Paul Atreides is portrayed by the strikingly pretty Creator/KyleMacLachlan. Because Paul is the Kwisatz Haderach and can access the genetic memories of his female and male ancestors, his androgynous looks reflect his unique skill.
** Meanwhile, every Harkonnen is ugly save Sting as Feyd. Heck, one scene has him slathered in ''oil'' (wearing a winged speedo), with his ''uncle'' lusting after him. One unfortunate Harkonnen slave boy is pretty enough to capture the Baron's attention.[[note]]Whom the Baron murders and uses his blood to soak the lilies.[[/note]]

* RealityWarper: Contrary to the books, the Guild Navigators fold spacetime with their minds.
* ReCut: The 1984 theatrical version was not direct or DavidLynch's Director's Cut--the producers not only made him cut a lot of material from his script, they also cut a lot of scenes that had been shot out as well--but it's the only one he's very happy with. Then in 1988, an Extended Cut was made to be shown on TV, referred to as The AlanSmithee Cut. It used deleted scenes, but reused more footage than ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}''. David Lynch hated it, demanding his name be removed from the writer and director credit. ''Then'', in 1992, a San Francisco TV station made a mix of a cut between the original theatrical version of the movie and the Alan Smithee cut, which kept the new scenes but also put the violence back in. Finally, a cut known as the Extended Edition came out on DVD, which was a 177-minute edit of the Alan Smithee version. David Lynch is now a bitter arthouse director. Go figure.

* WhamShot: [[spoiler: It starts raining on Arrakis.]]
* WordsCanBreakMyBones: The film turns the Weirding Way from the novel into a martial art and turns "My name is a killing word" into something much more literal. In fact, Paul is nearly flattened by rocks when a hapless Fremen utters the word "Muad'Dib."

[[caption-width-right:248:Yes, that '''is''' Sting]]

''Dune'' is the 1984 [[TheFilmOfTheBook feature film adaptation]] of the popular Frank Herbert novel ''Literature/{{Dune}}'', directed by Creator/DavidLynch. The film is famous for its unique visual style, obtuse plot and very troubled production.

Producer Creator/DinoDeLaurentis handed the film to another experimental director, Creator/DavidLynch, who was a hot prospect at the time due to his cult classic debut film ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' and the critically lauded ''Film/TheElephantMan''. Creator/DavidLynch scrapped most of Jodorowsky's plans and made the film with his own unique vision. Lynch's completed work is memorable (and notorious) for its Freudian imagery, [[SceneryPorn elaborate set design]] (containing some holdovers from the Jodorowsky version, including Giger's designs), and AllStarCast.

* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: "Weirding" is a Fremen word meaning "foreign", so it's unlikely that House Atreides, while they were still based on Caladan, would name a weapon they invented the "weirding module" in Lynch's film. Even though Jessica didn't have a weirding module when she subdued Stilgar on their first meeting, Stilgar calls her Bene Gesserit martial arts technique "the weirding way of fighting", which is the same as the novel; however, the way of fighting that Paul eventually teaches the Fremen mainly involves the use of the weirding module.

* AlanSmithee: David Lynch had his name removed from the extended cut of the film, replacing it with this. And then had his script credit changed to "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Judas Booth]]", in case anyone didn't get the message.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: The population of Giedi Prime all wear 'heart plugs' that are prominently displayed and quite easy to yank out. Hawat is fitted with one once he's captured; Kenneth [=McMillian=]'s line, "[[HandWave Everyone gets one here]].", is so delightfully deadpan.

** WorldOfHam: He's only the biggest pig in this ham-fest, however, followed by Patrick Stewart, Sting, and Siân Phillips.

** Paul Atreides is portrayed by the strikingly pretty Kyle [=MacLachlan=].

* WordsCanBreakMyBones: The film turns the Weirding Way from the novel into a martial art and turns "My name is a killing word" into something much more literal. In fact, Paul is nearly flattened by rocks when a hapless Fremen utters the word "Muad'Dib".

* PeopleOfHairColor: In the movie, nearly all of the Harkonnens have orange hair.

* VideoCredits

* NonActorVehicle: TheMovie by Creator/DavidLynch, with Sting.

** SmallRoleBigImpact: The three scenes Feyd is in, you won't forget, however.

The film adaptation of ''Dune'' was originally given to the experimental filmmaker Creator/AlejandroJodorowsky, who planned to very loosely adapt the book while basing most of the film on a dream he'd had. He recruited a rogue's gallery of names for his project, including comic artist Moebius Creator/HRGiger, Music/PinkFloyd, Creator/SalvadorDali and Creator/OrsonWelles. Jodorowsky burned through his budget before filming a single scene, and the project was ultimately taken away from him. Instead, he recycled many of his ideas in the epic graphic novel ''[[ComicBook/TheMetabarons The Saga of the Metabarons]]''.

Producer Creator/DinoDeLaurentis handed the film to another experimental director Creator/DavidLynch, who was a hot prospect at the time due to his cult classic debut film ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' and the critically lauded ''Film/TheElephantMan''. Creator/DavidLynch scrapped most of Jodorowsky's plans and made the film with his own unique vision. Lynch's completed work is memorable (and notorious) for its Freudian imagery, [[SceneryPorn elaborate set design]] (containing some holdovers from the Jodorowsky version, including Giger's designs), and AllStarCast.

Producer Creator/DinoDeLaurentiis handed the film to another experimental director Creator/DavidLynch, who was a hot prospect at the time due to his cult classic debut film ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' and the critically lauded ''Film/TheElephantMan''. Creator/DavidLynch scrapped most of Jodorowsky's plans and made the film with his own unique vision. Lynch's completed work is memorable (and notorious) for its Freudian imagery, [[SceneryPorn elaborate set design]] (containing some holdovers from the Jodorowsky version, including Giger's designs), and AllStarCast.

''Dune'' is the 1984 [[TheFilmOfTheBook feature film adaptation]] of the popular Frank Herbert novel ''Literature/{{Dune}}''

From the early 1970's on, attempts were made to produce a theatrical film. Cult director Creator/AlejandroJodorowsky (known for incredibly bizarre films such as ''Film/ElTopo'' and ''Film/TheHolyMountain'' and equally strange or stranger comic books) came to the project after having a bizarre dream almost identical to the broader plot of the first novel and then hearing about a book of almost exactly the same story. Convinced that there was something more here he resolved to make '''a movie based on his dream,''' with bits of the book itself thrown in (that's not hyperbole, that's his stated agenda). Comic artist Moebius and fellow HeavyMetal writer/artist Dan O'Bannon (also responsible for the concept art and a decent chunk of the screenplay for ''Film/{{Alien}}'') worked on concept art and designs, as well as ''Film/{{Alien}}'' designer Creator/HRGiger, whose work actually ended up in the final film in small doses. Salvador Dali was cast as the Emperor (which is not nearly as ridiculous as it sounds to non-''Dune'' fans) and Music/PinkFloyd had agreed to provide the score. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Sadly, and inevitably, it fell apart.]] The 2014 documentary ''Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune'' is a look into what might have been.
** Ultimately, Jodorowsky turned the script into an original graphic novel, ''[[ComicBook/TheMetabarons The Saga of the Metabarons]]''. Some elements of the plot are heavily influenced by ''Dune'', such as the [[MeaningfulName Hooker-Nuns Shabda-Oud]] for the Bene Gesserit, with the same kind of genetic agenda.

Producer Creator/DinoDeLaurentiis turned to a hot new director who had been considered for ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', mostly because of Creator/GeorgeLucas' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen still-intense passion for experimental film]], mostly on the strength of his classic [[Film/{{Eraserhead}} first film]] and a critically and commercially successful [[Film/TheElephantMan biopic]] that made him a true commodity in the industry. That man's name: Creator/DavidLynch, who took the project and made it his own to only a slightly lesser extent than Jodorowsky would have. Due to his alien style and the sheer scale of the book, the already-complex narrative became nearly incomprehensible to some viewers; many theaters handed out [[AllThereInTheManual printed plot summaries]] to patrons. Ironically, the altered cut made more understandable to be commercially viable for television was ''even longer'' than the existing film, running about '''four hours''' with commercials, and included, among other things, altered narration and a lengthier prologue (narrated by WordOfGod himself). Lynch was incensed that the studio had [[ExecutiveMeddling recut his movie]] behind his back (one of the easiest ways to spot the lost footage restored in the extended version is that the Fremen lose the unnaturally vivid "blue within blue eyes" effects); he had himself credited for director as AlanSmithee and as ''[[BitingTheHandHumor Judas Booth]]''[[note]](as in John Wilkes; a name he has signed at least once as an autograph at the request of a fan)[[/note]] for his screenwriting credit - and Lynch didn't even have final cut on the theatrical version of the film, editing duties taken away from him by the studio, which also left him very unhappy. The 1984 Lynch version of ''Dune'' is the most memorable (and notorious) for its Freudian imagery, [[SceneryPorn elaborate set design]] (containing some holdovers from the Jodorowsky version, including Giger's designs), and AllStarCast. Subsequent recut and extended versions have inspired [[BrokenBase varying]] degrees of critical [[LoveItOrHateIt reappraisal]]. It was a complete flop at the box office and has become both a CultClassic, and an example of how ''not'' to make a blockbuster.

** SmallRoleBigImpact: The two three scenes Feyd is in, you won't forget, however.

Dune is the 1984 [[TheFilmOfTheBook feature film adaptation]] of the popular Frank Herbert novel ''Literature/{{Dune}}''

* HeartInTheWrongPlace: The unlucky Harkonnen slave's heart plug.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: In the novel and miniseries, [[spoiler:Baron Harkonnen]] dies simply as a result of being stabbed with a Gom Jabbar by [[spoiler:Alia]]. In the film, she stabs him, then rips out his heart plugs, before the Baron flies out of a hole that had been blasted in the palace wall, leading to him being devoured by a worm.

The producers turned to a hot new director who had been considered for ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', mostly because of Creator/GeorgeLucas' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen still-intense passion for experimental film]], mostly on the strength of his classic [[Film/{{Eraserhead}} first film]] and a critically and commercially successful [[Film/TheElephantMan biopic]] that made him a true commodity in the industry. That man's name: DavidLynch, who took the project and made it his own to only a slightly lesser extent than Jodorowsky would have. Due to his alien style and the sheer scale of the book, the already-complex narrative became nearly incomprehensible to some viewers; many theaters handed out [[AllThereInTheManual printed plot summaries]] to patrons. Ironically, the altered cut made more understandable to be commercially viable for television was ''even longer'' than the existing film, running about '''four hours''' with commercials, and included, among other things, altered narration and a lengthier prologue (narrated by WordOfGod himself). Lynch was incensed that the studio had [[ExecutiveMeddling recut his movie]] behind his back (one of the easiest ways to spot the lost footage restored in the extended version is that the Fremen lose the unnaturally vivid "blue within blue eyes" effects); he had himself credited for director as AlanSmithee and as ''[[BitingTheHandHumor Judas Booth]]''[[note]](as in John Wilkes; a name he has signed at least once as an autograph at the request of a fan)[[/note]] for his screenwriting credit - and Lynch didn't even have final cut on the theatrical version of the film, editing duties taken away from him by the studio, which also left him very unhappy. The 1984 Lynch version of ''Dune'' is the most memorable (and notorious) for its Freudian imagery, [[SceneryPorn elaborate set design]] (containing some holdovers from the Jodorowsky version, including Giger's designs), and AllStarCast. Subsequent recut and extended versions have inspired [[BrokenBase varying]] degrees of critical [[LoveItOrHateIt reappraisal]]. It was a complete flop at the box office and has become both a CultClassic, and an example of how ''not'' to make a blockbuster.

** Meanwhile, every Harkonnen is ugly save Sting as Feyd. Heck, one scene has him slathered in ''oil'' (wearing a winged speedo), with his ''uncle'' lusting after him.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The final scene of the film shows Paul using his incredible psychic powers as the Kwisatz Haderach to make it rain on Arrakis for the first time in eons. However, the film omits a key plot point from the novel: water is highly toxic to sandworms, which are the source of the spice. In the novel, Paul instead blackmails the Spacing Guild into surrendering to him; he threatens to pour the Water of Life into a pre-spice mass, which would cause an extinction chain reaction that would destroy all spice production forever and throw the galaxy into a new dark age. Had Paul actually made it rain in the novel, it would have obliterated the life cycle on Arrakis, having the same net effect; in fact, it isn't until ''Children of Dune'' that the disruption of the ecological balance by the terraforming effort is fully explored. The film completely ignores this.
** It does not. There is a scene in which a worm is killed by water and Paul very clearly notes it. His making it rain is more of a ''deliberate'' ApocalypseHow, to make spice that much rarer and valuable.

From the early 1970's on, attempts were made to produce a theatrical film. Cult director Creator/AlejandroJodorowsky (known for incredibly bizarre films such as ''Film/ElTopo'' and ''Film/TheHolyMountain'' and equally strange or stranger comic books) came to the project after having a bizarre dream almost identical to the broader plot of the first novel and then hearing about a book of almost exactly the same story. Convinced that there was something more here he resolved to make '''a movie based on his dream,''' with bits of the book itself thrown in (that's not hyperbole, that's his stated agenda). Comic artist Moebius and fellow HeavyMetal writer/artist Dan O'Bannon (also responsible for the concept art and a decent chunk of the screenplay for ''Film/{{Alien}}'') worked on concept art and designs, as well as ''Film/{{Alien}}'' designer Creator/HRGiger, whose work actually ended up in the final film in small doses. Salvador Dali was cast as the Emperor (which is not nearly as ridiculous as it sounds to non-''Dune'' fans) and PinkFloyd had agreed to provide the score. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Sadly, and inevitably, it fell apart.]] The 2014 documentary ''Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune'' is a look into what might have been.

* ReCut: The 1984 theatrical version was not direct or DavidLynch's Director's Cut--the producers not only made him cut a lot of material from his script, they also cut a lot of scenes that had been shot out as well--but it's the only one he's very happy with. Then in 1988, an Extended Cut was made to be shown on TV, referred to as The AlanSmithee Cut. It used deleted scenes, but reused more footage than ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Classic}}''. David Lynch hated it, demanding his name be removed from the writer and director credit. ''Then'', in 1992, a San Francisco TV station made a mix of a cut between the original theatrical version of the movie and the Alan Smithee cut, which kept the new scenes but also put the violence back in. Finally, a cut known as the Extended Edition came out on DVD, which was a 177-minute edit of the Alan Smithee version. David Lynch is now a bitter arthouse director. Go figure.