History Film / Dune

* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Thufir Hawat is required to milk a cat for the antidote to the poison he has been administered by the Harkonnens.

* FishPeople: ''Barlowe's Guild To Extraterrestrials'' depicts a Guild Steersman as looking like this. This depiction has become standard in adaptations since.

** For Duke Leto, it's when he puts the lives of his men before spice extraction, despite spice being the most valuable substance in the universe.

Due to Lynch's 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. An altered cut with more exposition to explain the plot was made for television, which ran at almost ''four hours'' with commercials. Incensed at the ExecutiveMeddling, Lynch had his director credit changed to AlanSmithee and his screenwriting credit changed to [[BitingTheHandHumor Judas Booth]] (as in John Wilkes). 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.

* HollywoodDarkness: The the seeker probe enters the room, Paul is confident it is too dark for the operator to spot him by any means other than movement. Charitably, the room looks as if it's sunset outside, and Paul hasn't even gotten ready for bed yet. This is made worse by a POVCam of the probe, in which Paul is clearly visible.

''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.

* 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 in it. The Atreides research into sound-based weaponry is 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 are 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.

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.

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. A feature length documentary titled ''Jodorowsky's Dune'' chronicles this project of epic proportions that went nowhere. Jodorowsky later recycled many of his ideas in the epic graphic novel ''[[ComicBook/TheMetabarons The Saga of the Metabarons]]''.

Producer Dino De Laurentis 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.

** Fandom insists there is a cut closer to Lynch's first cut of the film that runs at around four to five hours. Frank Hurbert's son Brian said in an interview in 2003 his father had seen a 'five-hour' version (likely the very 1st assembly cut), but no longer version than the TV cut has been officially verified.
** Author Frank Hurbert actually provides the narration of the prologue sequence in the TV cut, rather than actress Virginia Madsen as Princess Irulan.

'''''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.

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. A feature length documentary titled ''Jodorowsky's Dune'' chronicles this project of epic proportion that went nowhere. Jodorowsky later recycled many of his ideas in the epic graphic novel ''[[ComicBook/TheMetabarons The Saga of the Metabarons]]''.

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. A feature length documentary titled ''Jodorowsky's Dune'' chronicles this aborted epic. Jodorowsky later recycled many of his ideas in the epic graphic novel ''[[ComicBook/TheMetabarons The Saga of the Metabarons]]''.

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]]''.

* AdaptedOut: The film leaves out Leto II (Paul's first son, murdered as an infant), the Fenrings and Jamis (who shows up in the Alan Smithee version).

* 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. It's never actually used by their enemies, however, other than one scene where the Baron Harkonnen murders a boy slave for the hell of it. [[spoiler: And the scene where Alia kills the Baron by stabbing him with a Gom Jabbar, then pulling his heart plugs and shoving him out into the sandstorm.}}

* 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. It's never actually used by their enemies, however, just in one scene where the Baron Harkonnen murders a boy slave for the hell of it.

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

* 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.

* FacialHorror: The movie is generally BloodierAndGorier.

** WorldOfHam: He's only the biggest pig in this ham-fest, however, followed by Creator/PatrickStewart, Sting, and Siân Phillips.
* MonochromaticEyes[=/=]TechnicolorEyes: A result of high-level Spice addiction, when enough ingestion saturates the blood stream and stains the eyes. Turned into GlowingEyesOfDoom here.

* 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.

* ReCut: In addition to the Theatrical Cut, a few years later, a made-for-TV version, containing a prologue sequence and many deleted and extended scenes was created. Originally meant to air in two parts, it was disowned by Lynch, who goes by pseudonyms in its directing and writing credits. It was eventually released on DVD (as a nearly three-hour film with the recap linking the two parts removed) as an 'Extended Edition.'

* 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 [[spoiler:the Baron]] flies out of a hole that had been blasted in the palace wall, leading to him being devoured by a worm.

* SpaceClothes: The film portrays the various peoples wearing European Renaissance-style military uniforms and court regalia with an early nineteenth-century feel. This comes off remarkably well.

* 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 in it. The Atreides research into sound-based weaponry is 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 are 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.