Dune

[looper]

The one from the 80s, by David Lynch

This one has the same, some might say strengths, some might say weaknesses, as other David Lynch films (of the ones I've seen), e.g. interactions between characters seem distant and/or simplistic, and visual images becomes as important, if not more so, than action or interaction.

The plot of Dune is fairly intricate and involving; that and the imagery and ideas involved in this movie can make it very intriuging; but if you want fleshed-out interactions between people about everyday, ordinary things, this movie will leave you greatly disappointed. It is more interested in the themes of revenge, of cultural survival, and of transcendence.

The story is based on the premise that man has discovered faster-than-light travel, but it isn't accomplished via technology but via mental effort. And the mental effort cannot be strong enough to accomplish the faster-than-light travel unless the person is using a certain drug, called "spice", available on only one planet in the universe. This planet is where the story is set.

Unbeknownst to most people, the drug can do much more than just enable certain people to move objects quickly across space--it can connect you with all other consciousnesses that have ingested it, living and dead. It can give you prescience.

This makes for some strange cinematography.

David Lynch expresses the corrupt nature of the bad guys literally: we've got obese men covered in pimples wearing anti-gravity belts, and we've got lords of the court with facial features that have fallen off (noses, etc) replaced by metal prosthetics.

Good, good stuff.

[Debaser]

Didn't that flick come with like pages of pre-reading you had to go through to understand what the hell was going on? I mean, I've read the book, so I suppose it wouldn't matter in my personal case.

But still, as a concept, making your audience do homework was probably a tactical error.

[looper]

I think one version of the movie had some extra narration tacked onto the beginning...I'm not exactly sure...

I just remember there is a bad version that has narration at the beginning accompanied by stills of some awful sci-fi illustrations. The other version may be the same amount of narration (that's the part I don't remember), but we get to see the actual person speaking it, who happens to be a quite beautiful lass. As David Lynch intended it.

[Worm]

I enjoyed it. I enjoyed reading the book more.