1983 publicity interview for the motion picture release of Frank Herbert's book Dune. Thanks to DarthPrefect and thanks to the awesome site www.duneinfo.com/ for the images.
For the last time, Lynch's version is a work of art in itself. It doesn' remind you of any other movie. It has its own DNA of story telling. It is unique and will always be the best interpretation for its time.
Let us not forget that Lynch himself LIKED the book. Let us not forget the incredible work he put into visualizing the written word and out it into wonderfully designed costumes, props and the actual world of Dune. Let us not forget that Frank Herbert himself wrote the script for the film to help David. Let us not forget that Herbert was pleased with the film, stating that he could hear his characters in Lynch's film. And let us also never forget how much Lynch got screwed over by Dino & Raffaella De Laurentiis during the production and also denying David his directors Cut. A mistake that STILL, over 35 years later, has not been corrected… Lynch has done something absolutely AMAZING back in 1983/84.
Can't understand people criticizing David Lynch's version arguing how it deviates from the book, although defending Jodorowsky's egomaniac hypothetical version which by its author's own words, would rape Frank Herbert's Dune as a commandment. How much paradoxical it can be?
+José Pedro Caldeira Gomes i thought the same thing... i think the Lynch movie despite all its problems was an amazing film.... keeping in mind that almost no film is going to be the same as the book that inspires it... art direction and costume design were brilliant, few films match it... i think most of the "issues" with the film boiled down to issues between Lynch and de laurentiis...
phoboskitty m Although in many times that friction could also demonstrate itself essential to the final product of the creation. But yes, I would very much like to see David Lynch's Dune without any bounds.
José Pedro Caldeira Lima Gomes Indeed I would rather see the uncut version of David Lynch's Dune... but I must say that after watching Jodorowsky's I can not see the Baron as anyone but Orson Welles.
I'm not sure I've seen that particular opinion expressed that often. I think Jodorowsky's Dune would've been possibly the greatest film ever made but I still do like Lynch's Dune.
Unfortunately film is a more limited medium than the printed word, and these changes are usually made because a film-maker is "rushed" to tell the story in around two hours, whereas the reader has lots of time to absorb more info.
In hindsight it's kind of difficult listening to this knowing that Lynch was very unhappy with the ordeal. You can hear the sorrow and weariness in his voice.
Zach K You need your eyes checked then. While I’m all for practical/optical effects from the time a lot of those effects for this film were terrible. Even by 1984 standards. They should spent more time on them.
I truly am a Lynch fan. All his films. He has the gift of IMAGINATION. In Dune I believe he accomplished the impossible, by giving us an epic vision of 10,000 years into the future. That is, weird. Incomprehensible. Alien. Lavish. Savage. You’ve got to have imagination to appreciate the imaginative.
Lynch fu%$in nailed it...Gave it that cool space opera matinee feel. The cheap special FX actually give it a more vintage feel. Seen the new 2005 Dune production? Hmm. I´d love Lynch to revisit the Dune universe.He needs to, but he won´t.
@positronicfeed The last director for the new Dune project (currently in development hell) wanted to make a trilogy. That would've done it much justice.
@Wargoat6 Of course. Idaho. He doesn't really become that much of a prominent figure until later on in the books but his importance increases as he gets returned to life as gholas since he's the only guy who remembers everything. Him and Leto II. And by the end of the octology more or less everyone. :)
@positronicfeed I could see that working. With the main roles played by lesser known talent, it's less distracting to character development. If there's one character I want to see done right, it's got to be Idaho. In both the movie and the miniseries, he seems to be relatively undeveloped.
@Wargoat6 I think the same could be said of the script Ridley Scott was trying to get Herbert's approval on. Ridley's would have had it's feet on the ground as opposed to the looney Jodorowsky version. But I think in order to make a successful film out of Dune you have to strip the story down to it's core and re-write, so it's a film inspired by Dune as opposed to being a film version of the book. Because I don't think it's possible to get the whole story down to a 2 - 2.5 hour film.
I hate the end though. The book ends pretty unhappy, with Paul knowing that he has to do horrible thing for the greater good, ending in a dilemma. The movie's forced happy ending really made me upset.
@Wargoat6 :( I really want to see a new version of this with a proper big budget and decent sfx. It would have to be relatively unknown talented young actors for the main roles (Paul, Chani, Irulan, Idaho, Feyd, etc...) and Anthony Hopkins/Meryl Streep calibers for the supporting cast (Duke Leto I, Shaddam IV, Baron Harkonnen, Lady Jessica, Stilgar, Mohiam, etc...) imho.
very hard book to make in to a movie with all the thoughts and observations that you read in the book, some of the characters come close to the faces i imagined, like jessica, paul and baron harkonnen, patrick stewart as gurney halleck on the other hand made me laugh as i was imagining more someone like klaus kinski looking like gurney, but thats the beauty of reading and imagining it i guess i hear martin scorsese is gonna make a movie out of dan simmons hyperion, that will be interesting too and hard i bet
@monk22yrs Luke Skywalker and Paul Atreides? Two vastly different men in two diametrically opposed situations. You obviously are a beginner to sci fi fandom, but its ok. We need all fans. double your years (I have 44) and you may know more, I was there in a theater in 76, and I've read both books (yes, Lucas wrote Star Wars as a novel) Try it, ya might like it,
Jodo's ending would have been a total disrespect to the story, despite the amazing ideas he had for other elements of the movie. While the Lynch version was heavily flawed, Frank seems "happy enough" with the final product. Jodo's version would have been far worse, IMO.
You know who I realize 'sucks' when it comes to Dune? Dune fans. I'm not talking about your average Dune fan... I'm talking about those pretentious 'comic book guy(s)' parrots, filled up to their hair thinning cranium lines with believed bravado and chili dogs a reflux. Whom so effortlessly pass condemned 'rulings' upon others as they do gas silently among the browsers at your local comic book store. As though they had written the whole damn thing themselves the way they demur.
old Science Fiction movies were more realistic because the VFX and Props where made by Hand not by Computer so The Actors Can feel as if they are in Real World Universe I hate CGI
The movie was good but they changed the ending which destroyed the message. Paul could not crack the pavement or make it rain. And it says that he he ends war and brings peace when it is the opposite, Paul brings the Jihad across the galaxy, which in his vision he sees as the only way forward for humanity because the other paths are worse. But he still can hardly bear the burden of the path he takes until he finds freedom in the desert at the end of Dune Messiah.
I didn't dislike the Lynch film, I mean I think that Lynch is a good film maker, I just think that Dune could have been done a lot better. Great interview though.
The only part of the David Lynch "Dune" I can never get past is the "weird-ass way" with those moronic sound weapons triggered by "power words". Everything else was fine but they totally wreck it for me.
A a child all those mediocre props/costumes seemed to take my imagination farther and deeper into the unknown voids of the universe. But now that I am an adult experiencing the tech. and c.g.i. of today doesn't seem to quite feed my imagination in the same type of manor. Does anyone here feel the same way that I do on this subject matter?
Too bad Lynch won't ever revisit Dune. Its a great film, not the turkey people make it out to be. He's so bitter, even they told him he could what he wanted, he said no.
I loved the movie Dune the only crap part in it was the Baron drinking the blood of a guy in a dress,what the hell was that all about.That should've definately been a deleted scene.And all the half way decent scenes they cut out.I'm like why not that crap scene instead? I was watching the film with a friend,and when that scene came on he wanted to turn it off,but the rest of the film was very good to me.I wanna get the extended version!
"Michael Garibaldi", you must be kidding. BOTH versions sucked. The David Lynch film, however, was far worse. The Baron Harkonnen didn't fly about in stained underwear. OR take oil baths. OR implant 'heart drains' in people. There was no chant for Mentats. Gurney Halleck didn't rush out into the Battle of Arrakeen carrying a Pug. There were no such things as "weirding modules". The Fremen stillsuits included head coverings, and they wore robes over them, with hoods. Finally, if Paul made it rain on Arrakis, he would have killed every single sandworm on the planet, destroying spice forever.
I hear that, I've read all the novels a few times over but I still love Lynch's view of it even though it is bastardized. You should check out the documentary ''Jodorowsky's Dune'' to see how it might of been otherwise. I would love to see this re-made, but if it was they'd probably put Michael Bay in charge and it would end up a fucking mess.
I agree Scott Crandall, there are so many thing that just aren't in the book or are in the book and changed to some outlandish version. I do think that Lynch's version has a definite atmosphere that is unique and interesting. It's just not Dune's atmosphere. The story is so amazing that it really doesn't need changes. I would love to have Jodorowsky's Dune as the definitive adaptation. Though even with that, the ending would have been different. I like Jodorowsky's ending, but I don't think it fits the book. Herbert came up with such amazing and unique items and concepts that I think it's a disservice to adapt it without including as many in their original state as possible. The story is beloved because of those things and it's big grand ideals. So, why "fix it" with changes? It just doesn't make sense to me.
I blame Lynch... However i think it was supposed to represent the jesus like power of MauDib despite the fact that the books went out of their way to point out the messiah thing was BS. Or it could be his way of establishing that the reign of Paul brought water to Dune even tho it was Paul's son that did that. OR it could be that Lynch just sucks. Yeah I will go with that.
@@terminateboy4714 I work for the Canadian government and this is the reality of our patriarchal world. This goes against our policies. If you disagree, you should take a gender studies course at your local university and that will help. Good luck.
For the last time, Lynch's version is a work of art in itself. It doesn' remind you of any other movie. It has its own DNA of story telling. It is unique and will always be the best interpretation for its time.
100% ❤
Let us not forget that Lynch himself LIKED the book. Let us not forget the incredible work he put into visualizing the written word and out it into wonderfully designed costumes, props and the actual world of Dune. Let us not forget that Frank Herbert himself wrote the script for the film to help David. Let us not forget that Herbert was pleased with the film, stating that he could hear his characters in Lynch's film. And let us also never forget how much Lynch got screwed over by Dino & Raffaella De Laurentiis during the production and also denying David his directors Cut. A mistake that STILL, over 35 years later, has not been corrected… Lynch has done something absolutely AMAZING back in 1983/84.
Can't understand people criticizing David Lynch's version arguing how it deviates from the book, although defending Jodorowsky's egomaniac hypothetical version which by its author's own words, would rape Frank Herbert's Dune as a commandment. How much paradoxical it can be?
+José Pedro Caldeira Gomes i thought the same thing... i think the Lynch movie despite all its problems was an amazing film.... keeping in mind that almost no film is going to be the same as the book that inspires it... art direction and costume design were brilliant, few films match it... i think most of the "issues" with the film boiled down to issues between Lynch and de laurentiis...
phoboskitty m
Although in many times that friction could also demonstrate itself essential to the final product of the creation. But yes, I would very much like to see David Lynch's Dune without any bounds.
José Pedro Caldeira Lima Gomes Because it's a myth, and we all know how the public is with myths ;)
José Pedro Caldeira Lima Gomes Indeed I would rather see the uncut version of David Lynch's Dune... but I must say that after watching Jodorowsky's I can not see the Baron as anyone but Orson Welles.
I'm not sure I've seen that particular opinion expressed that often. I think Jodorowsky's Dune would've been possibly the greatest film ever made but I still do like Lynch's Dune.
The film has it's weaknesses and it has it's qualities...
Thank you so much for posting this. Herbert will always be one of my heroes.
Unfortunately film is a more limited medium than the printed word, and these changes are usually made because a film-maker is "rushed" to tell the story in around two hours, whereas the reader has lots of time to absorb more info.
I had this tape!!!! Excellent interview
This is great! It's like an Audiocommentary / Laserdisc-DVD Special feature on a audio cassette.
One more Lynch/Herbert fan here guys!
In hindsight it's kind of difficult listening to this knowing that Lynch was very unhappy with the ordeal. You can hear the sorrow and weariness in his voice.
I could imagine he might’ve wanted to cut the book into two movies instead of a congested packed movie perhaps
Honestly I felt the special effects were ridiculously good for 1984 and I think they look at least 900% better than the CGI I see in movies today.
Zach K You need your eyes checked then. While I’m all for practical/optical effects from the time a lot of those effects for this film were terrible. Even by 1984 standards. They should spent more time on them.
The space scenes look especially poor when you realize that 3 Star Wars films had already been released before it.
This is so great!
Thanks for the upload.
I miss Frank terribly.
If you watched Dune after it was released on TV on the Sci-Fi channel (not sci fi yet) his name was in the opening credits.
I truly am a Lynch fan. All his films. He has the gift of IMAGINATION. In Dune I believe he accomplished the impossible, by giving us an epic vision of 10,000 years into the future. That is, weird. Incomprehensible. Alien. Lavish. Savage.
You’ve got to have imagination to appreciate the imaginative.
Awesome!!
I loved the movie when I saw it years ago! To be fair, I had not read the book.
Lynch fu%$in nailed it...Gave it that cool space opera matinee feel. The cheap special FX actually give it a more vintage feel. Seen the new 2005 Dune production? Hmm. I´d love Lynch to revisit the Dune universe.He needs to, but he won´t.
What’s your thoughts of it now after the release of the 2021 and 2024 films?
I am ambivalent to David Lynch's movie adaptation (1984). "Dune" (1965) is one of my favorite books.
Frank Herbert, truly the best writer.
@positronicfeed actually, it was the 2nd guy they got for the project, Peter Morel. Now he's quit the project too.
@positronicfeed The last director for the new Dune project (currently in development hell) wanted to make a trilogy. That would've done it much justice.
@Wargoat6 That was Peter Berg right? Did he want to make the first book into a trilogy or the first three books?
@Wargoat6 Of course. Idaho. He doesn't really become that much of a prominent figure until later on in the books but his importance increases as he gets returned to life as gholas since he's the only guy who remembers everything. Him and Leto II. And by the end of the octology more or less everyone. :)
@positronicfeed I could see that working. With the main roles played by lesser known talent, it's less distracting to character development. If there's one character I want to see done right, it's got to be Idaho. In both the movie and the miniseries, he seems to be relatively undeveloped.
@Wargoat6 I think the same could be said of the script Ridley Scott was trying to get Herbert's approval on. Ridley's would have had it's feet on the ground as opposed to the looney Jodorowsky version. But I think in order to make a successful film out of Dune you have to strip the story down to it's core and re-write, so it's a film inspired by Dune as opposed to being a film version of the book. Because I don't think it's possible to get the whole story down to a 2 - 2.5 hour film.
Doooon!
Awesome interview!! I had the tape and wore it the heck out! David Lynch's Dune was the best version, the Sci-Fi channel's version sucked , hard !
I hate the end though. The book ends pretty unhappy, with Paul knowing that he has to do horrible thing for the greater good, ending in a dilemma. The movie's forced happy ending really made me upset.
My personal heroes are Frank, David, Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins. You are all loved.
@Wargoat6 :( I really want to see a new version of this with a proper big budget and decent sfx. It would have to be relatively unknown talented young actors for the main roles (Paul, Chani, Irulan, Idaho, Feyd, etc...) and Anthony Hopkins/Meryl Streep calibers for the supporting cast (Duke Leto I, Shaddam IV, Baron Harkonnen, Lady Jessica, Stilgar, Mohiam, etc...) imho.
Did you see the new one yet?
very hard book to make in to a movie with all the thoughts and observations that you read in the book, some of the characters come close to the faces i imagined, like jessica, paul and baron harkonnen, patrick stewart as gurney halleck on the other hand made me laugh as i was imagining more someone like klaus kinski looking like gurney, but thats the beauty of reading and imagining it i guess
i hear martin scorsese is gonna make a movie out of dan simmons hyperion, that will be interesting too and hard i bet
Bach!
omg... that's my cousin...8v8 I wish I could've met him.
^_^ This is great!
sadly lynch removed his name from the original credits. by my understanding, he thought they hacked his work to pieces.
Only the TV edit
@monk22yrs Luke Skywalker and Paul Atreides? Two vastly different men in two diametrically opposed situations. You obviously are a beginner to sci fi fandom, but its ok. We need all fans. double your years (I have 44) and you may know more, I was there in a theater in 76, and I've read both books (yes, Lucas wrote Star Wars as a novel) Try it, ya might like it,
Man, what would Herbert say of these times, the desert "tribes" and the "Charismatic Leader"?
+mvunit3 I think he would characterize their responses and our responses as reflections of the flaws of both of our societies.
+Hoyt Mueller agreed. black clad desert rebels are a symptom not the illness.
There are many types of charismatic leaders. Not all are good, or even likable.
Kubeface Someone has been watching the news.
holy crap, spice really is oil
I hope he wasn't referring to Alejandro as one of the possible disasters! Everyone has stolen from Ale's version!
Jodo's ending would have been a total disrespect to the story, despite the amazing ideas he had for other elements of the movie. While the Lynch version was heavily flawed, Frank seems "happy enough" with the final product. Jodo's version would have been far worse, IMO.
translate in german, please!
You know who I realize 'sucks' when it comes to Dune? Dune fans. I'm not talking about your average Dune fan... I'm talking about those pretentious 'comic book guy(s)' parrots, filled up to their hair thinning cranium lines with believed bravado and chili dogs a reflux. Whom so effortlessly pass condemned 'rulings' upon others as they do gas silently among the browsers at your local comic book store. As though they had written the whole damn thing themselves the way they demur.
@Johnlindsey289 By all accounts, Jorodowsky would have even LESS to do with the book than Lynch's interpretation. Many stories online about that.
old Science Fiction movies were more realistic because the VFX and Props where made by Hand not by Computer so The Actors Can feel as if they are in Real World Universe I hate CGI
The movie was good but they changed the ending which destroyed the message. Paul could not crack the pavement or make it rain. And it says that he he ends war and brings peace when it is the opposite, Paul brings the Jihad across the galaxy, which in his vision he sees as the only way forward for humanity because the other paths are worse. But he still can hardly bear the burden of the path he takes until he finds freedom in the desert at the end of Dune Messiah.
David's (presumably) haircut looks like something from Baron Harkonnen's ship. lol
I didn't dislike the Lynch film, I mean I think that Lynch is a good film maker, I just think that Dune could have been done a lot better.
Great interview though.
The only part of the David Lynch "Dune" I can never get past is the "weird-ass way" with those moronic sound weapons triggered by "power words". Everything else was fine but they totally wreck it for me.
A a child all those mediocre props/costumes seemed to take my imagination farther and deeper into the unknown voids of the universe. But now that I am an adult experiencing the tech. and c.g.i. of today doesn't seem to quite feed my imagination in the same type of manor. Does anyone here feel the same way that I do on this subject matter?
Too bad Lynch won't ever revisit Dune. Its a great film, not the turkey people make it out to be. He's so bitter, even they told him he could what he wanted, he said no.
"DOOON", lol. It's Dune, "dyune".
I loved the movie Dune the only crap part in it was the Baron drinking the blood of a guy in a dress,what the hell was that all about.That should've definately been a deleted scene.And all the half way decent scenes they cut out.I'm like why not that crap scene instead? I was watching the film with a friend,and when that scene came on he wanted to turn it off,but the rest of the film was very good to me.I wanna get the extended version!
"Michael Garibaldi", you must be kidding. BOTH versions sucked. The David Lynch film, however, was far worse. The Baron Harkonnen didn't fly about in stained underwear. OR take oil baths. OR implant 'heart drains' in people. There was no chant for Mentats. Gurney Halleck didn't rush out into the Battle of Arrakeen carrying a Pug. There were no such things as "weirding modules". The Fremen stillsuits included head coverings, and they wore robes over them, with hoods. Finally, if Paul made it rain on Arrakis, he would have killed every single sandworm on the planet, destroying spice forever.
I hear that, I've read all the novels a few times over but I still love Lynch's view of it even though it is bastardized. You should check out the documentary ''Jodorowsky's Dune'' to see how it might of been otherwise.
I would love to see this re-made, but if it was they'd probably put Michael Bay in charge and it would end up a fucking mess.
I agree Scott Crandall, there are so many thing that just aren't in the book or are in the book and changed to some outlandish version. I do think that Lynch's version has a definite atmosphere that is unique and interesting. It's just not Dune's atmosphere. The story is so amazing that it really doesn't need changes.
I would love to have Jodorowsky's Dune as the definitive adaptation. Though even with that, the ending would have been different. I like Jodorowsky's ending, but I don't think it fits the book. Herbert came up with such amazing and unique items and concepts that I think it's a disservice to adapt it without including as many in their original state as possible. The story is beloved because of those things and it's big grand ideals. So, why "fix it" with changes? It just doesn't make sense to me.
Del * How about Denis Villenueve getting the franchise?
I blame Lynch... However i think it was supposed to represent the jesus like power of MauDib despite the fact that the books went out of their way to point out the messiah thing was BS.
Or it could be his way of establishing that the reign of Paul brought water to Dune even tho it was Paul's son that did that.
OR it could be that Lynch just sucks. Yeah I will go with that.
This book should have been written by a woman. It should be redone.
May I ask why you feel this way????
@@Yoshai94 it is a male dominated field. Science fiction writing is dominated by men.
@@terminateboy4714 I work for the Canadian government and this is the reality of our patriarchal world. This goes against our policies. If you disagree, you should take a gender studies course at your local university and that will help. Good luck.