Rating: PG13
Genre:
Science Fiction
Release Date: 01/31/2006
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD5.1/DD2
Run Time: 177 Minutes
Flags: Not For Children, Adult Language, Sci-Fi Violence
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
David Lynch wades through dark waters in his adaptation of
Frank Herbert's cult
science fiction novel. In condensing
Herbert's rambling and complex book by eliminating characters and compacting events,
Lynch succeeds in rendering the story incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the novel and making the film look like a sketchy greatest hits collection of the book for
Herbert fans. The story takes place in the year 10,191. The universe is governed through a system of feudal rule, presided over by
Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (
José Ferrer), who appears to take his marching orders from something that resembles a talking vagina. In the kingdom are two rival houses -- the House of Atreides and the House of Harkonnen. Each house is trying to gain dominion over the universe, but that dominion can only be gained by the house that controls the Spice, a special substance that permits the folding of time. The Spice is only available on the desert world of Arrakis, or Dune.
Shaddam, tired of the feuding between the two houses, permits the Atreides to take over the Spice production on Dune, while secretly working with the Harkonnens to launch a sneak attack on the Atreides and destroy them. The leader of the Atreides is
Duke Leto (
Jürgen Prochnow), who rules with the help of his concubine
Jessica (
Francesca Annis) and son
Paul (
Kyle MacLachlan). The rival Harkonnens are headed by the pus-oozing degenerate
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (
Kenneth McMillan, in a thoroughly through-the-roof performance) and his two unsavory nephews,
Rabban (
Paul L. Smith) and
Feyd (
Sting). When his father is murdered by the Harkonnens,
Paul escapes to Dune, where he is greeted by the Fremen (the desert dwellers on Dune who prepare the Spice) as the messiah foretold in Fremen legend.
Paul assumes the mantle of messiah and leads the Fremen in a revolt that topples the balance of power in the universe.
~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
