I have a love-hate relationship with David Lynch’s adaptation.
I first saw it when I was about 13 on TV, dubbed in French with no English subtitles. So I barely understood a word of the dialogue. But the pure epicness shone through those challenges and I vowed to see the original English version.
When I saw the original English version a couple of years later it was everything I hoped it would be, and then some. It was amazing.
Then a few years after that I read Herbert’s novel, and that movie was forever tarnished. Reading the meticulous way he forged the plot really shone a light on the movie’s plot shortcomings that I had been ignoring.
So now I see a deeply flawed movie, but also one that is still epic and beautiful and revolutionary to the industry. They really should have made it as a real miniseries from the beginning, so they could give it space to breathe. Trying to cram that incredibly dense novel into just two or three hours on the silver screen was doomed to fail.
I have a love-hate relationship with David Lynch’s adaptation.
I first saw it when I was about 13 on TV, dubbed in French with no English subtitles. So I barely understood a word of the dialogue. But the pure epicness shone through those challenges and I vowed to see the original English version.
When I saw the original English version a couple of years later it was everything I hoped it would be, and then some. It was amazing.
Then a few years after that I read Herbert’s novel, and that movie was forever tarnished. Reading the meticulous way he forged the plot really shone a light on the movie’s plot shortcomings that I had been ignoring.
So now I see a deeply flawed movie, but also one that is still epic and beautiful and revolutionary to the industry. They really should have made it as a real miniseries from the beginning, so they could give it space to breathe. Trying to cram that incredibly dense novel into just two or three hours on the silver screen was doomed to fail.