In the far future, a duke and his family are sent by the Emperor to a sand world from which comes a spice that is essential for interstellar travel. The move is designed to destroy the duke and his family, but his son escapes and seeks revenge as he uses the world’s ecology as one of his weapons.
There are things to be said for, and against, this movie.
DUNE is a vast story. Vast and complicated. The major issue with this movie is that they try to cram as much as they can, into one movie. Even at 3 hours (Director’s Cut; obscenely long for 1984), there isn’t enough time to fully explore it. Therefore, what we have is a great deal of voice-over narration and hearing everyone’s thoughts. This could have easily been a trilogy of 3 hour movies.
The production values are good, the acting is great, special effects are ahead of their time (for 1984). The issue is time. It’s all rushed, and leaves more questions than answers.
