I can recite lines from this movie to a degree that almost defies reason. I can’t watch this movie with other people because, apart from the people who are quoting it right along with me, it bugs the shit out of any sane person*.
This movie is Epic. Yes, Epic. I like David Lynch, but am by no means one of those people who just worship the sand he strides upon (using irregular rhythm, naturally) I found Lost Highway to be kind of exhausting, and Mullholland Drive willfully obtuse. I respect his willingness to push the boundaries of what’s meant to be acceptable in cinema, but I don’t just slavishly adore whatever comes down the Lynchian pike.
Dune is Important To Me. It is one of my favorite books, and is a masterwork of fiction. More on that when I start talking about books…
This movie isn’t totally true to the book. But having seen it for the first time when I was all of about seven, and well before I read it, it didn’t bother me as much as it might have if I’d gotten to them in reverse order. I actually recommend doing it in that order, if you can possibly help it. That way you have the perfect means to fantasize about Sting while you read the novel.
Why Lynch decided to make the “weirding way” have anything to do with sound is still sort of beyond me. I guess he wanted a manifestation of something that’s essentially a religious discipline and that’s hard to convey by just referring to it.
Even with that being (to me) the most annoying departure, this is still an excellent film. It’s pacing and air of mystery may seem heavy-handed at times, but the themes of the book are serious: religion, politics, the oppression of native peoples in order to exploit the natural resources they are blessed with, and Jihad. The themes are relevant and deftly expressed.
There are also lots of pretty and talented people in this movie (I mentioned Sting already…) and the visuals are rich and hold up surprisingly well despite twenty odd years of advancing special effects technology. I won’t try to tell you it isn’t campy in it’s way, but it is both entertaining and moving if you can simply allow yourself to surrender to the fact that sometimes things that are campy, are still totally awesome.**
*This may exclude anyone who can quote that much Dune, but that’s a discussion for another day.
**like S’mores
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