Top 10 Reasons Why Dune 1984 is Hated
#10: The Lack of Fidelity to the Source Material
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David Lynch is arguably one of the most creative and unique filmmakers to ever pick up a camera. His body of work speaks for itself. But a massive fan of “Dune”, he was not. His lack of interest in the source material (and arguably blockbuster sci-fi in general) shows through in the adaptation. For starters, he aged the main character, Paul Atreides, making our protagonist’s journey a fundamentally different one for him not being a teenager. Other characters are introduced only to have their storylines unceremoniously abandoned. Certain creative choices, which will be discussed in greater detail later in the video, actually go against the fundamental message of Hebert’s novel.
#9: It Tries to Condense Way Too Much Material
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Denis Villeneuve’s updated adaptation of Dune will only cover the first half of the novel. While this might seem like a marketing ploy to set up the sequel, it’s for the best. “Dune”, like the “Lord of the Rings”, simply can’t be condensed into a single film - at least not in a satisfying way. We learned this the hard way watching the 1984 attempt. The universe of “Dune” is so complex and nuanced that the film has no choice but to give these massive exposition dumps. They’re off-putting and actually make the whole thing somehow feel less accessible. In an attempt to meet a reasonable runtime, huge chunks of this sprawling narrative were left on the cutting room floor. The resulting story feels disjointed and half-baked.
#8: The Internal Monologues
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Despite the source material’s density, Universal Pictures demanded a film with a standard running time. Producers Raffaella De Laurentiis and her father Dino De Laurentiis stepped in to deliver. In order to cut the film down, scenes were trimmed or excised, and the blanks were filled in with voiceovers. There’s a time and place to use narration as a window into the mind of a character; this is a crash course in how NOT to do it. Characters serve as mouthpieces for exposition dumps, but more often than not the results are entirely unhelpful. These internal monologues are delivered in a creepy whisper that’s jarring and distracts from the scene. Most damning, it can be unclear whose thoughts we’re hearing.
#7: It Lacks Action
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If this was intended as producer Dino De Laurentiis’ answer to Star Wars, he really missed the mark. Our beloved galaxy far, far away boasts incredible world-building and unique characters, but it’s ALSO thrilling! The Star Wars films succeed largely by making the audience feel like they’re part of a grand adventure. The 1984 version of “Dune”, by contrast, feels like an advanced poli-sci course for an alien civilization, taught by someone in their second or third language. For a film that tries to cram in way too much, there’s remarkably little in the way of action. When something exciting does happen, the scene is usually short, poorly choreographed and lacking in relatable stakes.
#6: The Many, MANY Cheesy Moments
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If you’re planning on revisiting this film any time soon, skip the popcorn and break open a bag of nachos instead. Because this film has got cheese to spare! When working within the sci-fi genre, there’s a fine line between self-seriousness and parody. Sadly, more often than not, the combination of overacting and absurdly pretentious dialogue tips the scales in favor of the latter. When reading Dune, there’s a real gravitas to the characters and events. The film reduces most of the book’s most powerful players to their eccentricities. Add the flamboyant costuming, questionable wording throughout and what we can only assume was a mandate to crank the intensity to 11 at every opportunity, and you get a film that feels like an SNL sketch.
#5: The Hair, Makeup, & Costumes
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There are some people out there who consider the aforementioned design choices to be the only thing that David Lynch got right with this adaptation. There’s no denying that the filmmaker tried to create a richly-themed and immersive world with unique visuals. But for all the bold decisions that were made, the end result is still underwhelming. This thoroughly mid-80s idea of how a futuristic society would look felt almost immediately dated. For every character design that was appropriately weird [little girl], there were two others that felt cartoonishly over-the-top and deeply uncool. Sting in that codpiece is seared into our eyes forever. Then there were group outfits that seemed like complete afterthoughts. The Harkonnen and Atreides uniforms feel like leftover costumes from other films.
#4: Weirding Became Guns
We get that “weirding” is somewhat vaguely defined in the books, but surely there were more elegant ways to portray it on-screen. Heck, we would’ve settled for anything that didn’t directly contradict Herbert’s world. One of the more interesting pieces of world-building in Dune is that personal shields have rendered projectile weapons largely obsolete. As such, hand-to-hand combat and bladed weapons are the norm. The “weirding way” is an advanced style of movement that allows for incredibly effective combat. But Lynch reportedly said that he didn’t want to see “Kung-fu on sand dunes”. So in the film, it becomes … a gun? That’s right, instead of something resembling martial arts, we got the “weirding module” which can only be described as a poorly-designed laser gun.
#3: The Rain
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As refreshing as it might have looked on paper, in practice, the climactic rainfall on Arrakis stung badly. At the heart of the original novel is the idea that Paul Atreides is being made into a god by those who see him as the messiah. While he does possess powers of precognition, his status as a deity isn’t supported by actual miracles, but rather through the fervent belief of others. This worries him immensely, as he’s afraid of unleashing a bloody holy war. Having him make it rain really misses the point. It’s also not clear HOW he does it. Just … powers, we guess? Doesn’t this make the secret Fremen water stores redundant? Plus, all that moisture would destroy the sandworms and spice - bringing down galactic civilization.
#2: It Lacks a Clear Message
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Building on our previous entry, it’s important to understand what Frank Herbert’s Dune means to people. Yes, it’s a decadently dense universe with a rich mythology, but it’s equally elaborate in its use of allegory. The 1984 film adaptation is a bold and ambitious attempt to recreate the world of Dune on the big screen, but it takes the style and leaves behind the substance. Because the film makes Paul into a superpowered messiah, the story is reduced to another run-of-the-mill tale about a “chosen one”. It doesn’t really offer commentary on what that narrative means. By making Paul a literal god, the 1984 film adaptation robs “Dune” of its greatest insight and offers nothing to say in its place. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. David Lynch Wasn't Given Creative Freedom The Director Famously Disowned the Film Because of Studio Intervention The Treatment of Female Characters Rather Than Being Powerful & Feared as in the Books, They Seem to Live to Serve Men Duncan Idaho’s Inglorious End Beloved Characters Should Get More Screen Time & a Worthy Death. Key Characters Look Silly & Are Underdeveloped Pompous Speeches from Emotionally Detached Characters with Unclear Motivations
#1: Massive Plot Holes
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When you’re aiming for worldbuilding on a scale this large and fail, your plot holes exist on a comparable scale. Even with a runtime of 136 minutes (186 for the TV version), the film has to skip over key details, backstory and explanations. And these aren’t just missing subplots that will frustrate fans of the book; we’re talking about glaring plot holes that break the reality of the film. Where, pray tell, does Paul Atreides get all those weirding modules with which he arms the Fremen? Weren’t they destroyed in the earlier attack? This is arguably the biggest and most glaring plot hole in the film, but it’s not the only one, and the narration is often just a crude band-aid trying to cover them up.
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