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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
Dune
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 out of 4
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Review by GaryW
3 stars out of 4
Dune, the classic science fiction novel by Frank Herbert
upon which this movie is based, is a novel in which a complex and richly
textured world is created and which is populated by equally
complex characters. The main plotline involves the struggle
of Paul Atreides to assume leadership of the plaent Arakis, also
known as Dune. Given such complexity and the huge scope
of the (very lengthy) novel, it was hard for me to imagine the movie industry
doing justice to the novel-- something which I felt was confirmed by the
commercial failure of the movie. At that point I resolved to not
see it for fear of it spoiling my appreciation of the novel, which I
have re-read at least five times.
Dune eventually appeared on the science fiction channel and following a
positive comment by an acquaintance, I decided to watch the movie.
As it turns out, Dune does capture the spirit and the complexity of
the novel, and is visually impressive and stylish (clearly showing the
influence of David Lynch). The main problem with the movie is
that in attempting to preserve the richness and complexity of
the novel, David Lynch made a movie that was often incomprehensible.
Anyone who has read the book before watching the movie will realize that there
are an many important subtleties that one could never understand from
the movie alone. The interesting thing is that if you are
familiar with the story, then I think this approach actually
results in a better, more involving, and interesting, movie.
For this reason, I recommend the movie to those who have read the book
and to those who have not-- read the book and then watch the movie.
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