The Golden Path

This chapter examines the unexpected longevity of David Lynch's Dune, a film that was for many deemed dead on arrival. It assesses Dune's lasting legacy from absurd tie-in merchandise to incredible comic translations to the videogames that changed game history in significant ways. It also emphasizes how Lynch's Dune demands the attention like no other film as it unfolds ceremonially into a dream already in motion. The chapter discusses how Dune remains a focused, singular vision that startles and delights in its difference in the history of science-fiction cinema. It reviews every dashed hope and upraised hand of anguish that believed Dune's literary universe could be adapted if given the right conditions. It talks about how Dune represents so much to so many in search of parables of failure, promise, corrupt systems and ineffable creative possibility.

Introduction

This chapter focuses on David Lynch's 1984 film version of Dune. It analyses Dune's narrative structure, characterisations, its approach to science fiction, and audiovisual language that are all highly idiosyncratic. It also illustrates Dune as an audacious science-fiction film that refuses to be futuristic, as a political narrative that is undone by the power of prophecy and dream, and as an adventure story structured like a poem. The chapter talks about the feeling of watching Dune, which is described as being unmoored from cinema itself and free-floating in the form's infinite, unexplored possibilities. It explores the core elements of Frank Herbert's novel version of Dune, which is heavily reliant on its own internal logic.

Mind in Motion: Watching Dune

This chapter explores David Lynch's Dune as one of science fiction's strangest outliers. It examines Dune's impressive cast, the lurid set designs, and the spiralling dialogue exchanges. It also charts the film's internal logic through key shots and scenes with reference to Frank Herbert's notes, Lynch's scripts, and the much discussed and controversial 'Alan Smithee' television edit of the film. The chapter describes Dune's final form that is acute with montages, voice-overs, interludes, inter-cuts, and fades in. It provides a close analysis of the film's unusual structure, summarizing how the material is loosely arranged and paying strict attention where the film demands it.

The Weirding Way: The Makers of Dune

This chapter talks about the production of David Lynch's Dune through the lens of the film's reputation, histories, and key players. It discusses the collaboration with El Topo director Alejandro Jodorowsky and famed French comic artist Jean 'Moebius' Giraud for the filming of Dune. It also recounts how the project for Dune sparked to life with the arrival of Lynch, who was fresh off the success of the Academy Award-nominated film The Elephant Man. The chapter mentions Lynch's reputation before and since Dune, which became part of its story, especially how the film sits both inside and outside a canonical view of his work. It outlines the events of the energetic phase that brought the Dune project to fruition.

The Sleeper Has Awakened: After Dune

This chapter explores the cultural impact of David Lynch's Dune. It considers the actual box office numbers to assess the damage of the so-called bomb. It also revisits some of the strange collection of the merchandise and examine the series of videogames which significantly contributed to the film's enduring cultural legacy, but which all too often fall under the radar of screen media scholars. The chapter reviews Dune with the benefit of hindsight and considers its legacy and meaning for contemporary audiences. It mentions Dr. Dean Brandum, a film historian and film exhibition scholar, who analyzed the conditions by which Dune failed with audiences that seemed obscure and abstract.