Movie Review: Dune (1984)

Let’s check it out, shall we?

I’ve already reviewed the 2021 version of Frank Herbert's classic, Dune. Now, let’s take a look at the 1984 original adaptation. And give thanks that Alejandro Jodorowsky's attempt to adapt the film in 1975 died before it got off the ground.

I've seen and heard what he had in mind for it and it would have killed science fiction movies for the rest of time. David Lynch was weird enough for Dune as it was. Still, for those eager to see the classic novel come to life on the big screen, the 1984 film was actually very good - Sting being in the cast for some weird reason notwithstanding.

Let’s check it out, shall we?

The story

We start off, unlike the 2021 adaptation, with the Emperor being visited by a Guild Navigator inquiring about "many machines on Ix" and "plans within plans" regarding the Harkonnens and the Atredies. The Guild wants Paul Atredies killed, even though he is not the Duke. As we saw in the 2021 adaptation, the Emperor has ordered House Harkonnen off of Arrakis and turned the planet over to House Atredies, who takes ownership knowing it is a trap. Paul Atredies, son of Duke Leto Atriedies and the Bene Gesserit Lady Jessica, is not only being groomed to take over as Duke when the time comes, but he is also caught in the long-term designs of his mother’s order as well.

Once on Arrakis, the Atreides deal with sabotage and treachery, including an ultimate betrayal by Dr. Wellington Yeuh, who basically hands over the Duke and the planet to the Harkonnens and their leader, Baron Harkonnen. Paul and his mother escape, aided in part by Yeuh, who (unlike the 2021 adaptation) is killed by Piter deVries at the Baron's order as Yueh's reward for being a traitor.

Paul and Jessica escape the assault and flee deep into the desert, where they meet a band of Fremen, led by Stilgar, who take in the fugitives after Paul is forced to dispatch one of the Fremen in a duel. It is here the 2021 movie ends and we are forced to wait nearly three years for the next film. But, if you didn't feel like waiting, the 1984 film manages to finish the whole story of the first book of the Dune series.

Paul eventually proves himself worthy of leading the Fremen in a rebellion against the Harkonnens and the Emperor, who is forced to come to Arrakis to deal with the disruption in the flow of the spice melange. The only reason anyone is fighting over the planet. Paul leads the final attack, killing the Baron, and Feyd Rautha, and claims the throne of the Emperor as his own.

The characters

Paul is the main character of both the book and the film, and he finds himself in the middle of much intrigue. He is dealing with the impending move of his entire House from Caladan, a water world, to Arrakis, which is about as bone dry as a world can get and still have life on its surface.

His mother and Bene Gessirit, the Lady Jessica, has been training him in the ways of her order. His father is Duke Leto, who knows he is stepping into a trap by taking control of Arrakis, but has plans of his own to thwart the schemes of both the Emperor and Leto’s enemy, the Baron Harkonnen. The Duke, and Paul, lean heavily upon their Lieutenants, Gurney Halleck, Duncan Idaho and Thufir Hawat, as they take up residency on Arrakis.

The people who lived on Arrakis long before the Spice was discovered, are the Fremen. A band of desert people and fierce fighters that Leto hopes to recruit to his side in his battle against his foes. The leader is Stilgar, who allows Idaho to join his band.

The other leader of the Fremen is Liet Kynes, who is also serving as the Judge of the Change for the Emperor and has been ordered to look the other way when sabotage against the Duke is undertaken. But, as he (and the 1984 adaptation leaves Kynes as the man he was in the book) gets to know the Duke and the Atredies better, he senses he may have found allies in his own plans for the barren world.

The world

The majority of the action takes place on Arrakis, with some scenes on Caladan at the beginning, and brief scenes on Giedi Prime (the Harkonnen’s homeworld),  the Imperial Palace on Caitan, and a few scenes in space sprinkled in because this is supposed to be a space opera after all. But the sands of Arrakis, the capital city of Arrakeen, and the rocky caves where the Fremen live is where the action is and it is on full display. Sand waves working across the surface, giant sandworms slithering below. A climate so arid that special suits must be worn to remain alive out in the open. But the most important aspect of the world is the life-extending Spice Melange, the only thing that makes the planet worth fighting, and dying for.

The politics

There are politics to spare in this film. The Emperor, fears the rise of House Atreides that could topple him from his throne. House Harkonnen has had a centuries-long feud with the Atreides and is more than willing to play along with the Emperor’s schemes, even if it means releasing their grip on the wealthiest planet in the known universe if but temporarily, in order to do in their old enemy.

As for the Atreides, they have their own code of honor, but know how to play the political game in order to advance their position and power within the Lansraad – the collection of Houses within the Empire (think of it as an unelected Senate) – and CHOAM – The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles – that controls economic affairs across the known universe.

Toss in the long-term schemes of the Bene Gessirit – trying to create a superbeing called the Kwisatz Haderach that they can control – and the machinations of the Spacing Guild – who controls all space travel – and you wind up with everyone having their knives out for everyone else.

Content warning

There’s violence, you have large-scale and small scale battles so yeah, there’s violence. But aside from that, its your basic PG-13 film.

Who is it for?

Fans of sci-fi/fantasy will enjoy this film. Fans of Herbert’s original six books - which inspired my work in When The Gods Fell and the Starquest 4th Age series - will also enjoy the film, especially as it has fewer changes from Herbert's original material than the 2021 adaptation did. Idaho dies in the original assault in this film, where in the 2021 adaptation and the original novel, his death comes after Paul and Jessica have fled into the desert. And that's really the only one that stands out in my mind - aside from the gender-swap-that-makes-no-sense-in-Frank-Herbert’s-original-Dune-universe.

Can you tell I’m really annoyed by that casting decision in the 2021 film yet?

Why watch it?

Whereas the 2021 cast has some great casting and some big misses (in my opinion) the 1984 film only missed with one cast member and that is Sting. He was terrible. But the rest of the cast were rock stars who nailed their roles to absolute perfection and the sets and soundtrack were excellent as well.

I know some folks found the "voices in their heads" bit distracting, but hearing what the characters were thinking filled in the gaps that they couldn't add into the film

I give it an 8.5  out of 10.

Who did it better?

Between 1984 and 2021 there's an equal amount of both films to like and dislike. I wish we could have had the 1984 cast with 2021's director, special effects and budget (minus the blasted gender-swapped Kynes. Yes, I’m really annoyed about that, btw.)

But if you put a lasgun (Dunians will get the reference) to my head and made me pick: I have to go with the 1984 film. But there's one more contender to look at. The 2000 Dune mini-series by the then Sci-Fi channel.