http://www.davidlynch.de/dunetimeout.html

I could write a thesis on the subject of this film, auteur Lynch and subsequent career notwithstanding. The books alone were very nearly insurmountable as the building blocks for a feature length film, to translate the diverse and often convoluted worlds of Herbert’s future-scape surely would have driven even the most talented filmmaker to the brink of emotional collapse. Add in the fact that while Lynch was placed at the helm of the ship he had a great many masters to serve both in terms of the producing team (Dino De Laurentiis and Raffaella De Laurentiis) and nearly 1,700 crew members. There were 80 sets built upon 16 sound stages and the film took more than 6 years to make of which David Lynch devoted 3 ½ years of his life to.

I can’t say that I’m surprised that Dune would find itself on a list of bad movies, given the horrendous budget disasters and production mishaps, the public disagreements and verbal fisticuffs between Lynch and the producers, etc., etc., etc. I would argue against classifying it as the worst of the worst in any genre from any director, but I’m not here to champion the cause of David Lynch any more than I am going to attempt to dissuade people from their opinion of the film. Simply put, it did not reach people and at times the complexities of the plot were never fully realized in a meaningful way for mainstream audiences. For every misstep, however, I might counter with bold and cinematic achievements, with stunning details and at times engaging and nuanced performances. Where Dune ultimately comes undone is the resulting collision of director and producer(s). The film was cut numerous times and at one point Lynch removed his name from the production altogether. He still refuses to discuss the project and has repeated turned down requests to revisit the film with an expanded DVD treatment.

Interesting comments and comparisons to the game. I haven’t anything to add on that front.