David Lynch: Surreal Marvel continues with one of the director’s most critically maligned films and one of his most lauded movies–Dune and Mulholland Drive. The first was a flop, which Lynch himself couldn’t stand, and the second was one of only two films of the twenty-first century to make Sight & Sound’s 50 Greatest Movies of All-Time. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever have a chance to see such two disparate pictures from the same director in one night. Don’t miss it!
Dune review by Trylon volunteer Amy Neeser.
The typical David Lynch crowd doesn’t often appreciate Dune because in many ways it is a classic sci-fi film and remains true to Frank Herbert’s original text. The literary Dune universe is incredibly complex, and consequently the film suffers from the classic problem of adaptation. Herbert’s genius ultimately hurts the movie, making it seem rushed and the characters flat. While Dune can seem long and overly detailed, it could have easily been at least an hour longer to fully appreciate and understand the vast complexity of Herbert’s universe.
In the very distant future, interstellar trade depends on a mind-bending spice that is only found on Arrakis (aka, Dune). Feuding families fight over control of the planet in a tale of betrayal, murder, and prophecy. The viewer is quickly overcome by a vast amount of information and terminology in a bizarre alien world that consists of space / time bending through drug use, Sting in a latex codpiece, and giant sandworm battles all set to a score by Toto and Brian Eno.
Dune has been cut and re-cut many times and Lynch eventually replaced his name with the pseudonym Alan Smithee in order to disassociate himself with the underappreciated space epic. Nevertheless, this ambitious cinematic undertaking is visually stunning and while it is often misunderstood, remains a favorite by many.
Amy Neeser is a scientific research librarian at the University of Minnesota. She has a background in film and specializes in New German Cinema, animation, and representations of the apocalypse.
Dune screens Friday and Saturday at 7:00, Sunday at 5:00. Purchase tickets here. Mulholland Drive shows Friday and Saturday at 9:30, Sunday at 7:30. Purchase tickets here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg06ZBdHb5M