I don't really get why some people dislike this film so much but then on the other hand it's just not every bodies darling and it doesn't try to be…. unlike most major movies today(don't get me started!).
For people with a heart for challenging stories, i really recommend watching the over 3 hour tv - cut of the original movie if you get a chance, otherwise the regular release will do, it's just not as good as the other version.
I grew up watching the classic Star Wars Trilogy and Star Trek Movies and Series.
As a boy i already loved science fiction movies very much and so i was thrilled to see Dune on german tv with my parents one night which i totally had never heard of.
Patrick Stewart (the famous,then not so famous actor of star trek and xmen fame, also shakespeare theatre actor) was in it so that was cool and i remembered the face of kyle mac lachlan from somewhere (maybe twin peaks which ran on german tv at that time).
The movie turned out to be really cool and a bit mind-blowing for me.I don't recall exactly when that was was maybe around 1992…..
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| Dune Movie Poster |
A bit later i played the Dune game on my Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) extensively and for hours and hours.It was a really captivating game that had all elements of great real time strategy games already but it was not quite so polished as the later command and conquer games from the same developer Westwood Studios.Anyway i had a blast playing it and the harkonnens had some terrifying weapon that was like a nuclear rocket that wiped out your main building with a single well aimed shot.I remember being shocked over and over again by the shitty computers voice saying something like "Deaths Hand (name of the weapon) approaching!"
I really liked that game until the famous successor C&C came out for the PC.
Even today it can be fun to play it if you are ok with some rather terrible graphics.
Later there were some more dune games for the pc and playstation but those were mediocre exept dune 2000 which was also pretty good with improved graphics.
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| Handbook of the Dune Genesis/Megadrive Game |
I was not able to read the book until much later but it really pays off once you are familiar with the characters a bit.Its a thrilling read!I don't want to spoiler those people who have not had the pleasure to read it yet.
Once you started reading there is a lot more to discover than just the first novel.there are may more.
Frank Herbert created something unique and really thrilling, on par with the scale of stories like Lord of the Rings (yes, other genre!) or Star Wars or the Neuromancer Trilogy!
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| Frank Herberts Dune the new german edition |
Frank Herbert came up with a dense and cruel but also very fascinating world.The movie doesn't do this justice like it is very often the case with movies based on novels!I mean this is more complicated than star wars( love sat wars too….but for other reasons than the story) and also maybe a bit more off mainstream because inside here is drug use and a lot more things that appeal more to a grown up audience!
The movie was overambitioned and wanted to make the big money like the Star Wars films did…... it failed to do so miserably!
I don't like the theatrical cut of the movie which is too short and leaves out many cool scenes.I think the viewer has not enough time to fully understand what is going on at times.
Clearly, if the movie would have been aimed toward an older audience other things could have been possible but the money related questions stood in the way from the beginning.At least a very talented director and cast did a pretty good job.Also the whole set design and costume were very cool.
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| this is the german multi language double dvd edition it contains both the theatrical and tv version |
So the movie was pretty dark and non - mainstream - ish, but this did not stop the marketing people to order some Action Figures by LJN (most famous for the Thundercats Figures that were also very cool).
It is indeed a bit baffling that the figures came out because there is a problem.Not with the Figures themselves they are quite awesome.
BUT trying to market figures of some very questionable fat floating man and his criminal nephews as well as just two heroic characters for a toyline is a very difficult thing to do.
Boys don't want a fat guy with exposed nipples to play with.They want heroes or clearly defined bad guys like skeletor from the masters of the universe line by mattel.
SO the figures turned out to be a shelf warmer in the stores and nobody wanted to buy them.That was also connected to the films failure.
Until much later when adult collectors and dune fans realized that they are actually very awesome and likeable!
Dune figures came out around 1984, in germany i think there was no official release (just some random small shops had some i was told) and in the uk and the us the figures were totally unsuccessful at the time they came out.
They are about 5 and a half inches tall and all of them have some cool action feature called Battle - Matic that allows the figures arms to move by pushing a lever on the back or side.
They also come with quite many accessories for example guns and knives and cannons, a cat in a cage (feyd, holy crap that scene in the movie…..) sonic guns and worm riding equipment!
There is 6 Figures that came out in total and they are:
Feyd Rautha Harkonnen aka Sting :
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| Feyd Rautha Harkonnen with a golden knife (that was added by me from a tex hex figure because i got him loose) |
Stilgar the Fremen :
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| Stilgar with sonic gun and worm riding gear (also improvised by me, i will try to get the original parts as well but this works for me) |
…..futhermore there is :
- PAUL ATREIDES ( Kyle Mac Lachlan)
- THE BEAST RABAN (Paul.L.Smith)
- BARON HARKONNEN (Kenneth McMillan)
-A SADAUKAR WARRIOR
and a Spice Scout Vehicle in scale with the figures.
Additionally there was a set of three smaller vehicles (Sand Roller, Sand Tracker and Sand Crawler)
Those were motorized and had a 4 wheel drive called Rough RidersTM !
but this is not enough yet (see they really wanted the toys to push the movie) also there were:
- A Sandworm that looked quite like a piece of poo with teeth :D !(that thing is quite cool but not in scale with the figures)
- two toy guns ( for role play) namely : the Sadaukar Laser Gun and the Fremen Tarpel Gun with lights and sounds.
And there was a Viewmaster (yeah those old picture viewers with the disk shaped things to put in……) …..sigh.
I will put up some more pictures here as i get more dune stuff in the future!
Dune is absolutely awesome!
If you need further proof here is :
A movie Trailer !
by FloSchnitzel
Also check out my buddies pages :
http://tokyotoybastard.blogspot.de
http://godbeast.com
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