Why I'm a lifelong Dune lover (even the Lynch movie)
Why I'm a lifelong Dune lover (even the Lynch movie)
by Jen Davies, nerd
Jan 29, 2026
If you’re not familiar or hesitant to get into Dune, let me encourage you to start with the very recent Denis Villeneuve films. They do not follow the book in every detail but in the overall story they’re right on the mark, and they are visually mesmerizing in addition to hosting incredible acting performances. Start there, if you’re just starting.
I grew up in a sci-fi loving household, but somehow we had not had a copy of Dune on hand for me to read among all the other books. The sci-fi I had read was heavy on the science, dominated by Asimov and Sagan, before I tripped onto Dune, which became the only book I’ve probably read 5 times. I discovered Dune very much by accident: I was at a garage sale and I spotted a bound book of photos from a movie I’d never heard of (the 1980s Dune), and Patrick Stewart happened to be in the photo on the cover. I was a huge ST:TNG fan so I would have spotted his face anywhere, so of course I went home with the photobook and a mission to find somewhere to rent this movie. Thankfully the local Blockbuster Video (may she rest in peace) had it.
I watched it 3-4 times before we had to return it. The first time through I was watching for Sir Patrick, but the other times I was getting a grasp of the mood of the rest of it. The story was grand, like Star Wars (which I had loved since I was old enough to sit through a movie), but the people who were supposed to be heroes… weren’t. They coerced people the same way the antagonists did. There were no moments where I wanted to cheer - sometimes I was happy for the main characters, but just as often I was uncomfortable about what was going on. So I went to a used book store and bought a copy to devour (twice back to back) to figure out what this story was about. This was before internet commentary, and book clubs for adolescents in my town were focused on Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, so I had to figure most of it out on my own.
Today I’m aware that some of the feelings I had about the 1980s Dune movie were about the story, which is not about good guys and bad guys: it’s really just about bad guys! It’s a cautionary tale about revenge and power (including charisma, threats of violence, and many other forms of power). And eventually I became a bit of a fan of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks as well, because these two works were introducing me to concepts that I hadn’t been exposed to before: that we can learn a great deal about life by being made uncomfortable. Actors Kyle MacLachlan and Kenneth McMillan were fantastic for this in Dune, because Kyle was just the most boy scout-like person you could find, and most people had seen Kenneth as a sweet-natured cop in the Police Academy series!
The next opportunity for new Dune emerged in the early 2000s, when a cable TV network (I think it was the Scifi/Syfy Channel… yes, it was) produced a really well-adapted version called Frank Herbert’s Dune, which also covered Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune: the first three books of the series altogether. The sets were a little wonky compared to what I was used to from Lynch’s incredible spaces, and some of the casting was weak in my opinion. The Baron was brilliant, this time played by Ian McNeice who you may have seen as Churchill in the modern Doctor Who or in any number of movies and British television. Paul’s son Leto who is destined to become the scourge of the universe (and he can find only one way around it - pretty rough destiny) is played by James McAvoy, who is well-known now for his ability to play characters dealing with a touch of madness. My spouse and I rewatched these recently and they’re quite good, for the budget they had to work with as television serieses. This series kept my fandom alive because it effectively captures Frank Herbeet's warning yet again: one group's hero is another person's demon, and even heroes are awful. The newer show, The Boys, is premised on the same idea.
Thankfully I was previously a fan of Denis Villeneuve’s work, so I was emotionally prepared for the weight and beauty of the work that Villeneueve is always able to put together in partnership with his cinematographers, using colour and frame composition to tell the story even without any words. Arrival and Bladerunner 2049 (some of my top 25 films of all time) both do this as well. Dune Parts I and II are emotional rollercoasters for me because it feels like the book (which I know so well) leaps off the page and onto the screen. And what’s very funny is that not all the details are correct - I actually think he improved a lot of the details, for example near the start of the film when the Atreides spaceships emerge from where they have been docked in the oceans (which only makes sense because Caladan is a water world). I wept at that scene because the universe-building that was being done felt right. All of the casting in the 2020s Dune movies was spot-on, and I had to admit that Josh Brolin’s low-key readiness-for-violence was much more how I imagined Gurney Halleck would be, than Sir Patrick’s over-the-top performance in the Lynch film (which I still love - just for different reasons). I think I remember some criticism about the changes to Chani’s story, but once I saw the film I didn’t mind them and it made sense to cast strong Zendaya in the role because Chani finally came across on the screen as agentic as she needed to be (previous versions hadn’t accomplished it - remember that in Dune Messiah she takes care of challengers who are a waste of Paul's time by herself).
I have read all the books, including the ones that were finished by modern writers after Frank Herbert’s death. It’s interesting to know what history of that universe was in Frank’s head (like how humans came to eschew artificial intelligence), but they’re not great books. They lack Frank’s style, which is obtuse and can be hard to read, but for me that was part of the universe-building of the Dune novels. It is a difficult universe to grasp.
Believe it or not I haven’t yet started the television series, Dune: Prophecy. I felt ‘bitten’ by the new books, so I’m a little hesitant because I don’t want to be disappointed again. People whose opinions I trust tell me that it’s pretty good, so I will get to it - there are just other things I want to watch first, like finishing the most recent season of The Foundation.
But any opportunity I have to introduce someone to Villeneuve’s Dune, I do (with an unscheduled intermission in the middle, it’s a long one). It’s a beautiful, well-made science fiction film even if you aren’t a fan of the universe, and even without Lynch’s ability to make us squirm the story still forces us to ask many uncomfortable questions about the nature of humankind, and we’re capable of.
#dune #davidlynch #denisvilleneuve #scifi #sciencefantasy #spaceopera
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