Harlan Ellison on Lynch's Dune

Harlan Ellison on David Lynch's Dune, compiled from clips from the Impressions of Dune documentary.

In September 1979 Ridley Scott asked Harlan Ellison to write the Dune script, Harlan declined.

Harlan Ellison passed away 28 June 2018.

[nightey]

I love how Harlan went from grumpy middle aged man to a happy grandpa.

[tyuzgbv]

He's exactly right! There are many ways you could criticize Dune, but once you stop comparing it to the book and instead compare it to other movies, you see the specialness and the courage to make such a film and genuinely try to bring the uniqueness of dune to the screen. I saw the film before I read the books, and I did read all of them.

[rederickfroders]

This man was never afraid to be direct and brutal and I admire that about him. He said it as it is, and if that hurt peoples feelings, those people should just get over it.
That said he wasnt a mean spirited man, he was rebellious, and he called bullshit when he saw it, wherever it came from.
Great man

[landonjones]

This man is known for being incredibly blunt and honest. He liked Lynch's Dune and so did I. There was something dark and strange and rich and original about it. However, it could have been so much more. If you want to see a really savage opinion of it, ask Lynch himself. He actually regrets making it, because he did not have final cut and he feels it was ruined.

[StrykerForge]

R.I.P. Harlan Ellison. Your work on Babylon 5 will always make you one of my heroes.

[urmzogna]

Loved the films and the Dune Books. And Harlan was a fantastic person and Author. Also loved his work.

[bingerz]

The soundtrack is top-notch, some shots and moments are true standouts, and the design for the sandworms looks great. I get why Lynch disowned the picture, but there's no denying the high level of talent that went into the production. Plus it made Blue Velvet possible.

[Terrakinetic]

0:35 For me it's the pacing. No film will ever pause for the amount of time you really need to digest the philosophy and the allegory of it all.
If you're moving at a living breathing actor's pace, you're just watching a series of events.

[Jamo-uypn]

I wonder how Harlan would he feel about the new dune movie in 2020

[beckoning-chasm]

Lynch's "Dune" is seriously underrated. I rewatch it on regular basis. I've seen the new Part One once, and have no desire to rewatch it or see Part Two at all. I'm sure they're great. Enjoy them.

[meesalikeu]

harlan knows this movie was taken away from lynch but he still likes it a lot for all the reasons he says and more and i agree with him.

[michaelcristel]

Was never a huge fan of the book until I got into my 20s. I also feel the movie didn't reach it's proper height until the 4-hour unedited version. The new preface provided a stronger backstory (the narration and thought bubble approach I felt was brilliant in order to help the general audiences understand the story elements) and I just got to enjoy it all over again, much like the longer cuts of Lord of the Rings. As harsh a critic as Ellison was, for him to say it held up was a bold statement. Being able to make a film vision that supports the original story is difficult. American audiences want to be spoon-fed, and so we're given a happy ending (downpour on Arrakis) that had no business happening. It's like ending Romeo and Juliet with a deus ex machina and they live happily ever after. The original premise of The Matrix was that humans were enslaved in order to become organic transistors in a giant, planet-sized CPU built by the Machines. The treatment was adopted by an initial story by Neil Gaiman, but it was later dropped in favor of the battery/energy source plot, which made no sense logistically or scientifically.

[deplant]

I thought i was the only one who liked this movie. It captures the weirdness / alienness (?) beautifully. I loved it. I thought it captured the book well. All film is translation.

It is by will alone i set my mind in motion.

I must not fear, for fear is the mind killer.


I dread the new one, and the old tv series was just embarrassing....

[DavidCarroll-tg]

I remember walking out of the theater being not displeased with it, as it hit upon quite a few of the more potent subjects as was found in the book. The fight scenes toward the end were truly lacking however.

[xbaxdark]

Lynch's Dune will always have a special place in my heart, it was a film my father had introduced me to when I was young and it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Dune opened my mind to new ideas. The new films make use of modern technology and perhaps have distilled Dune into a more palatable format and in some respects made more spectacular and visually appealing but fails in other ways. In my opinion the original Dune film, the first half any ways was really good at representing what was in the book. Many people are critical of the inner dialogue voice overs but if you read the Dune books you can see how integral these inner dialogues are for establishing the mental maneuvering between highly calculating players. The second half of the film is where it falls apart for me, the action isn't very exciting, the pacing feels slow and the conclusion is a bit underwhelming. The original Dune does a decent job with exposition that a viewer who has never read the books can have some understanding of the nuances of the Dune universe where as the new films don't really explain anything, which is part of what makes them more palatable I suppose. An example in the new Dune films of a lack of exposition is there's no explanation about Mentats or their importance and why they are necessary in a Universe that has banned anything resembling a computer. The original film was not perfect and it has some moments where the VFX were either not great to begin with or haven't aged well but there are also parts, such as with the sandworms where I think the practical effects actually look better than some of the CGI of the modern films. The costumes and the sets were amazing for the time, but you can see how the budget was starting to get thin in the second act. Considering all the hurdles the film faced I think it's still a gem even if it's a little rough in spots. Also in closing we have Dune to thank for Patrick Stewart becoming Sean Luc Picard. :)

[therespectedlex]

I like his 'It did/not...' list. He's superb

[StopFear]

He was right. Even the new Dune movies don’t do the books justice. They simplify the story and focus on the wrong things.

[JulianThursday]

I love (almost) every movie David Lynch has ever made, he's my favorite director, and my 80% of my top movies of all time is made out of David Lynch movies. But I never watched the movie Dune in my life, and I'm afraid to do so after watching Jodorowsky's Dune. After watching that documentary, I feel like only Jodorowsky could have done justice to that source material, and everything else would be "less than".

[patrickmccormack]

What would Harlan Ellison say about the the latest theatrical version of Dune?

[basedokadaizo]

"okay, Mr. Ellison, we're talking about Du--"
"SO ABOUT MOBY DICK."
"...sir?"