DUNE (1984) Director David Lynch Says He Will "Never Watch" Denis Villeneuve's Adaptation

DUNE (1984) Director David Lynch Says He Will "Never Watch" Denis Villeneuve's Adaptation

David Lynch has previously spoken about how stressful his time working on the '80s Dune movie was, and the legendary filmmaker has no desire to find out how Denis Villeneuve fared with his adaptation.

By MarkCassidy - Apr 06, 2023 07:04 AM EST
Filed Under: Dune
Source: Via SFF Gazette

Long before Denis Villeneuve's critically acclaimed adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece, David Lynch helmed a Dune movie that was... less well-received.

Though the 1984 film did have its moments (Sting devouring the scenery as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, for one), the production was marred by studio interference and constant micromanaging. The version that was ultimately released was barely recognizable as the adaptation Lynch had originally envisioned.

Lynch was so disheartened by the entire process that he vowed never to revisit his movie for any kind of director's cut.

So, he must be at least a little curious to see how Villeneuve's take on the story turned out, right? Not so much!

While speaking to Cahiers du Cinéma, the legendary filmmaker was asked about the recent Academy Award-nominated epic, and said: “I will never watch it, and I don't even want you to tell me about it, ever.”

You might think this seems a little dismissive or pig-headed, but Lynch's response really isn't all that surprising.

In a previous interview, the director admitted that making Dune was one of the worst professional experiences of his life, and watching this new version would simply "bring back too many bad memories."

What do you make of Lynch's comments? Do you understand where he's coming from? Be sure to share your thoughts down below.

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JobinJ
JobinJ - 4/6/2023, 7:55 AM
clown
NoAssemblyReqd
NoAssemblyReqd - 4/6/2023, 7:57 AM
Probably worth mentioning that there was a longer cut of the original DUNE released with David Lynch’s name replaced by the ubiquitous Alan Smithee.
LSHF
LSHF - 4/6/2023, 1:11 PM
@NoAssemblyReqd - My favorite Smithee film is Burn Hollywood Burn.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 4/6/2023, 7:58 AM
Doubt it has anything to do with Denis or the cast or crew anyway. It would probably just be a bitter reminder. But he says he doesn't wanna say, so we'll never now for sure.
CoHost
CoHost - 4/6/2023, 8:08 AM
Alejandro Jodorowsky would say the same for your movie, Dave.
mountainman
mountainman - 4/6/2023, 8:14 AM
After reading his reason, I get it. New Dune is much better than Lynch’s, but I can see how he’d be turned off by the property after his experience.

Really looking forward to Part 2. It covers the part of the book where the most interesting things happen. And I’m excited to see Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, and Florence Pugh in their roles.
mountainman
mountainman - 4/6/2023, 8:28 AM
@mountainman - Oh and I’ve only read the first book. Need to go through Children, Messiah, and God Emperor. I hear it drops off after those three sequels.

Just finishing another book series first, then I should start those next year. I hear they are wild.
TheWinkler
TheWinkler - 4/6/2023, 10:23 AM
@mountainman - Messiah is a much more philosophical read in comparison to Dune, but it's my favorite. Children and God Emperor go hand in hand as an epic long spanning story that closes out Dune and Messiah's arcs, while getting WEIRD in the best ways.

Admittedly, I've attempted Heretics in both physical and audiobook form, just to fall off numerous times. I've chalked it up to Dune fatigue and plan on giving it another shot at some point this year.
mountainman
mountainman - 4/6/2023, 10:29 AM
@TheWinkler - If I get that far, I may continue with all the books the OG author published. Not interested in the dozens of add ons his son and the other guy added in.

Some people have told me God Emperor is absolutely amazing, but really cerebral and weird.

I just read Dune for the first time this year. I liked it, but it did have a lot of cliches that I think were original when he wrote them but they’ve been adapted into many other stories since then.
TheWinkler
TheWinkler - 4/6/2023, 10:35 AM
@mountainman - In regards to "cliches that were original at the time", if you get through to GE, you'll very quickly realize that George Lucas took quite a few liberties when writing out Star Wars.

And yeah, I'm kinda at the point that I should at least finish out Frank Herbert's works before putting it down. The final two that his son did were spawned from cliff notes that Frank left behind, but I've read that the writing and execution just isn't there in the same way. Story supposedly has Frank Herbert splattered all over, but the read itself just isn't the same.
mountainman
mountainman - 4/6/2023, 10:38 AM
@TheWinkler - Yeah I think it’s through the 7th book that is Frank’s original vision so at most I would read that far. I have another series I’m finishing at the moment, but I’ll pick up book 2 after that.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 4/6/2023, 8:27 AM
What if I told you Dune is a mediocre franchise?
Alucard28
Alucard28 - 4/6/2023, 8:29 AM
He should see it so he can learn to direct proper sci fi!

Nah, he should stick to lower budget movies.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 4/6/2023, 8:34 AM
Understandable
rebellion
rebellion - 4/6/2023, 8:46 AM
Fede rautha. FEDE? Ffs...
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