David Lynch’s 1984 sci-fi epic Dune is generally considered a failure, albeit one with moments of brilliance. I confess, seeing it at the theaters in ’84, I was definitely in the “failure” camp. When they handed me a glossary of terms upon entering the theater, I knew we were in for trouble (wish I still had that crib sheet though!).
Since the arrival of Star Wars a few years earlier, expectations for each new sci-fi blockbuster grew in terms of visual effects, and this one seemed like a step back. Spacecraft often looked like what they were — photo cut-outs filmed against black. And while the sets and costumes were admittedly lavish, things were too often undercut by crude process photography, or wildly discordant electric guitar music by the rock band, Toto.