‘Dune’: David Lynch’s 1984 Adaption Returning to Theaters Next Month!!

Before moviegoers make a return trip to Arrakis with Dune Part Two this spring, they can revisit the first time Frank Herbert‘s classic science fiction novel was adapted to the big screen. David Lynch‘s adaptation of Dune will return to theaters for a limited time this February. Fathom Events will re-release Dune in selected theaters for two days only; February 18 and 19, 2024. 2024 is the 20th anniversary of the film’s 1984 release, and will also dovetail nicely with the premiere of the hotly-anticipated Dune Part Two, which is due in theaters on March 1. While a box-office bomb upon its release, the film has undergone a reevaluation in recent years, and has become a cult classic. You can find showtimes and buy tickets at FathomEvents.com.

Herbert‘s seemingly-unfilmable sci-fi epic was in development for decades as a feature film; Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to film it for years, a process chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune. When cameras finally rolled on the film, however, it was written and directed by Lynch, fresh off The Elephant Man. The film had a massive ensemble cast, including Kyle MacLachlan in his film debut, Sean Young, Brad Dourif, Dean Stockwell, Max von Sydow, Sting, Virginia Madsen, and a pre-Star Trek Patrick Stewart. MacLachlan stars as Paul Atriedes, the scion of a spacefaring noble house in the distant future. His family is given control of Arrakis, a hostile desert planet that is the galaxy’s only source of the spice melange, which is vital to interstellar travel. Before long, they are betrayed by their rivals, the depraved Harkonnens, and Paul is exiled into the desert. There, he joins with the nomadic Fremen people, who come to believe he is their prophesied messiah, the Muad’Dib. Soon, a massive confrontation ensues for the future of Arrakis and the galaxy.

What Went Wrong with Lynch’s Dune?

Producer Dino de Laurentiis believed that Dune would be a blockbuster franchise on par with Star Wars, and the film’s release was accompanied by a sandworm-sized marketing and merchandise campaign. However, Lynch‘s film was no crowd-pleasing blockbuster; although de Laurentiis did his best to recut it into a more conventional form, the inherent weirdness of a David Lynch film pervaded every frame of the space opera. Consequently, the film was a flop upon its release in December 1984; the film failed to recoup its $40 million USD budget at the box office. The experience was not a positive one for Lynch, as the studio had final cut; he has largely disowned the film, and had his name taken off a TV edit of it. However, his collaboration with star MacLachlan would prove a fruitful one for the director; he would go on to star in Lynch‘s subsequent film, Blue Velvet, and on his acclaimed TV series Twin Peaks.