The new year is now upon us and that means change, but we don’t necessarily mean a bunch of resolutions that you may or may not keep in just a few weeks. Instead, the flipping of the calendar pages means that we’ve started not just a new year but a new month as well, a time when streamers change up their programming a little, often adding a lot of new and exciting content for subscribers. This month Netflix subscribers who also happen to be sci-fi fans are in luck. The streamer just added one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, and if you haven’t already checked it out, now is a perfect time.
Arriving on Netflix on New Year’s Day is Dune — but not Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 epic. Instead, David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel is the one that is landing on Netflix and while the film may have underperformed at the box office and was met with negative reviews when it was initially released, the film has come to be a cult classic with estimation of the film dramatically changing over 40 years later.
David Lynch’s Dune is a Cult Classic — And It Was Ahead of Its Time
There’s no disputing that Lynch’s Dune has its issues. The CGI used in the film hasn’t exactly aged particularly well, some of the actors are very miscast (you probably forgot that Patrick Stewart was even in this, but he is and wasn’t necessarily the best fit for the role of Gurney Halleck), and it has its pacing issues. That said, the film was well ahead of its time. Dune, as a story and an overall universe, is a morally complex sci-fi epic. There is a lot of nuance to Herbert’ story and a lot of philosophy involved. While adapting those sorts of stories into live-action is not uncommon today — think Foundation or Game of Thrones or even some aspects of contemporary Star Trek — it was pretty unheard of in 1984. Especially as a mainstream studio film. In a sense, this version of Dune set the path for future stories that push the boundaries of what we see as right and wrong in these big, epic stories.
There’s also something to be said for how Lynch’s Dune really leans into some of the weirder elements of Herbert’s classic. Part of what makes Villeneuve’s take on Dune (both in Dune and Dune: Part Two) interesting in its own right is how elegant it is. There is something very streamlined and clean about that film in the best way possible, but Lynch’s Dune doesn’t shy away from the horror elements of the story. In particular, there’s Baron Harkonnen, played by Kenneth McMillan in the 1984 film. Not only is he gross but he’s portrayed as being just horrifyingly awful. The scene we first are introduced to the character is one of actual nightmare fuel/ He’s not even the only part of the movie that is horrifying (don’t get us started on the Spacing Guild) but it’s certainly deeply memorable.
Lynch’s Dune is simply a movie that must be scene to truly be understood and it’s one that is one of a kind. Now, it’s back on Netflix making it a perfect way to kick off the new year — especially since Villeneuve’s third Dune movie is expected in theaters next December.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!