Even the most ardent David Lynch fans, who support all of his films and artistic endeavors, are hard pressed to get behind "Dune." The filmmaker’s lone attempt at a blockbuster is remembered for a lot of things, none of them being that it’s particularly good. Lynch’s supposed four-hour cut was said to be hacked down by the studio, which may explain why it’s so confusing, but doesn’t explain why it’s boring and slow. Nor does it explain why "the spice" is repeated about five thousand times in the movie. And clearly, Universal was concerned.
The story goes that the studio was (rightly) worried that audiences might be lost amid the dense terminology from Frank Hebert‘s novel, so they provided audiences with a glossary to help them out. The one-pager (both sides) is pretty long, so it’s not clear how this would’ve helped anyone after the lights went down and movie started, but hey, couldn’t hurt, right? So in case you were still wondering what on Earth an Ornithopter was, read on below. [io9]
There is an error, though… It was not pronounced "You-sul", but "Oo-sul". As in "Tell me of your homeworld, Usul." Yes, I am a Dune dork.
I remember seeing this with my dad. I was 8. It just washed over me but I distinctly remember the program they handed out. What a strange pic.
I distinctly remember being handed this when I went to see the film in Florida while on December vacation. I was not yet a Lynch fan, though I believe THE ELEPHANT MAN had come out and I'd seen and been very moved by it. It wasn't until BLUE VELVET came out that I realized I'd seen two of his films already. Anyway: this glossary didn't help at all. I didn't fall asleep, but I don't remember understanding half of the film anyway, and certainly none of its Lynchian touches (and they're in there) would have occurred to me at the time. But thanks for digging this up. I always wished I'd held on to mine.
I just think this article is all kinds of wrong. David Lynch's Dune is ridiculously underrated. Almost everything about that movie is better than 90% of the movies that come out today. The writing, the acting, the direction…Freddy Francis' gorgeous photography…Anthony Masters' brilliant production design…Brian Eno's Prophecy Theme!
If you get paid to write about movies you should know better.
Getting your news from reddit now, eh?