The extended edition of Dune (1984) arrives on DVD with little fanfare, an expected
reaction to an unfairly maligned film. The source of derision is David
Lynch’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic science-fiction
novel. Proper appreciation of Dune will come from ignoring the source material and seeing its
place in the filmography of the master of weirdness. Dune may not be in the same league
as the quintessential Lynch films Eraserhead (1977), Blue Velvet (1986), and Mulholland Dr. (2001), but it is nevertheless a surrealistic classic
worthy of the greatest cinema artist working today. The disc includes both
the original theatrical release and the extended version, often mistakenly
referred to as a director’s cut. The latter version, a
non-director’s cut, butchers the film with poorly matched scenes and
terrible editing. Lynch had his name removed. Kyle MacLachlan made his film
debut as the messianic Paul Atreides, and he later starred for Lynch in Blue Velvet and the TV series Twin Peaks.
Despite Lynch’s notoriety, some of his best
work has not registered strongly on the radar screen. The major failure of Dune led to Lynch’s
return to form with Blue Velvet. He followed it with the freakish road film Wild at Heart (1990). Sailor
(Nicolas Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern) aren’t the typical young couple
on the run. In Lynch’s world, they seem to be suffering from Elvis
and Marilyn complexes, respectively, and the journey is rife with Wizard of Oz symbolism.
Compared with Lula’s deranged mom (Dern’s real mother, Diane
Ladd), who hires people to kill Sailor, they are model citizens. Wild at Heart won the
Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, but reaction in the United
States was not “hotter than Georgia asphalt,” to quote Lula. Lost Highway (1997)
ranks among Lynch’s masterpieces, and it is his most baffling film.
Lynch’s nightmarish odyssey is the bizarre story of a musician (Bill
Pullman) imprisoned for murdering his wife (Patricia Arquette) who
transforms into a mechanic (Balthazar Getty) who falls for a
gangster’s girlfriend (Patricia Arquette). Seeing the film
isn’t likely to help decipher this troubling puzzle, but the theme
seems to revolve around identity. That’s the best I can do. David
Lynch is one of few directors who is a genre unto himself. Every strange
film made today is likened to Lynch’s work. He has many imitators but
no equals. In his usual deadpan manner, Lynch describes his newest film, Inland Empire, as a
“mystery about a woman in trouble.”
New releases on DVD on Tuesday (Feb.14): Zathura, Proof, Nine Lives, The Thing About My Folks, and Saw II.
This article appears in Feb 9-15, 2006.
