User:TigerBlazer/sandbox/Dune (1984)

Dune is a 1984 American epic space opera film written and directed by David Lynch. It is based on the book Dune by Frank Herbert. It tells the story of the battle for control over the planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, the most vital planet in the universe for its supply of the drug known as Spice. Attempts to adapt the novel into film had begun as early as 1971, most notably with Alejandro Jodorowsky's ideal version of a Dune film. Eventually in 1981, David Lynch was commissioned to create the film. It debuted on December 3, 1984 at the Eisenhower Theater, followed by an American release on December 14. It generally received negative reviews from critics and audiences and was called one of the worst films of that year. Lynch eventually disowned the film, with future cuts of the film removing his name from the credits.

Plot
The plot centers about Paul Atreides, son of the Duke Leto Atreides

Reception
Upon its original release on December 14, 1984, it was generally panned by critics and fans of the books of the same name. Director Lynch quickly disowned the film, stating that pressure from both producers and financiers restrained his artistic control and denied him the final cut privilege. Roger Ebert gave Dune one star out of four, and wrote, "This movie is a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time. " Ebert added: "The movie's plot will no doubt mean more to people who've read Herbert than to those who are walking in cold", and later named it "the worst movie of the year ." On At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Ebert, Siskel began his review by saying "it's physically ugly, it contains at least a dozen gory gross-out scenes, some of its special effects are cheap—surprisingly cheap because this film cost a reported $40–45 million—and its story is confusing beyond belief. In case I haven't made myself clear, I hated watching this film ."

The film was unable to reach it box-office success, as it grossed $30,925,690 dollars at its release, and plans for Dune sequels were canceled.

In the years since its initial release, Dune has gained more positive reviews from online critics and viewers, and has developed a cult following,[citation needed] but opinion varies among fans of the novel and fans of Lynch's films, though public opinion overall is still generally split. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critical approval rating of 43% based on 65 reviews, with an average score of 5.9/10, along with an audience rating of 65% based on over 50,000+ ratings. The site's critical consensus reads, "This truncated adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterwork is too dry to work as grand entertainment, but David Lynch's flair for the surreal gives it some spice. " On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 41/100 based on 20 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".