Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 64

10 Spotlight Santa Cruz Sentinel Friday, Dec. 14, 1984 Movies "Dune7: hot and dusty By J.A. CONNER Sentinel Correspondent UNE," Frank Herbert's 1965 series-spawning classic of future interplanetary political mysticism, has finally begun its journey into the you astounded and exhilarated for several minutes. But what about the special effects' These, too, also lean toward the schizophrenic. On one hand, we have costumes, makeup and set design so detailed and lavish as to be totally convincing Their effectiveness is greatly enhanced by cinematographer Freddie Francis' stunning photography.

When planet-bound Lynch shows us worlds that have no other point of reference to any previous science fiction or fantasy picture. This in itself is reason enough to see "Dune." But, when it's flying time, well, the quality doesn't seem to extend past the stratosphere. Dino's crew just isn't up to the standards set by "Blade Runner" or even "Buckaro Banzai." The shots of space craft entering the gigantic Spacing Guild transports look like outtakes from "Space Academy." Bummer. The real money shots are of Carlo built E.T.") Ramaldi's Sand Worms, those mile-long creatures that make living on Dune so interesting. Those sequences of the mighty worms plunging whale-like out of the red sand are magnificent and awesome, conveying the grandure and regal aura these icky-gooey things would surely evoke if we had them over in Salinas.

So, if you're expecting a lot of hi-tech space ships, forget it; what you'll get is worms bigger than battleships. But let's stop picking the nits. "Dune" may not be a pefect picture, it may leave out material you really wanted to see, it may confound your sensibilities, it may not be all it could be. Yet, Lynch has fashioned a powerful, artistic vision that interprets well a popular novel while striving to stand on its own terms, as well. It's a multi-level work that is packed with information and creativity.

And entertainment. "Dune" at times resembles one of those disaster epics TV Guide lists as "all-star cast menaced by special effects." ed his galaxy with more big names than the Weight Watchers' Rolodex file. But trying to guess who's under the makeup there's Jose Ferrer. Is that really Sean Young? Doesn't Sting look sexy?) can be a distraction. And the action moves so fast at times that the characters resemble ducks in a shooting gallery there's Linda Hunt! Whoops, now she's As is normal for these kinds of pictures, it's the bad guys who have the most interesting parts.

In this respect, Lynch's own dark visionary powers have the greatest influence. As the narrative flits from one planet to another, we can quickly see which locale struck the director's fancy: the debauched realm of Baron Harkonnen. Or, in other words, "Eraserhead World." Here it could be fair to say that Dino's two-hour "Dune" conceals a 40-minute David Lynch film within it (and it's a pretty darn weird world, at that). Thus, we glimpse interspersed throughout the picture short bursts of strange visions while the regular plot-oriented action continues. Lynch is very workman-like in handling Herbert's material; just when you think you're seeing "The Worms of War," he'll suddenly throw in a vividly hallucinatory dream sequence (or maybe just a single disturbing image) that leaves exotic alien cultures laced with weirdness and rapture, this sort of thing takes on a whole new dimension.

And it sure beats the simple-minded "Star storyline. In short, "Dune" the book is the "War and Peace" of science fiction. But what about "Dune" the movie? Here things get a bit tricky. A truly original stylist, David Lynch is the filmmaker behind "Eraserhead" and "The Elephant Man." With "Dune," Lynch had to adapt a six-part miniseries-worth of material down to a commercial 2Vi hours. His resulting script works beautifully in this regard, retaining the major characters and intricate plot while keeping alive the book's central themes.

Yet one has to wonder just what Lynch would have conceived if left to his own devices, without the constraints of delivering a picture capable of grossing $120 million (the film's theoretical break-even point). He just isn't someone you would expect to see helming a mega-million film project. De Laurentiis, on the other hand, is the man responsible for the remake of "King Kong," as well as such big-beast epics as "Orca, the Killer Whale' and "The White Buffalo" (kind of a "Moby Dick on the Prairie" film). A consumate showman, Dino has a proclivity for fashioning modern versions of previously successful hits, usually with a host of big name stars or some similar attention-grabbing gimmick is a recent example which fizzled). With writerdirector Lynch at the helm, one might hope to see "Dune" become to science fiction pictures what "Apocalypse Now" was to war movies.

Yet at the same time with De Laurentiis holding the purse strings, one fully expects "Dune" to be yet another frustrating series of missed opportunities (like So what's the outcome here? Well a little of both. Yet, for all its built-in faults, "Dune" hits more than it misses. And in the final analysis, it's well worth seeing (and re-seeing). Lynch's "Dune" is in many ways a study in schizophrenic cinema. A frenetically telescoped version of what must be a picture thrice as long as its current running time, "Dune" at times resembles one of those disaster epics TV Guide lists as "all-star cast menaced by special effects." Dino D.

has indeed pack- equally bizarre world of Hollywood. Directed by David Lynch, produced by Dino de Laurentiis and starring everyone from Max Von Sydow to Sting, this $40 million science fiction epic will both confound and delight its viewers. It's now playing at Playhouse Capitola. Herbert's original novel tells a rich and complex tale noted for its dense plotting, strong characters, re- KGVIGW ligious allegory and sweeping panorma. "Dune" was an epic book that "crossed over" from the sci-fi ghetto into mass market appeal.

To crudely summarize, the story concerns multi-world powerplays over the landrights of a sparsely inhabited desert world. Dune, the sole source of the exotic spice, melange. This spice is an addictive drug that confers prolonged life upon its users, but with rather disfiguring side effects. Its use is monopolized by the Spacing Guild. It enables their navigators to "fold" space, thus allowing them to maintain what is essentially the only interplanetary company in the solar system.

At least five or six power groups, spread over four have designs upon Dune, for it is said that those who control the spice control the galaxy. Their various and nefarious gambits range from palace intrigue and religious jibe to good old-fashioned gorilla warfare. This may sound like a standard episode of "Dallas," or another day at the state department, but when played over a rich backdrop of CUT YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS TREE 51J750 per loot ever Choose your own Douglas Fir, Pine, 'Scotch Fine Others ALL PROCEEDS CO TO LOCAL CHARITIES Sponsored by t)H Club of SlV MOW. V' 1 1 FEl-TBN 1 475 Union Street Watsonville 728 1300 ttraisr 00, 00,02 BARGAIN TIMES GENERAL ADMISSION TUESDAY ALL SHOWS SAI. A SUN.

in. $2.50 (30 I 75) CHILD SfNIOt CITIZENS All TIMIS CITY HEAT (PG) SCREEN I FM. 5.20-7:30-9:25 SAT. TDM THUI. SCILEEi NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST.

(R THE TERMINATOR Ftl. 8:10 FM. SAT. THRU THUR. SAT.

THRU THUI. STAR MAN (PG) ruT HI i.