Denis Villeneuve is not the first filmmaker to bring Arrakis to life. Before 2020's Dune was pitched, two other adaptations were created. In the 2000s, SyFy released a mini-series of the first book, followed by Children of Dune, an adaptation of the next two books in the series. Before that, in 1984, after years of troubled pre-production, David Lynch released his adaptation of the Frank Herbert classic.

However, Dune is not a film Lynch has many fond memories of. Certain cuts of the film are credited to Alan Smithee, the legendary pseudonym given to directors who want their names taken off productions they are not proud of. The film has become a cult classic, leaving some to wonder why Lynch wasn't proud of the final product. When one delves into who Lynch is as a director, as well as the behind-the-scenes drama of the production, the director's disappointment becomes clear.

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The Troubled Production

Dune

Lynch was not the first director to be hired to direct Dune. The film was in pre-production for years prior to Lynch's debut film, Eraserhead. Before Lynch, director Alejandro Jodorowsky was considered to direct the film. When the rights fell into the hands of producer Dino De Laurentiis, Ridley Scott was also in the running for director, but De Laurentiis settled on Lynch. Lynch took the job under the condition to split the book into two films, but he was pressured to do it all in one. Judging by how Villeneuve's Dune will be divided into two films along with an HBO Max series, it appears that Lynch had the right idea on how to adapt Herbert's novel.

New York Times interview conducted during the filming of Lynch's Dune illuminated disasters behind the scenes. On top of all the accidents and difficulties that occurred, with actors being sick, dead animals rotting on location and customs preventing the transport of essential equipment and resources, De Laurentiis did not seem to understand what Lynch was doing on-set.

"If David sees anything that looks in any way normal," set producer Tony Masters said, "he wants to change it. He hates anything that looks like Star Wars or any other movie ever made. He comes up with weird ideas that make no sense."

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In the years that followed, Lynch reflected on this; however, to Lynch, the problems were that the producers tried to make him create a film that he did not want to make, compromising with the demands of De Laurentiis, who guided the direction of production and writing.

"I started selling out on Dune," Lynch said. "Looking back, it’s no one’s fault but my own. I probably shouldn’t have done that picture, but I saw tons and tons of possibilities for things I loved, and this was the structure to do them in.”

It did not help that De Laurentiis cut financial costs whenever possible. Lynch had to share his Mexico filming location and crew with another De Laurentiis production, Conan the Destroyer, so De Laurentiis would save money.

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No Final Cut

Ultimately these mistakes would have been something Lynch could endure, if not for the ultimate insult. The film would, in the end, be outside of his control, and Lynch did not receive final cut on the movie.

"With Dune, I sold out on that early on," Lynch said to Deadline, "because I didn’t have final cut, and it was a commercial failure, so I died two times with that."

Reportedly, the film was initially around five hours long, but after the studio took over, it was cut to just over two hours. To date, there are at least three cuts of Dune available for purchase. The extended cut is credited to Alan Smithee, since Lynch requested his name be taken off the final cut of the film.

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It seems Lynch had limited control of the narrative as a young director with little experience back then. At the time, Lynch had directed two films, Eraserhead and The Elephant Man. With such an early career, Lynch did not have the clout to make a film entirely based on his own instincts.

Since directing Dune, Lynch has stayed away from science-fiction, instead specializing in neo-noir surrealism. Films like Blue Velvet and shows like Twin Peaks have become Lynch's iconic masterpieces, while Dune is Lynch's sole adaptation. It makes sense that someone like Lynch regards Dune as a commercial piece that did little to further his vision.

That is not to say Dune was a total failure, as it is the first collaboration between Lynch and Kyle Maclachlan, who would later star in Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. To Lynch, it opened the door for further collaborations, even if the film itself did little to satisfy the director's creative vision.

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