According to Hollywood lore, director David Lynch was hot off an Academy Award nomination for THE ELEPHANT MAN when George Lucas approached him with an offer to direct RETURN OF THE JEDI (!?!). Sadly, Lynch declined and we'll never get to see how the mind behind ERASERHEAD would have envisioned the Battle of Endor. (And perhaps sadder still, Lucas didn't think to call him up again a decade or so later to direct one of those silly cartoons passed off as a "prequel.") What we do have though is DUNE, Lynch's feature film take on Frank Herbert's sprawling sci-fi saga about a prophesied messiah coming to his destiny in an galactic feudal society that runs on "spice." Condensed down to a too lean 137 minutes, the plot of DUNE is murky like the air during a sandstorm on the titular planet -- especially for those unfamiliar with the books. No matter, it still has more than enough Lynchian panache to be worth a watch or re-visit (especially if one is well "spiced"). And if that's not enough for you, well, would it help to know that you see Sting running around crazy-haired and mostly naked and the soundtrack is by Toto? Yeah, I thought so. Put that in your stillsuit and suck it, Lucas.
The Late Show: DUNE - March 2, 3, 4 at Rtiz BUY TICKETS
