Sean and Cody, joined by film professor and David Lynch expert Mike Miley, fold space into the most bizarre Green Screen episode yet, involving an infamous 1984 science fiction epic that has polarized audiences for three decades. In this virtually incomprehensible film, spice-addicted trust fund baby Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan) puts on a skin-tight rubber spacesuit and tries to avenge his father’s death by riding latex worms designed by Carlo Rambaldi and gaining control of the universe’s most valuable resource, which is apparently hallucinogenic. That’s as coherent as we can make Dune sound. Environmental issues discussed include air quality and air pollution, wildfires and their relationship to climate change, the ecological problems endemic to Mexico City (where the movie was filmed), industrial disasters and corporate malfeasance, and the environmental impact of filmmaking, especially where, as here, directors have vast financial resources at their disposal.
What’s it like to experience an AQI (Air Quality Index) of 376, literally the worst on the planet? What does this film have to do with the horrific Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India? How did Mexico City get its air pollution problem, the worst in the world at one time, largely under control? Why was this movie filmed on the site of a historic garbage dump? How did the production get so totally out of control? Who was the mysterious TV writer known as “Judas Booth”? Why did David Lynch spend $30 million on sets and costumes and $1.98 on special effects? What’s Sir Patrick Stewart doing with that pug puppy? Is this the worst science fiction film ever made, or an underrated masterpiece that’s the key to understanding Lynch’s entire career? All of these questions, and more, are ready to tell you about their homeworld in this psychedelic episode of Green Screen.
Dune (1984) at IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087182/
Dune (1984) at Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/dune/
Next Movie Up: The Ice Storm (1997)
