First published in 1965, Frank Herbert's Dune is universally considered to be one of the greatest works of science fiction ever written.
DUNE is set in a universe ruled by powerful families overseen by a successive line of Emperors. The key to cosmic power is the planet Arrakis (Dune), a windswept desert planet that's home to giant sandworms and the precious spice melange. The spice is the most valuable commodity in the universe. It extends the life and expands the consciousness of those who consume it. Most importantly, it allows the navigators of the Spacing Guild (once human but now hideously mutated) to "fold space" and navigate their spacecraft across mammoth distances instantaneously, enabling interstellar commerce and trade to flourish.
Lynch's film by necessity excises parts of the book while retaining the story's two main strands. One is the long-standing rivalry between two families, Houses Atreides and House Harkonnen, and their battle for lucrative mining rights on Arrakis. The second strand is the emergence of young Paul Atreides as the reluctant Messiah long-awaited by the natives of Arrakis, the Fremen. The deeply religious Fremen want control over their homeworld, and young Paul may be the fulfilment of their prophecy that a man would come from the outer worlds and lead them to freedom.
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