David Lynch Talks Dune (1984): ‘I Died a Death and It Was All My Fault’

Forum 1 week ago

David Lynch Talks Dune (1984): ‘I Died a Death and It Was All My Fault’

David Lynch‘s 1984 adaptation of Dune is widely regarded as a misstep for the legendary director, something he acknowledged recently as a big failure of his.

Speaking to NPR, Lynch was asked about what failure he’s learned the most from, and the director was quick to point to Dune. According to Lynch, not having final cut on the film led to more issues than he previously thought it would.

What did David Lynch say about Dune?

“My film Dune. I knew already one should have final cut before signing on to do a film,” said Lynch. “But for some reason, I thought everything would be OK, and I didn’t put final cut in my contract. And as it turned out, Dune wasn’t the film I wanted to make, because I didn’t have a final say.”

Lynch went on to blame himself for knowing that he should’ve asked for final cut, but still deciding to move forward with the film.

“So that’s a lesson I knew even before, but now there’s no way,” Lynch said. “Why would anyone work for three years on something that wasn’t yours? Why? Why do that? Why? I died a death. And it was all my fault for not knowing to put that in the contract.”

Released in 1984, David Lynch’s Dune underperformed at the box office, and it was soon after largely disowned by the director, with Lynch even removing his name from various releases of the film. Despite Lynch’s dislike of the film, it did gain a bit of a cult following int he years since its release.