Now It's Dark
We would be remiss to not say a goodbye to visionary filmmaker David Lynch who passed away yesterday at the age of 79. He had critical acclaim for his lifelong dedication to film over the period of over 50 years. From surrealist films such as Eraserhead, to space operas like Dune to Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, now is a great time to celebrate his life's work. To honor his lifelong cinematography, his entire catalog is freeleech for two weeks, with one special exception (listed below).

A Critical Dune Review

As a thank you for doing the artwork for us for the past few years, Dune will be perma-freeleech as as thank you for the hard work from @omnirhythm. The below is a critical review of Dune provided by them, for your reading.

omnirhythm wrote:

I won't pretend I watched everything by Lynch. It's an embarassing fact that I will correct. Dune, however, I did watch and I selfishly veto'd it as my pick so I can do this writeup. Lynch didn't like it as it's not a perfect movie and neither were the circumstances it was made in. He knew it could've been better and wasn't able to pursue his vision to the fullest. Most people prefer the recent take. I respectfully prefer the Lynch treatment.

After reading the books, and before the recent Villeneuve take, I went back for a rewatch. It blew me away. The grit and the atmosphere are what Herbert's universe is about, and having Lynch at the helm was the perfect choice. It's a grim world, with not much to look forward to. Powerplays, political intrigue, militaristic demeanor even between loving family members, epic wailing synths - this is Dune. I'm certain all of you who watched it have the grotesque image of the Baron imprinted in your memory just as I do. THe 1984 Dune oozes with character. It dares to try and shove a huge amount of plot into a single movie. It failed, but it tried.

I am forever grateful that Jodorowsky never managed to touch Dune. It would've been a psychedelic fiasco with a ludicrous runtime. And with the concept of a Messiah, transcendence and mysticism being his lifelong pursuits, we ended up with something much better - Jodorowsky pursuing Dune on paper. He teamed up with the likes of Moebius and Jimenez to create some of the craziest and most influential graphic novels. The Incal, Technopriests, Metabarons (all part of the same Jodoverse) offer a mind expanding world of wonders, grandeur and grotesque. All thanks to Dune. Even more importantly, the lengthy Dune storyboard penned by Jean Giraud (Moebius) is lauded as the the most influential movie / storyboard that never was. I wholeheartedly recommend diving into these graphic novels.

That is how long the reach of Herbert's work is. And Lynch's take remains a bold, unique take that time has shown - twice already - remains untouched in its ambition and portrayal. The epic score by Toto (yes, that band Toto), Brian and Roger Eno with the help of Daniel Lanois brought about a note of scale and epicness deserving of the scenes they accompanied. It's a wonderful product of its time, imperfect in many ways, but charmingly authentic and unique to Lynch's vision. Thank you for trying, Denis, but it's David's Dune that remains a permanent resident in my head - rent free.

A bonus review:
pterodactyl wrote:

0/100% - No dinosaurs