Arthouse Alert: Watch David Lynch's Adaptation of "Dune" Monday (3/14) in Long Beach

This early sci-fi feature from Lynch is a strange entry in an off-kilter oeuvre.

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Sort of an anomaly for David Lynch, whose output normally consists of bizarre scripts conjured in the dark pools of his mind, this 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi novel was critically demolished upon its release. Viewed through the lens of 21st-century film technology, however, it’s a visually stunning feat, even if it doesn’t really possess the most fluid plot. Kyle MacLachlan stars as the heir to a royal family fighting for control of a desert planet in a future where the spice mining trade is like today’s oil industry. That planet also has giant worms that try to protect the spice. And Sting stars as a really bad guy whose uncle is a floating fat man with pustulent boils all over his body. Oh, and Toto does the soundtrack. What part of any of those factors hasn’t sold you on it yet? It’s also being shown ON THE BEACH. That should seal the deal. —Finn Cohen

Dune
Monday, March 14
7 p.m.
Alfredo's on Cherry Beach
Long Beach, Calif.

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