I’ve been a committed fan of David Lynch’s 1984 film Dune. It was a commercial flop and was widely panned by critics. But I loved its grandeur anyway. Its major flaw was that it tried to compress too much story into a 137-minute movie, which the much longer 2000 miniseries Frank Herbert’s Dune corrected.
The costuming was quite strong in the 1984 movie and even better in the 2000 miniseries. But now it has come to my attention that the outfits in Lynch’s movie could have been even more spectacular. This promotional still shot shows Paul Atreides in in a House Atreides uniform that offers roll-up front panels to keep him cool in the heat of Arrakis’s brutal weather.
I saw this image on Twitter and have mostly confirmed that it’s real because a 35mm slide of it is on sale at an auction site and the actor Kyle MacLachlan isn’t denying its authenticity.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a cosplay outfit to prepare.
-via Rebecca Baumann