A toast to David Lynch: DUNE

• Director: David Lynch
• Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Francesca Annis, Jürgen Prochnow, Kenneth McMillan, Siân Phillips, Patrick Stewart, Jack Nance, Sting, Sean Young, Linda Hunt, Dean Stockwell, Paul L. Smith
• 1984 | Film: 137mins | USA & Mexico | Subtitles + Intermission | Start: 8:30pm [18+]

“A PLACE BEYOND YOUR DREAMS. A MOVIE BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION.”

BAR TRASH has always offered “a toast not a roast” to works of cinema that might have gotten a kicking at the feet of popular opinion. Which means there was only one way we could raise a glass to mark the passing of a celluloid legend: a stripped-back screening of David Lynch’s most critically disparaged work, DUNE (1984). Dispensing with our usual mayhem, you’re invited to gather in Bar Paragon with our host Token Homo to celebrate this singular work of cinema.

Polite notice: We are screening the theatrical version of DUNE (1984) with a brief intro, subtitles, and an intermission, from the best available digital source.

“I first fell in love with the films of David Lynch as a 13 year old seeing DUNE on its original UK release. As a hardcore sci-fi nerd, seeking shelter in the books I borrowed from my school library, DUNE was even more hotly anticipated than the sequels to my other beloved childhood saga, STAR WARS. If seeing George Lucas’ film lit the fires of childhood, DUNE was my coming of age. 

Much has been written in queer-leaning press of Lynch’s more explicitly LGBTQ+ later films, but it was the decadence and deviance he’d sand-blasted into DUNE that made it such potent spice for my young mind. When the Baron pulls the heartplug on his PVC-clad sex slave, Lynch gave me an outrageously queer image that has haunted me ever since. Toto’s rock score swells to one of its many crescendos at this point, preserved forever on my treasured vinyl LP from its first pressing.

Of course, DUNE was a profoundly frustrating experience for Lynch. He felt he’d been “selling out” throughout the film’s challenging production, and sacrificed too much of his complex vision to get the final theatrical cut over the line. While he would work again with mega producer Dino De Laurentiis on BLUE VELVET (1986), planned sequels for DUNE were smashed in the sandstorm of chaos following the film’s disappointing release.

We might have lost Lynch, but we will always have DUNE. I can’t wait to watch it with you all, with a glass in my hand as we toast a much-loved master. Thank you Mr Lynch, you gave us so much.”

Token Homo

/// BAR TRASH is a celebration of cult and curious cinema, hosted by queer film fanatic Token Homo and friends. Films are served with themed drinks, introductions, intermissions, prize giveaways, and subtitles / captions where possible. Tickets from £3.50. Strictly adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo on Instagram for news and updates. ///