Dune was made into a motion picture in 1984 (produced by Dino de Laurentis, directed by David Lynch, released by Warner Studios in December 1984). In his introduction to Eye (1985), Herbert discusses the shooting of the film in Mexico City, and he laments the corruption of Mexican officials and seems unhappy that important scenes were cut from the final version. Nonetheless, he declares that he enjoyed the film.

Dune was designed and promoted as an extravaganza, starring many top actors, including Sting, Linda Hunt, Kyle McLachlan, and Richard Jordan.

Although it was a modest box-office success, it lost a great deal of money for its producers and did not enjoy the sequelization that was intended for it.

Its critical reception was also mixed, with some critics admiring its visual effects and others complaining that the plot made no sense.