I was introduced to this movie when I was about 5 or 6-years-old. This was a long time ago and the original Star Wars trilogy was still new. I was a fan of that franchise and ended up falling in love with this movie to the point that it still remains one of my two all-time favorite films to this day.

I watched it so many times as a kid that I went through 3 VHS copies of this film. Of course, that could have just been due to our VHS player being a piece of crap, but I did watch it quite a bit.

There were scenes that I didn't fully understand, but given that I grew up on movies like Krull and Beastmaster and Conan I just kinda accepted that not all movies explained everything. Sci Fi and Fantasy in general could be a confusing mess back then.

For example, the two little kids in this scene. The movie doesn't explain it - maybe the extended version did but I never watched that one - so I just thought that maybe they were Stilgar's children and were learning the Fremen warrior ways early.

A lot of the more questionable scenes were explained away in my head like that. Well.....most were. I still don't know WTF was up with the cat milking scene.

I was 16-years-old before I got my hands on the Dune books and read them and initially I HATED the books. They paled in comparison to my beloved film. Yeah, it was nice to finally have some questions answered but at the same time I was disappointed.

I mean, discovering that Paul wasn't actually an all-powerful Rain Jesus was a bit of a blow. The whole thing at the end with Paul marrying the Emperor's daughter and resigning Chani to the role of a concubine also irked me, although that was smoothed over after I read Messiah.

Basically my young, stupid brain felt like the books were a inferior version of the film, instead of the other way around.

Now, I am older and have a far greater appreciation for the books. I recognize and respect the epic story they are telling and yet my love for the movie has not diminished.

I fully understand how hard it must have been for book fans to watch this movie though. When I was younger I once saw a list of "Worst Movies Ever Made" and was shocked to see this film listed in the number one spot. Now, I can understand the fan backlash.

Especially after enduring the last season of GoTs. :D