For any outdoor enthusiast, dehydration can become a major problem, especially if you are caught miles away from civilization on a hiking trail without adequate water. In "Dune," the 1984 film based on the novels of Frank Herbert, staying properly hydrated becomes a daily, life-or-death challenge.
Kyle MacLachlan plays Paul Atreides, the son of the very powerful and influential Duke Leto (Jurgen Prochnow). Paul and his father journey to the planet Arrakis, a dry, desert planet that is a prime source of a substance called the "Spice Melange." By ingesting Melange, you could increase your consciousness, but eating too much causes your eyes to glow blue. Those that overdose on spice gain great powers, but their bodies also turn warped and twisted. After his father is murdered by a rival family, Paul and his mother flee into the deserts of Arrakis, wearing only an all-purpose garment called a "Stillsuit." Worn by the Fremen, the native people of Arrakis, a Stillsuit reclaims and recycles fluids typically lost through perspiration and other bodily functions. By wearing this device, someone lost in the desert could survive for days, even weeks, without additional water.
Water is such a crucial commodity in "Dune," in fact, that when someone dies, their bodily fluids are reclaimed and stored in hidden caves across the surface of Arrakis. When Paul does battle with one of the Fremen, he becomes the guardian of all the water that his body had once contained.
A film that makes you wish you had a canteen or a microfilter close by, "Dune" is among the ultimate outdoor films produced during the 1980's. Hiking and climbing gear has come a long way in recent years, but nothing can compare to the fictional Stillsuit. Drinking water produced by one's own bodily wastes is a unique experience, to say the least, but on Arrakis, the alternative was a slow, painful death from dehydration.
"Dune" didn't do that well in its initial theatrical run, but it is a safe bet that soft drink sales at theaters skyrocketed during every screening of this very dry film.
