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Dune [1984] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

This two-disc special edition release of David Lynch's 1984 film Dune presents the same cut as originally shown theatrically, but with an improved transfer compared to the previous DVD edition and with the addition of new and archive documentary material. In case of confusion, it should be noted that this is not any of the following versions: the re-edited TV movie adaptation of Lynch's film, the long-sought-after extended version Lynch screened for cast and crew in January 1984, a new Director's Cut, or the Sci-Fi Channel mini series.

The first disc contains a new anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 transfer taken from a High Definition archive copy of the 1984 film, further restored to remove dirt and scratches, and a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix as well as the original stereo soundtrack. The film looks superb and sounds almost as good, though a DTS soundtrack would have been welcome. This is much superior to the average making-of, featuring significant new contributions from Kyle MacLachlan, producer Raffaella De Laurentiis, cinematographer Freddie Francis and others--though David Lynch is conspicuous by his absence. Destination Dune is a six-minute promotional featurette made by Sammon at the time of the film's release and the 4:3 image is fairly poor quality. An 83-second BBC interview with Frank Herbert is too short to be of more than passing interest, though the original trailer is a fine example of the 1980's way of selling movies. The set is completed with routine cast and crew profiles. Even with no involvement from Lynch and no commentaries, this is still the best Dune on DVD. --Gary S. Dalkin


Dune - Alan Smithee's TV edition
Review date: 2008-11-28 Rating: 4 out of 10

It's a rare achievement for a film to stay in development hell even after it's been made and released, but Dune is no ordinary film. Having gone through a veritable who's who of directors during the seventies, Frank Herbert's quintessentially sixties sci-fi epic finally made it to the screen in 1984 with indie auteur David Lynch's name on the credits. The film quickly established itself as a legendary Hollywood folly on a par with Cleopatra, and just about everyone involved distanced themselves from the wreck as quickly as possible. Though possessed of a beautiful rococo design sensibility and enlivened by several entertaining performances by a host of excellent actors, the theatrical cut of Dune suffered from a fundamentally broken narrative and a schizophrenic lack of purpose. Unable to decide whether it was a cerebral epic or an action film, a sleek modern sci-fi blockbuster or a knowing homage to the golden age, this fascinating mess of a film was doomed to a fate as a staggeringly expensive curio.

There it should probably have ended, but $50m was an awful lot of money to waste on a film in the early eighties, so Universal decided to try and claw some money back by producing this re-cut version in 1988, originally shown as a two-part `miniseries' on US television. In an attempt to address the key complaint levelled at the original release - no-one had the slightest idea what was going on - 40 minutes of additional footage was retrieved from the cutting-room floor and spliced back into the movie, seemingly by someone with no previous experience of editing, and little inclination to learn the craft. Following Lynch's not unreasonable decision to have his name completely expurgated from this hamfisted recut of a film that already probably felt like an embarrassing mistake, Universal finally presented to the world the "Alan Smithee" cut of Dune. Smithee, the mysterious and enigmatic director that Hollywood goes to whenever a film is so bad no-one wants their name anywhere near it, lived up to his legend. `His' Dune comes complete with out-of-synch audio cues, unfinished FX shots, and the introduction of a new explanatory voice-over so clunkingly awful it makes the one forced on the theatrical cut of Blade Runner sound like an original audio recording of Jesus on the Mount. The voiceover is most prominent during the new introduction, which consists of an overture of the film's score played over a series of paintings depicting Dune's universe, explanations of which are relayed by our disembodied guide. Crude and toe-curlingly embarrassing, it's hard to see who this cheaply produced wedge of exposition is actually for- even on original tv screening, it's easy to imagine the casual viewers in need of a guide through Dune's complex set-up turning off when faced with such poor production values. All in all, it is fair to say that this cut of Dune is not exactly a triumph of aesthetics.

Still, for those that have seen the theatrical cut without either recoiling in horror or falling asleep, this edition holds some interest, as it represents the closest thing to a workprint we're ever likely to see. The theatrical cut was brutally hacked down in order to get it close to a 2-hour running time, and while the scenes that have been reinserted here have been done so with little care, they do flesh out some of the characters that had previously suffered from lack of screentime, and the narrative does make marginally more sense - though the cost to the film's already poor pacing suggests that there's no lost masterpiece to find here. The best way for fans of the book to approach this film is probably as a series of visualised scenes rather than a coherent whole, and as such it's interesting to see what Lynch does with a handful of key moments from the book, such as the famous spitting scene, or the drowning of a `stunted worm.' Picture quality is frankly not good (the film is presented in pan-and-scan 4:3, and there is a clear difference in picture quality between those scenes that made the theatrical cut, and those that were added later), and extras on the disc are limited to the original trailer and a small gallery of stills from the film. There is also a refreshingly frank and well-written essay included in the case booklet.

Dune remains an interesting, if not particularly good, film - Lynch's attempt at making a summer blockbuster may be fundamentally flawed, but it is a genuinely opulent visual experience, and he does capture the book's tension between the prosaic and the weird. This version, while a welcome release for fans, is only really of interest as a supplement to the theatrical version. Meanwhile, the sense persists that there is still no `finished' release of Lynch's Dune, and as the director seems thoroughly uninterested in revisiting the project, there probably never will be.


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Reviews


Lost in the Sands of Dune
Review date: 2008-09-22 Rating: 8 out of 10

Cannot believe the write up Amazon has given for this DVD box-set, this edition has nothing to do with the David Lynch theatrical version(that has the Princess providing the narration)or the Alan Smithee TV version (which has an undisclosed man narrating and the famous spitting scene) of the James Herbert classic SF novel both starring Kyle MacLachlan and Sting. It is in fact the SCIFI Channel production and a great job they do of it as well.

A much tidier production than the Lynch/Smithee films, the story and the portrayal of the characters is both enthralling and sympathetic to the spirit of the Herbert novels. Not one to sit and watch a three hour film myself I was enjoying watching Dune (2000) so much so that I let my beer get warm and my cigarettes went unsmoked. Sure I was comparing this TV serialisation to the film version but the SCI-FI rendition is much superior and much less confusing than the seriously overhyped David Lynch film that he has been jealously guarding since its production...his loss, the remake is superior in both characterisation and visual effects.

If you are a fan(atic) of Mr Herberts epic tale you will appreciate, nay, love this version. The follow up CHILDREN OF DUNE is just as enthralling and is a perfect companion to what has taken pride of place in my DVD collection. Buy them both and take the day off work and watch them all, with your bare feet planted firmly in a sandbox just to engage yourself in the realm of Arakis and the coming of the voice from the outer world, and the messianic twins.

Get the French one instead!
Review date: 2008-09-11 Rating: 8 out of 10

If you're getting lost looking at the bewildering array of Dune DVDs, the best transfer of the film by far is on the 3-disc edition available from amazon.fr (and yes, you can turn off the French subtitles!) You also get the Alan Smithee TV cut in a lousy 4:3 transfer, but you won't watch that more than once anyway and there's a decent bunch of extras on the third disc, either in English or with English subtitles. The main thing, though, is the transfer of the film itself, and it is significantly better (more richly-coloured, cleaner and more detailed) than the ones available in the UK and US, including the 2-disc set with the black sandworm cover on this page. The French packaging is very swish, too - a slipcased digipack in glossy black with gold text.

Wrong.
Review date: 2008-08-15 Rating: 6 out of 10

This is not the David Lynch movie but the TV mini series. Completely different. Rather good actually.

Space sand in my space gusset
Review date: 2008-08-11 Rating: 2 out of 10

What merry business is this all about. Sandy spice rubbish, alien alienation again. Everyone knows aliens are not like they are depicted in here. Sting's acting is rubbish too, he ought to stick to what he did best which was ponce about with too much hairspray miming to sub reggae tinged guitar pop pap. This films only redeeming feature is that it goes off, eventually.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Francesca Annis
Leonardo Cimino
Virginia Madsen
Kyle MacLachlan
Brad Dourif

Creators:
Kyle MacLachlan (Primary Contributor)
Virginia Madsen (Primary Contributor)
Freddie Francis (Cinematographer)
David Lynch (Writer)
Antony Gibbs (Editor)
Dino De Laurentiis (Producer)
José López Rodero (Producer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
EAN: 9780783255378
Binding: DVD
ISBN: 0783255373
Number of items: 2
Format: AC-3, Colour, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC,
Release date: 2006-01-31
Universal product code (UPC): 025192124228
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 137 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)

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