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Dune--Special TV Edition [DVD] [1984]
 
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Dune--Special TV Edition [DVD] [1984]

DVD ~ Kyle MacLachlan
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Dune--Special TV Edition [DVD] [1984]
79% buy the item featured on this page:
Dune--Special TV Edition [DVD] [1984] 3.3 out of 5 stars (131)
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Product details

  • Actors: Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino, Brad Dourif
  • Directors: David Lynch
  • Writers: David Lynch, Frank Herbert
  • Producers: Dino De Laurentiis, José López Rodero, Raffaella De Laurentiis
  • Format: Full Screen, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Castle Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: 18 Sep 2000
  • Run Time: 180 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004Y3Q5
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 33,109 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Dune: Special TV Edition is an extended US network television version prepared in 1988 from David Lynch's 1984 film of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel, Dune. The original cinema release of this complex tale of interplanetary intrigue was heavily shortened and this 176-minute TV edition should not to be confused with Lynch's still unreleased three-hour-plus "Director's Cut". In fact Lynch disowned this TV version, replacing his director's credit with the infamous pseudonym Alan Smithee and his screenplay credit with the name Judas Booth (a combination of two notorious traitors). What the network did was add 35 minutes, about 15 minutes in the first two thirds, which in the cinema cut is in any case superbly paced, and around 20 into the final 40. This latter material does help balance the frenetic rush of the cinema cut, restoring important scenes such as Paul Atreides' fight with Jamis, a Fremen funeral and Jessica Atreides' taking the "Water of Life". What primarily alienated Lynch was the imposition of a folksy, sometimes laughable narration, as well as the replacement of the original prologue with a far longer sequence explaining the Dune universe via pre-production paintings. This TV edit is a travesty of what, in the "Director's Cut" at least, is probably a great film, and is really only worth seeing to get a glimpse of the material Lynch was forced to remove. The unconnected mini-series, Frank Herbert's Dune (2000) does a far better job of telling a more complete version of the story.

On the DVD: There is a fold-out colour booklet which contains a wealth of stills, a reproduction of the original cinema poster and a worthwhile essay on the original film that avoids any discussion of the TV version it accompanies. On the disc there is only the original theatrical trailer. The superb cinematography is ruined by the panned and scanned 4:3 image, which is grainy and has poor colour fidelity. It is also soft, lacking detail and washed-out, probably a result of being converted from American NTSC TV format video rather than coming directly from an original film print. Certainly the DVD of the cinema version looks far better. The audio is thin mono, completely failing to do justice to how fantastic a post-Star Wars 40-million-dollar science fiction epic should sound. --Gary S Dalkin



Special Features

4:3 Full Frame
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Mono English
Dolby Digital Mono
Theatrical Trailer
New Liner Notes
Booklet With Production Stills
Reproduction Of Original Film Poster
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Customer Reviews

131 Reviews
5 star:
 (31)
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 (38)
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 (26)
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 (21)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (131 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice try but with some rough edges, 6 Dec 2001
This review is from: Frank Herbert's Dune--TV series [DVD] [2000] (DVD)
Having read the books and seen the 1984 David Lynch it is difficult to avoid comparisons. For starts I should say that on the whole the mini-series is good. The costumes are colourful and the story is close to the book. However as mentioned in some of the other reviews actors have been miss-cast. PH Moriarty (playing Gurney Halleck) is one example, same goes for Giancarlo Giannini who plays Emperor Shaddam IV. Another niggle is that Count Fenring does practically nothing in the TV movies.

I know that allot of people will compare TV version to Lynch's film. At times the TV version was at pains to be different from the film, even to the point to changing bits of the story. In the TV version Melange (the space) was green, but in the book and the move it is orange. I think overall Lynch's film presents a definitive vision on the Dune universe but the TV movie tells the story more effectively. For instance there was much more 'high tech' in the TV version than in either the book or 1984 Film. Those of you who have read the books will remember that computers have been effectively outlawed, but the TV series ignored this altogether.

Having said all that I think its worth getting, but get the German release instead. Its all in English and has a making of documentary along with 10 minutes of extra footage which really makes the story better.

One last thing keep an eye out for the sequel comming out in 2003!
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Absolutetly DREADFUL!!, 19 Sep 2003
Well what can you say about this absolutely dreadful butchery of what was originally a very decent attempt at filming a very difficult subject matter. This is simply AWFUL and should be avoided at all costs. Not even the added "extras" -basic as they are- can make up for this abortion. I remember sitting in the cinema being blown away by the overall grand scale of the original - I had to turn this off through total boredom. I think the prologue was added to provide interest for the children in the audience. It is simply an insult to ones intelligence. The new editing is appalling. Even the quality of the picture is poor despite coming from a source that should prove better. Do yourself a favour and hope a "Directors Cut" will be released to redress the balance. No wonder Mr Lynch took his name off the credits! A shrewd man indeed! Be warned - buy it at your peril!!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonder to behold, 17 May 2006
By T. Bobley "Tibley Bobley" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Frank Herbert's Dune--TV series [DVD] [2000] (DVD)
Frank Herbert's Dune is one of my favourite books, so it wouldn't have surprised me very much if I hadn't enjoyed this series. Bad reviews had me prepared for disappointment. But I enjoyed it very much. It's as true to the book as any film based on a book is true to its book - a lot truer than most in fact. You can't expect a film to get in all the detail and explanation that a book can give. Film's a different medium with its own limitations. The story presented here gives a fair representation of Herbert's masterpiece in my opinion. I think I would have a good understanding of the situation he described from watching this series, even if I hadn't read the book. Critical reviews had prepared me to expect the actors to be miscast and the scenery to be tacky and unconvincing. But I have to say that I thought the actors suited their roles and played them well. It's true that some of the scenery is obviously 2-dimensional and painted on, but I didn't find this too distracting. The colours, costumes, atmosphere and drama gave my imagination all it needed to do its job. I love a good story, whether read to me or shown to me or if I have to read it myself. It's not the job of the storyteller alone to feed an audience's passive or lazy imagination. The imagination has to do some of the work too. We've come to expect technical perfection from modern film makers and I've watched too many films lately, with huge budgets, famous actors, excellent CGI and nothing at all by way of a coherent story. As Doctor Kynes said, referring to a planetary ecosystem, (in the book) "Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase" and perhaps the film moguls could say something similar.

I recommend this series to anyone who's prepared to provide a bit of tolerance and imagination.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fistful of Spice
I set my mind to reviewing David Lynch's film 'Dune.' I sat diligently, adopting my usual scrupulous technique: watch twice, jot down points, events, slivers of music, shudders,... Read more
Published 10 days ago by Paul Ess.

2.0 out of 5 stars Exosition, exposition, exposition
In their infinite wisdom Amazon have lumped all the reviews for the various DVD editions of the film together - the single disc theatrical version, the single-disc extended TV... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Trevor Willsmer

3.0 out of 5 stars A good film, but not as good as I had remembered it.
Overall, the quality of the sound and film image are top notch, nothing to worry about in that department. Read more
Published 2 months ago by O. MADLOM

5.0 out of 5 stars Dune TV series
really true to the original book, but the cast not so good as the film especially the Baron and Alia.
Published 2 months ago by sci fi reader

4.0 out of 5 stars less is more
the masterfull david lynch credited theatrical release was always the superior version compared to the longer non-credited version. Read more
Published 2 months ago by virtual alibi

3.0 out of 5 stars Dune and Children of Dune American TV series
A much more satisfactory experience than the Lynch film. However, it still fails to get to grips with the essentially political and psychological nature of the book(s) and thus it... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Timbeaux

1.0 out of 5 stars POOR SERIES
If you have read the books and seen the excellent film (the one with Sting) you will be disapointed with this poor attempt. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Darren A. Pullin

5.0 out of 5 stars Dune the tv series is amazing!
I have always thought David Lynch's film of Dune was very good but because the book of Dune is so very large it missed out to much of the story line and suffered for it. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dragonlord

4.0 out of 5 stars Faithful adaptation
Although some of the actors do not satisfy, the rest act extremely well. Overall, it is a faithful adaptation of the book (better than the old Dune, that is), with excellent... Read more
Published 6 months ago by atreidesIX

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs a director's cut
The film which taught David Lynch never to relinquish final cut. It looks great throughout but the second half is far too rushed and relies on spoken narration to fill in the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Grant Fitzgerald

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