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
Synopsis
David Lynch's baroque rendering of Frank Herbert's detailed, complex, and deliberately paced epic science-fiction novel is a muddled but visually stunning affair. It's 10991, and the desert planet Dune has been taken over by the Harkonnens, oppressive conquerors who desire the precious spice that lies beneath Dune's arid sands. The story concerns the attempts of a young warrior messiah, Paul Atreides, to lead the native inhabitants in an uprising against the evil empire - and battle the giant man-eating worms that guard the coveted spice. Lynch shot much more footage than ended up in the finished film, but executive producer Dino De Laurentiis didn't want a three-hour-plus sci-fi epic on his hands, so he coerced Lynch into trimming it. The result is one of cinema's most infamous cases of personal vision colliding with studio politics. Nonetheless, Lynch still manages to cram in so many visual ideas and captures the tone of the book so well that these production issues can be easily set aside once the story starts rolling. Refusing to further edit the film for television, Lynch took his name off the director and screenwriter credits. As troubling as 'Dune' might have been for Lynch, the experience greatly inspired 1986's brilliant 'Blue Velvet', for which audiences should be thankful.