Dune: Extended Edition DVD Review

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Title: Dune: Extended Edition

Region: One

Genre: Science Fiction

Stars: Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino, Brad Dourif, Jose Ferrer, Linda Hunt, Freddie Jones, Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Silvana Mangano, Everett McGill, Kenneth McMillan, Jack Nance, Sian Phillips, Jurgen Prochnow, Paul Smith, Patrick Stewart, Sting, Dean Stockwell, Max Von Sydow, Alicia Roanne Witt, and Sean Young

Writer: David Lynch

Based On The Novel By: Frank Herbert

Director: David Lynch

Theatrical Version Feature length: 2 hours and 17 minutes

Extended Edition Feature Length: 2 hours and 57 minutes

Extras: Deleted Scenes With Introduction By Raffaella DeLaurentis, Designing Dune Featurette, Special Effects Featurette, Models & Miniatures Featurette, Wardrobe Design Featurette, Still Gallery, and Production Notes

Languages: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and French Language Dolby Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Tin Keep Case

Theatrical Version Chapter Stops: 16

Extended Edition Chapter Stops: 18

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 1984/DVD Release: 2006

Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

David Lynch’s big screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction masterpiece “Dune” was one of the most eagerly awaited motion pictures in development. There had been numerous attempts to develop “Dune” into a feature film with noteworthy names like artist H.R. Giger and Director Ridley Scott among the many who at one time or another were attached to the project, but it was not until the early 1980s that the film finally went into production on location at Churubusco Studios in Mexico City for a six month shoot where all of the large studio spaces were used and reused since there were times when sets that were struck had to be reconstructed because the scope of the production was larger than even the studio could handle. The cast and crew also accomplished bringing the film to fruition despite the terrible air quality and on location shooting in Mexican deserts where the temperatures soared to 120 degrees during the day. Lynch had the opportunity to direct “Star Wars: Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi,” but for whatever the reasons might have been, he did not. I think things worked out for the best though “Return Of The Jedi” directed by David Lynch might have been interesting to say the least and I mean that in a good way too because while Lucas’ role as co-writer and executive producer in the film resembled the structure of television more where the executive producer or producers actually control the creative focus of the show and the director’s role is somewhat different and thus Lynch’s creative vision could have been compromised. We’ll never know if Lucas and Lynch’s visions would have clashed, but there are some scenes in “Jedi” where I sometimes wonder how Lynch might have handled the screen direction. I think for the scenes involving the Emperor, Lynch’s gift for creating terrific and at times over the top villains and making the most of dark atmospheres could have made what is good now perhaps better.

While developing the film Frank Herbert and David Lynch found 16 points of identity between “Dune” and “Star Wars.” However the eventual assembly cut screened after the finish of principle photography was over four hours according to Raffaella DeLaurentis. So the feature was cut to the 2 hours and 17 minutes theatrical running length we all currently are aware of. David Lynch also had the support and approval of Frank Herbert on the set with him during the production. Herbert has a wonderful introduction with regard to the making of “Dune” in the anthology book “Eye” published by Ace Books (ISBN # 0-441-22374-5). There was also a book published around the time of the film’s theatrical release about the making of the movie. In the years since Herbert first published his anthology book “Eye,” which also features a short illustrated piece entitled “The Road To Dune,” Herbert’s predictions of a longer cut of the film for television has come to fruition. He stated that it would be a miniseries and by today’s standards, two nights is often called a miniseries even though there was a time when a miniseries meant at least one week of programming. In 2000 the SCI FI Channel produced a successful television miniseries adaptation remake entitled “Frank Herbert’s Dune.” The miniseries was so popular that the second and third books in the series were eventually brought to the small screen on SCI FI as a miniseries sequel entitled “Frank Herbert’s Children Of Dune,” which aired in March of 2003. While the first miniseries enabled fans of the book to revisit “Dune” in a manner that seemed closer in heart to the novel, even three nights was not enough to cover every aspect of the book and ultimately one can see some definite influences in the design of the film like the Guild Heighliner that was similar to the cylindrical design of the ships in Lynch’s version. Like many people over the generations, I read “Dune” and the first two sequel books in what has become the “Dune Chronicles” while I was still in college and I am still pleased that not only was the first book revisited, but the second and third were dramatized in such a way as to take advantage of Frank Herbert’s epic story. “Dune Messiah” and “Children Of Dune” alone were not as good as the first book in my opinion so the decision to combine the two into a miniseries sequel and go further than David Lynch was able to go in terms of dramatizing the books actually came off beautifully and captured much of what I imagined while reading the original trilogy of books that make up the first have of the “Dune Chronicles” beautifully.

Ideally if I could mix and match between the 1984 “Dune” and the 2000 “Frank Herbert’s Dune” I would shift some of the casting around. I also never completely was able to suspend my disbelief enough to buy into Vittorio Stararo’s “Translite” technique, which uses lights to make an indoor set with a painted backdrop appear more three dimensional and lifelike. I think the work Freddie Francis did on David Lynch’s “Dune” looked more interesting and realistic. While we will never know what Frank Herbert might have thought of the TV miniseries remake, we do know from the author’s own words, that even after seeing the final theatrical cut, for the most part he definitely liked what he saw. In 1988 a two-part television version of the theatrical film incorporating more than thirty minutes of footage not seen in the theatrical release premiered, but this version was not approved by David Lynch, who had his writing credit changed to Judas Booth and adapted the pseudonym the DGA reserves for filmmakers who do not wish to have their film associated with their body of work. Interestingly there are scenes in the theatrical version that are not in the TV version, so for years now if you lived outside of the United States, the only way to buy the extended edition of “Dune” was to buy it as an import from England, Germany, Japan or another country and then you needed a region free DVD player that could convert a PAL signal to NTSC for the British or German versions in order to view it on an American NTSC television. The extended version on DVD as well as laserdisc was always presented in the panned and scanned (1.33:1) aspect ratio of the original television broadcast. As far as I know a widescreen version has never been made commercially available until Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the “Dune: Extended Edition” DVD in Region One, North America.

For any fan of the feature film version of “Dune,” this DVD release is a must purchase because it not only presents both the theatrical and extended edition in an anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio, but it also presented the extended version with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The picture quality on both versions looks quite good and in some ways the extended version looks clearer than the theatrical cut. The previous Region One North American release of “Dune” from Universal Studios Home Entertainment had only the 1984 theatrical version and that image presentation was letterboxed. While it seems natural, I did get a sense that the widescreen version of the extended edition might have been cropped to create the more theatrical presentation, but without direct comparison I cannot be sure so I’m giving Universal Studios Home Entertainment the benefit of the doubt on this one. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack for both versions mixes the music a bit more than the actual effects, but is otherwise free of any distortion or hissing. The theatrical version also features a French Language Dubbed Dolby Surround Soundtrack and both cuts include English Captions for the hearing impaired as well as French and Spanish Language Subtitles.

One of the highlights of the set is the inclusion of 11 deleted scenes with a video introduction by Raffaella DeLaurentis (17:38). Some of these scenes I was lead to believe were lost forever and to finally see them come to life was exciting for me as a result. As far as I know these scenes have never before been made commercially available. They are all presented in a letterboxed (2.35:1) aspect ratio with English Stereo Sound. I wish some of them could have been cleaned up and restored back into the film perhaps through seamless branching. As it is, although he can be seen in some video footage from the set in 1983 as well as production stills, David Lynch did not participate in the release of this DVD, which is a shame. I am not aware of the reason, but at least for the theatrical cut, a few words, liner notes, an interview, or anything plus his personal supervision of the transfer would have been appreciated.

Back during the summer of 1984, I was in Los Angeles with my parents on a family vacation and like most tourists, we went the Universal Studios and I remember an exhibit where the costumes from “Dune” were behind glass displays while monitors depicting the theatrical trailer were running. I wish I had photos, but I’ll never forget the excitement I had knowing even as a kid that “Dune” was going to be released to movie theaters. Since “Star Wars” had been so successful, there were magazine articles comparing the character of Luke Skywalker to Paul Atreides, the protagonist of “Dune,” and that is how my interest in the book first started. So watching the featurette detailing the costume design of “Dune” (4:50) felt almost like a revisiting of that exhibit I saw at Universal Studios in California back during the summer of 1984. The next two featurettes detailing the special effects (6:01) and models & miniatures (7:02) are very interesting because one not only gets to see the concept art, but actual photos of the models up close and clearly. Some scenes in the theatrical version are a bit too dark to make out all of the details regarding the ships so I appreciated the opportunity to see what these craft would look like under regular lighting. The production design of “Dune” is just as epic as the film itself with another nice featurette (8:54) that is complemented by a gallery of black and white and color production photos as well as some beautiful paintings and sketches that I wish would be published in a new book celebrating the film in retrospect. Some short and rather fluffy onscreen production notes wrap up the bonus features included on this double-sided DVD. The main menu is animated with haunting music that can be heard over all of the interactive subsequent still frame menus and all of the menus are easy to navigate too.

An insert illustrating the DVD contents on one side and an abridged “Terminology of Dune” on the inside is included within the handsome tin skinned keep case. “Dune: Extended Edition” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

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