Is the new DUNE Extended Edition worth a blind buy?
 

I'm a fan of Lynch's (to a ceratin extent) and was wondering if this movie/dvd warrants a purchase? I picked it up this afternoon, but haven't opened it yet. It was the last one at my Best Buy, so i figured I could always take it back. It was $16.99.

I remember watching it. I'm pretty sure I've seen it at least once all the way through, and bits and pieces more often.

My honest first memory of it - long, tedious, confusing. Given that, I can't see an "extended" edition being better.

To me, the opening "set up" is almost laughable. It's almost like you could tell someone knew the story would be so hard to follow, that they had to explain everything in advance to prevent the audience from getting hopelessly lost.

I'm sure others may disagree, and it has been a long time since I've seen this from start to finish. But that's my opinion.

I think you would enjoy it if you were a fan of the novel. The movie is confusing unless you already are familiar with the backstory. To be honest, it isn't a very good movie. The thing I really like about it is that it has amazing phenomenal art direction. The attention paid to the fine details of costume embroidary, mosiac tiles, sets is incredible. There is also a lot of fine minatures work although the special effects now look a bit dated.

Read the novel for the epic story. Watch Lynch's Dune for dropdead gorgeous and amazing visuals.

Quality of the content aside, reports are coming in of problems playing the DVD. This is the latest of a continuing series of problems with DVD-18 discs from Universal.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=408018

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...&pagenumber=19

Being a fan of Lynch's won't cinch it. I've got everything Lynch has put out on DVD - including the new "Dune" disc - but if you were to ask me which of those films I could do without, without hesitation it would be "Dune".

I did the same as you, and actually went one step further and returned the movie. Too many people told me it was confusing and boring.

I had not seen this in a number of years (over 5). Picked up the new DVD this morning and watched the theatrical cut. I remember it being a bit hard to follow back then, but I had no trouble following it this time... Also remember it being a bit slow/boring before, but apparently my taste has changed because I didn't think so this time (probably because I followed the story this time).

You should make extra sure that you pay attention during the "set up"-- the first 30 minutes or so-- then you should be set. If you get lost during this time, it will be hard to follow...

I'm still stuck on this one. It's one of those movies I really want to like, but I just haven't heard anything really good about it. It's mostly very mediocre reviews. I may exchange it for Corpse Bride (which I haven't seen either).

I agree with this. It might be a little difficult to follow the story the first time you see the movie, but once you are familiar with it, it's not hard to follow at all. It's definitely a linear story, it's not a surrealist work like much of Lynch's films. Anyone willing to give it a shot should not have many problems with it. There are just a lot of details that you can get lost in the first time through.

Lynch fans should be warned though this was more of a job for Lynch than it is a project of his own, but his influence is still present throughout the entire film.

Hows the 3 hour version look?

I consider David Lynch's DUNE to be the equivalent of DUNE: THE OPERA. It assumes you know the storyline, and the appeal of it is in the delivery.

I still think the first half of the movie is almost perfect, the second... well...

If you don't know the story, you'd be hard-pressed going in. Too much information is crammed into too little running time. The extended edition helps things out somewhat in the backstory department, but it has its OWN problems (lousy narration, for starters...)

Groin, and

The picture quality of both versions is great. The 5.1 is pretty nice too, although a few scenes had vocals that sounded echoey for no reason. Some of the added scenes were slightly grainy, but most looked as good as the regular scenes. Most of the new stuff is towards the first half & it does help to explain & set it up better & in much more detail. The opening narration is almost 5 minutes as well. I've read the book 2 or 3 times, so it was nice to see more of the scenes I remembered back in the movie.

I complety agree with your take on it. The delivery as far as visuals and atmosphere is pretty solid. However the as a whole it is pretty lacking.

I am a pretty big Lynch fan and think this is probably his most disappointing film. Lynch movies tend to have brilliant ambiguity in their plot and storytelling. This one has the ambiguity does but it doesnt work out in nearly the same way. I would say it is probably worth watching but not owning.

I tried watching this years ago and found it too confusing and boring. Maybe I should read the book?

What is the difference in extras with the R3 release? More or less (or different)?

Thanks,

Jeremy

slightly off-topic but are there any good informative websites talking about the 'religion' of Dune - and specifically is it based on Christian beliefs as the prologue suggests with a character carrying a cross.

FYI there are some good Dune-related sites that comment on the R1 Extended Version.

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=720
http://www.duneinfo.com/index.asp
http://www.figmentfly.com/published/dunearticle.html

The Extended TV version has been confirmed to be 2.35:1 anamorphic. As a result the prologue has been cropped. You can read about it here:

http://www.duneinfo.com/giedi_prime/dvd_extended/

Sweet, I think I'll definitely get the R1 for this alone. But it would be nice to have all the extras from the other releases.

Jeremy

I've never read the book, but after viewing the movie a couple of times, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I own an earlier version of the film, and watch it occasionally. It's certainly not something I would toss in if I was bored.

Give it a shot. If not, trade it in. I think it's worth a couple of tries.

Excellent, thanks!

Jeremy

I've never read the book, but I've watched the Dune mini-series, which certainly elaborates on the story a little more. Having watched it, it makes following the Lynch movie much easier. So, you can either read the book or watch the mini-series to help with the storyline...

I much prefer the mini-series, but I like Lynch's movie enough to own also. In fact, it was the mini-series, and its even-better sequel, that really turned me on to what could be done with Dune on television/film.

I've seen the extended "Smithee" cut of Lynch's Dune on Sci-fi channel, too, and it was better than the original release, I think. But, if you're not a fan of Dune (either the book or the mini-series), then I'd be hesitant to recommend it...