Originally posted by kid samurai
Aren't UK dvds mastered in PAL format rather than the NTSC?

Originally posted by anakinforce
Well I have a multi-region player so i'll be picking this up regardless,but on the odd chance my player should ever break will the disc play in a normal Region 1 player since the disc is Region 0?

Originally posted by QuiGonJosh
I was referring to the 326min version...

Originally posted by C_Fletch
That's what I thought QuiGonJosh but I just wanted to make sure I snipped that rumor in the bud as this is how they spread. If there was a 4 hour version I would have picked it up several years ago. I read an interview that Frank Herbert did, as he was involved with the production. He stated that there was not enough physical cuts from what was filmed that would even allow for a 4 hour movie.

Originally posted by QuiGonJosh
Well if the 3hr version ever becomes available I will for sure own that one!

- Versions of Dune -
What's truth, and what's rumor?

Rumors about extended versions of Dune have been circulating for years. Regardless of what the rumors say, there are only three versions of Dune known to exist. The version often found on video cassette is the theatrical release and is the most commonly seen. Its full length is 2 hours and 17 minutes, and it is rated PG-13. It was put on video cassette by MCA Universal and, until just recently, it had been out of print for some time. In May 1997, it was re-released in two formats. The standard pan and scan format is extactly the same as the original Dune video. The box it comes in is also the same. The widescreen format contains no extra footage, and its box has a gold border around its frame. (For information about how to find a copy of Dune on video cassette, please read the information on where to find Dune collectibles.)

Another version known to exist has been dubbed "the 4-hour" or extended version, but is more appropriately named the "Allen Smithee version." This is the generic name used in place of David Lynch's name. Lynch, the director, did got get to play a role in the editting process, so he fought to have his name removed and replaced with "Allen Smithee." Although it is sometimes called "the 4-hour version," this version, in reality, is closer to 3 hours, but since it is usually found on television (regularly on the Sci-Fi Channel), the added commercials bring the total playing time close to the 4-hour mark. The most notable changes in this release are in the introduction, where an older man gives a longer introduction to the film than Irulan did. This release also includes scenes that weren't included in the shortened version, like the making of the Water of Life and Gurney playing the baliset. Although this extended version is said to have been made for the people who have read the book, many Dune fans agree that the added footage subtracts from the work, rather than add to it. Certain extra scenes involving Jurgen Prochnow (Duke Leto) and Patrick Stewart (Gurney Halleck) were poorly acted, and their additions hurt the film. Yet despite the slightly lower quality of the extended version of Dune, it is still very popular and highly sought. This version has never been released on video cassette, but it has been put onto laserdisc. (Again, please refer to my page discussing where to find Dune collectibles.) If you are interested in learning which scenes were added or altered in this version, be sure to check out Hiphats' "The Arrakis File," which is devoted to this topic.

The third and final version of Dune is the "Channel 2 version," which was made and aired once in 1992 by KTVU, a local Fox affiliate in San Francisco. It was pieced together using only the Allen Smithee version and the theatrical release. (No extra footage was added.) Ron Miller, who helped with the production of Dune, put it best when he told me: "Evidently they did what anyone could have done: cobbled together an idiosyncratic version of the film by melding bits and pieces of the theatrical and original TV versions. This has got to be an even worse mess than the Smithee edition. I would avoid it at all costs. Restoring Dune requires more than just haphazardly pasting together every scrap of film one can find."

So, do other versions of Dune exist? Personally, I doubt it. Even if such a copy existed, I can promise you that it would be difficult to watch. To piece this so-called "6-hour version" together, someone would've needed to have had access to all the movie scraps that were left on the chopping block after the film was put together. Since it would've been done without permission from Dino De Laurentiis Corporation and David Lynch, it would've been illegal. However, in Eye, Frank Herbert said that there were 6 hours of footage shot. Although he dearly wished to have this 6-hour version released, it never was. (The "4-hour" version is not what he had wanted.) It is not known what this "director's cut" would've been like in terms of quality. Regardless of what has been said, I personally feel that such a film would've been very low quality. In the production of every film, many brief scenes (most of which don't span more than 5 seconds) are constantly cut as the film is pasted together into its final form. By picking up the table scraps and throwing them back into the film, the movie would've been very choppy, and some scenes would have to be omitted since they were replaced by others. So in the same manner that one can argue that there may be a 6-hour version of Dune, one can also argue that there may be a 6-hour version of Star Wars or Independence Day floating around. As many Dune fans have already noted, the extended version of Dune doesn't flow as well as the shortened version. As you add more and more low quality scenes that may or may not flow with the rest of the film, the quality of any extended version decreases almost exponentially. So, all in all, Dune fans should be content with the two versions that are currently available. Although more could've been done to make it a better film, Dune is still a beautiful movie because of its sets, cast, crew, and special effects, especially when one considers the time at which it was made.

Originally posted by Giles
In an article I read there was mention that Lynch pretty much filmed the entire book and all it's sequences. The magazine Video Watchdog awhile back detailed the additional scenes that didn't make either the theatrical or extended network edition.

Originally posted by Josh Z
I suggest you re-read that Video Watchdog article, which was a comparison of the first draft of the script with both existing versions of the movie. Lynch most certainly did not film the entire book. In fact, he was ordered by the studio to cease filming several storylines during production. One of these subplots was the story of Harrah and her children, who can be seen in the background of a number of scenes but do not have an actual storyline in the film.

When MCA-TV assembled their longer cut of the film, they basically threw in every spare scrap of footage that they could get their hands on. It only truly amounts to about 20 minutes of extra material. The extra length of the TV version mainly comes from the overuse of cartoon inserts and repeated footage.

Originally posted by Giles
I have to admit to never reading the book, but what importance and story progression do Harrah and her children play in the plot?