Mike Lowrey

thedigitalbits Rumor Mill from 6/18 is reporting that Universal is planning a SE of Lynch's DUNE for later this year. Stating that this should include the extended TV version and/or perhaps Lynch's ultimate director's cut.

I hope so, because the US theatrical release just never did it for me as after seeing the TV version, I felt too much was left out.

And I'd love to see a Lowry Digital restoration of this film as well.

Mr. Cornell

David Lynch officially disowned the Dune movie a long time ago. So the odds of a new David Lynch recut version of the film are slim to none, and slim just left town. Sorry, but no dice.

That said, if Universal really felt the urge to go throw good money after bad and recut the film themselves, more power to them. They might even be able to finish the unfinished speciall-effects shots in the TV version on the cheap.

Living Dead

I remember seeing the longer version on the Disney channely 1 time years ago. It was much better. I would love to see this released, other than in bootleg form.

bboisvert

I disagree with you that it was "much better." I thought the editing and flow were terrible... I'd say it was "interesting", nothing more...

... but if you are region-free, it is available in just about every other country out there -- UK, Germany, Japan, etc. I have the R2 Japan disc and it's pretty darn good.

Someone (damn, I'm forgetting... is it Josh Z? I think so) has a really great site out there comparing the various releases, picture quality, etc.

MrE

http://www.dvdcompare.net/

bboisvert

It was Josh... here's his site:

http://www.mindspring.com/~dunestuff/

speedy1961

Josh Z. is the ultimate librarian of all things Lynchian.

Numes

Neat Site! I was thinking about getting the German 3 Disc DVD, but it sounds like I better wait a bit for the definitive version.

Numanoid

I'd like to see a new version incorporating the "deleted scenes" from the TV version (along with appropriate post-production effects and letterboxing) but without the gruff old man chalk-drawing narration.

Buck Turgidson

Indeed he is

I like the term "interesting".

The way it went down was a total mess, but it's really not the film it could and should be at the length Lynch's cut is available.

I was always under the impression that Lynch turned in a longer cut that was close to the extended version as his preferred version, but Josh clued me in during one of our several discussions about this that the available cut is Lynch's choice.

People get really pissed on this board when I question Drector's opinions on matters like this, so I won't go deep into it, but, as I wrote above, it's just too truncated at a little over 2 hours. It needs to be fleshed out, however imperfectly.

Jepthah

People need to get it through their heads that Lynch wants absolutely NOTHING to do with Dune anymore.

Any alternate cut of the film that will be released will be similar to the studio assemblage of Alien3 and will not have David Lynch's involvement. I also doubt he would contribute to any of the possible special features.

Numanoid

The theatrical cut is Lynch's cut because he was under contract to bring in a movie of a maximum duration (more profitable to have more theatrical showings per day). That being said, he obviously filmed more than he knew he could ever get into such a theatrical cut, so there probably does exist a "director's cut", if only in the mind of David Lynch.

OCB

Having just read Dune for the first time I 'm really interested in seeing the Lynch version of the movie...any more word on if the SE is coming or should I be out looking for a bootleg

ThatGuamGuy

No need to bootleg (and nobody here will suggest that you should anyway), it's an official release in pretty much every country except America.

bboisvert

As mentioned, you can get an official release pretty easily. Also, if you want to know more about what was cut from the film version, read the intro to Frank Herbert's EYE (short story collection).

OCB

That's this one, correct?



I guess my question is, is this different than the one pointed out in the first post of the thread

joffa

OCB, I don't think anyone knows for sure yet. The Universal SE MAY include a longer cut of the film, or it may not. It is doubtful any longer cut would have Lynch's participation. The R2 special edition which you have posted a pic of contains the theatrical cut only, but has a great 40 min retrospective doco, and the best transfer of the film I have seen.

As a huge 'Dune' fan myself, I'd recommend you rent before buying, as you may find the film disappointing. It certainly is a mixed bag, but I feel Lynch nailed the tone of the novel better than the more recent mini-series, although the mini is superior in terms of the clarity of the story.

slowcloud

OCB,

Did you not see this link earlier: http://www.mindspring.com/~dunestuff/ ?

You should be able to determine which version to get based on that site. I've seen other comparison sites of Dune, but this is the best so far. (By the way, for me, none of these versions seem worth it. I am still holding out on a proper import version and sticking with my domestic Universal version, for now).

DrOBoogie1

Is the extended Lynch cut significantly better than the theatrical cut? More importantly, how does it compare with the Sci-Fi Channel mini-series of a few years back? I thought the mini-series (both of them) was(were) terrific.

OCB

I just watched the SciFi one last night and thought it was pretty good. Some of the effects were hokie but for the most part it was true to the story.

Thanks for the info, sounds like I'll play the wait and see game on the Lynch version.

Josh Z

The miniseries version of the 1984 film was created against the director's wishes. He had his name removed from it. The TV crew that assembled it were totally incompetent at the art of filmmaking. Most of the new footage consists of cartoon drawings inserted into the movie as if they were "special effects", and numerous shots that are repeated over and over for no purpose. There are even entire scenes that are created by taking random shots from previous scenes and editing them together with a voice-over to tell you what is supposed to be happening. It's atrocious.

ShagMan

OK, I'm digging this up from the grave; I'm a die-hard Dune fan, so deal with it I liked the SciFi miniseries, however Lynch's Dune has always seemed to capture the feeeeel of the book better. Has there been *any* Dune news since July?

Looks like the R2 (UK) is the best version out right now? Is the PAL speedup that noticable (as per Josh Z)?

Has anyone tried the R2 (UK) TV/MCA version, how's it look/sound?

joliom

I'd be happy to just get a remastered anamorphic re-release of the current region 1 DVD. It would be cool to include the extra TV material as a bonus feature, but I hope they don't integrate it into the film (unless through seamless branching where I have the option to still view the film in theatrical form).

Giles

while some of the info you noted is true, notably the constant reuse of SFX shots (some reversed to trick the viewer into thinking it's new footage). The notable and best inclusion is the extended 'creation of the water of life' sequence, it's essential footage that Lynch discarded and really benefits from being included in the TV cut of the film. Also a back issue of Video Watchdog did a very comprehensive article on the editing of Dune and highlighted many more scenes that Lynch had filmed but ultimately were never scene in the theatrical cut of the film or the tv cut of the film. Word is that all the key scenes in the book were filmed but when it came down to the editing of the film, the story was pretty much pared down.

Heartagram

I would love to see this get released as well, I have been waiting for a better release than the current region 1. I have the Dune, and Children of Dune releases from Artisan, which I thought were great, but a copy of Lynch's Dune in there would be great for comparison.