Frank Herbert's DUNE Director's Cut: Worth a blind purchase? (1 Viewer)

[Matt_P]

Being a sci-fi fan, I have been interested in seeing the recent Dune mini-series. Since I missed it on Sci-Fi, I would like to hear your opinions on the series. Is the program worthy of purchasing the new 3 disc Director's Cut (coming out tomorrow) sight unseen? I saw it advertised for 18.99 (pretty good for a 3 disc set) at K-Mart of all places. How is the quality of the new DVD set?

Any opinions, comments, and input would be appreciated.

 

[BradyB]

Matt, I will definatly be picking this one up on tuesday. I liked this version of the book much better than the original movie. Acting is all around fair. Special effects are well done, for thier budget size.
And $18.99 is quite fine for a 5 hour movie
Also if you want more there are some good reviews out at TVShowsOnDVD.com and at DVDFile.com

 

[John Berggren]

I taped this one off scifi but hadn't watched it by the time the first DVD was announced. I was dissapointed in news that the first DVD was not anamorphic, and not truly a special edition, so I skipped it. At the time there were rumors of tomorrow's edition. I can't wait to finally check this out.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

I found the FX to be very spotty. I think the worms look very good but the sets are totally unconvincing, especially when they want to show an expansive area, they fail spectacularly. Also, I didn't find the acting to be better than Lynch's Dune. In fact, I much prefer the acting in the earlier film. In addition, many of the actors in the miniseries have heavy foreign accents which can make them somewhat difficult to understand at times. I'd rent it first.

 

[Sam Davatchi]

I would like to hear your opinions on the series.

It’s watch-able for one time! Many things are bad in this production. Bad acting, bad costumes and bad sets. The sets look small and they are not Planet-of-the-apes bad, but a 50s amateur film bad. You never get the sense that these people are at the desert.

I prefer Lynch’s version. Great music, great performances from all the cast and one word, mood, mood, mood! Lynch’s movie is a sci-fi masterpiece *for me*. I don’t care that it is not close to Herbert’s Dune.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Sam,
I agree 1000% percent. I love the gothic atmosphere that Lynch gives the film. It may not be the most faithful but you can tell that Lynch has a unifying vision that is captivating. The Sci-Fi's Dune has no such vision and is very mundane.

 

[Damin J Toell]

I love the gothic atmosphere that Lynch gives the film. It may not be the most faithful but you can tell that Lynch has a unifying vision that is captivating. The Sci-Fi's Dune has no such vision and is very mundane.

I agree. Especially given the low quality of the sets used for desert scenes, it felt like "Frank Herbert's High School Dune Play."

DJ

 

[Aaron Silverman]

This version of the movie (I saw the original DVD release) is pretty decent, but has its problems. For a TV movie though, it's quite impressive.
It suffers from Starship Trooper-itis, in that the giant battle consists of two masses (they don't look as massive as they should) of soldiers with knives rushing at each other across an open field. Not exactly my vision of the far future! The interpretation of the story, on the other hand, isn't bad at all.
If this new cut has more footage of Chani not wearing much, I'll have to check it out! Wow, was that young lady HOT!!! (and her accent was cute, too)

 

[Keith Mickunas]

I've heard some people refer to the sets as "theatrical". If you look at it that way, its acceptable. Some of the sets are obviously matte paintings. And some of the desert scenes are real bad, the sand the characters are running on doesn't match the sand in the background at all.

However that aside, it does a good job of telling the story and I enjoyed it a lot. IMHO its definitely a good DVD to buy.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Part 1-Blasphemous
Part 2-OK
Part 3-Dead-on perfect. Virtually verbatim

And yes, it's Dune :The Stage show. The costumes are AWFUL, especially compared to Lynch's, which were perfect. The Reverend Mothra and her cowgirl entaurage, and the pastry chef Saudukar don't do it for me ( I will bake you into a fine crust!)

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

I love Lynch's turn of the century imperial costumes. As for the theatrical stage, I don't think it would have been nearly so bad had they gone for more of a minimalist look. But everything is so flamboyant, drowned in bright colors, and lit brightly that it's impossible not to notice its severe limitations.

 

[Brian Kidd]

If you look at the tv series as a tv series and not a big-budget film, then I think you'll enjoy it. I know that I enjoyed it quite a lot for what it was. It's certainly worth $18.99.

 

[David Lambert]

If this new cut has more footage of Chani not wearing much, I'll have to check it out! Wow, was that young lady HOT!!! (and her accent was cute, too)

Here is a taste, among my 3-dozen screenshots posted at TSoD. I assure you, you see more than that in this scene! :b

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Damn! Now I'm getting it! But that’s a dirty trick! I wasn’t going to get it!

 

[David Lambert]

Hey, it's not like I work for Artisan or anything. It's not like I care if anyone buys it or not. It's not like I wouldn't bitch if the thing sucked. I just happen to like it (but especially that scene).
Oh, and if your lady complains, let her know that the same scene features nekkid man-butt.

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Ahhhh! Now I'm not getting it!

Oh, and if your lady complains,

If I had, I wouldn’t be here on the HTF, would I?

 

[David Lambert]

It's over pretty quickly, and in any case you can use your remote's A-B LOOP function to enjoy what you want in perpetuity...

 

[Sam Davatchi]

And since you are a Trek specialist, with the TV series contrary to the Lynch’s Dune, we don’t get Star Trek TNG!

 

[Rich Malloy]

Matt, for $18.99, it's probably worth a chance!
I'm a fan of Herbert's novel (only read the first one) and I count Lynch's movie as one of my great guilty pleasures (and I rarely admit these, open-forum), but I did not care at all for the sci-fi series. Bland, beige and nondescript are adjectives that leap to mind...
But some folk adore it. Go figure!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Well, I personally feel that the Lynch version, while stylistically sound, is a rape of the novel. The miniseries (with the exception of some minor additional story threads) is much closer to the source.