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

[DanHaya]

I found a UK website ( http://www.blackstar.co.uk/video/item/7000000058870 ) that is selling Region 2 editions of the Alan Smithee version. It's pan & scan, since it was only meant for syndicated television broadcasts.
I wonder why it was never released in Region 1. Does anyone know?

 

[Damin J Toell]

Oh, and Damin...cool your jets! You don't need to be going around like Lt. Saavik quoting regulations...that's what the moderators are for. It only annoys people.

I'm just trying to save a worthwhile thread from being sidetracked and closed. Consider the temperature of your own jets. There's no need to escalate this with your uncalled for insults in bold and italics. Let's end it right now.

DJ

 

[DanHaya]

Fair enough, Damin. Sorry for calling you out like that. I just sent you a PM.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

I love the Dune books (read all six of them), and actually liked Lynch's version, althought the whole Weirding modules addition was "weird".

Want to know something weirder? I have a dune-die-hard friend who SWEARS that the weirding module weapons were in the book. I read the book from cover to cover and made a point to mark the pages that mentioned the modules...and they never appeared. He STILL swears that they're in there because he "remembers" them.

When I told him that the big-fetus-looking-floating navigator creature was all an elaboration by Lynch (the book never describes the navigators in any unusual way) he swears that *that* was in the book too.

I've found with several "dune" fanatic friend's that their memory of the book has eternally merged with the images from Lynch's film and they can't separate them!

Interesting?

-dave

 

[David Lambert]

Not so much "interesting", DaViD...just typical. :rolleyes

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

Actually, the navigators as they appear in the Lynch film are Lynch's interpretation of the fish-like navigators as described by Herbert in "Dune Messiah," book 2 in the series. While it's true that the big floaty navigators are not in the first book, their inclusion in Lynch's film is perfectly consistent with the universe that Herbert created. This is probably what your friend is remembering. Can't remember right now if the weirding modules appear in any of the other books.

 

[Bill Hunt]

Just thought you guys might like to know... I just completed an in-depth interview with the writer/director of Frank Herbert's Dune, John Harrison, which I expect to post on The Digital Bits either tomorrow or Monday. He talks at some length about his approach to writing and directing this adaptation, the changes he made to Herbert's book and why he felt they were necessary and his final cut on this new Director's Edition DVD (which is different than both the original U.S. DVD release AND the European version on DVD). He also talks in some detail about the upcoming sequel miniseries, Children of Dune, which he once again wrote and is producing - it's filming now in Prague. I think you guys will enjoy the interview (whether you liked the miniseries or not), so do watch for it in the next few days. We talked for over an hour, so there's a lot of interesting material. Best!

 

[David Lambert]

Thank you, Bill...I'll look for that!

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Sounds cool Bill.
And thanks Doug for the clarification about the navigators.
-dave

 

[ErichH]

OK guys- I didn't read any of this thread- just wanted to post our local title for this one `Frank Herberts DUD'

OK

Eric

 

[CaptDS9E]

Thanks Bill ill be looking for that interview

capt

 

[Matt_P]

I look forward to reading that interview, Bill! Thanks for letting us know in advance.

David-
I actually went back to part 1 and listened to some of the commentary (I intend to listen to the whole commentary eventually). The choice to use a lighting motif that changes as the scene progresses is interesting, and very effective in the scenes where it is used. I noticed this technique as I was watching the series. It's intriguing to hear the details about it in the commentary. All I can say is that it must have been a pain for the post-prod. sound guys to edit out the sound of Vittorio's lighting board! However, the scenes I referred to previously had no such change during the course of the conversation, etc. It seemed to be lighting errors, plain and simple. It's possible Vittorio was lighting for the best possible image for any one angle, instead of being concerned with consistancy between shots. Something to ponder, I guess.

I just finished Part 2. I'm eagarly awaiting Part 3. I'll be watching it tonight!

 

[Mike Walker]

Thanks for the info about the interview Bill, I look forward to reading it.

I also look forward to seeing how Harrison tackles Dune Messiah...that is probably my favorite book in the Dune series...I consider it the Empire Strikes Back of Dune, very dark stuff.

 

[Henry Carmona]

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.

Sam you are the man!

I did not like the series and was a bit dissapointed they didnt do a better job out of this grand story.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

I guess I was disapointed that the Sci-Fi version did not feel like the big budget production they advertised it to be. I thought the production values were no better than the average episode of Farscap and possibly not as good.

 

[Yee-Ming]

my $0.02 worth:-
I have the R2 Smithee version, love the Lynch version too: my take is that in this instance, the scenes added in, in particular drowing the worm to make the Water of Life, Paul's duel with Jamis etc, do add to the story, BUT the "exposition" and crappy illustrations at the beginning rather ruin it. the entire backstory (e.g Butlerian Jihad against machines, leading to "human computers", i.e. mentats) is not really necessary for a casual viewer to enjoy the movie. [minor trivia: IIRC, they also get the year wrong, the book explicitly starts off at the year 10,191, the new narrator states it's 10,192 (or 10,190, I just remember they were off by one year)]
hence, the "best of" would be a version where the lovely Virginia Madsen is restored as narrator as per Lynch's version, but the additional scenes in the Smithee edition are also included.
BTW, I think R4 now also has the Smithee version, and they also have an anamorphic AND DTS edition of the Lynch version.
back to the miniseries, I agree with those who felt the casting was better for Lynch's version -- maybe it's just nostalgia after all these years, or that the Lynch version has grown on us. of all the characters, the only ones which came close IMHO in the miniseries to the Lynch equivalents were the Emperor (might actually be better), and maybe the Baron, and even then nothing could match Lynch's Baron for sheer depravity.
the main saving grace of the series is really the luxury of time in which to tell the story. but heck, despite the above gripes I'm getting the series anyway.
to Bill Hunt: thanks for the heads-up on your interview with Harrison, I will certainly look out for it. and thanks for the lengthy discussion on the controversy last year over the fact that the then-release of the miniseries was rather underwhelming and that an SE was on the cards -- it's saved me from having to double-dip, since based on your reporting, I withheld purchasing the series then, and will now happily buy the new (and apparently worthy) SE.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

David,
I just read your review and I think it was great. If the information you're trying to share goes "long", just let it flow and let the reader decide how far they want to read.
I was sent this set and my review should be up in about a week, but this thread has really got my interest up.

 

[David Lambert]

[rant]THANK YOU![/rant]

 

[Don Peskin]

The picture and sound seemed very good at least for the first 28 minutes. See just as the DVDREVIEW website says the packaging is bad and one disc always comes free of its hub. This happened to me. The hub wasn't broken, the disc just came loose and got scratched up. At the 28 minute mark of disc 1 the disc started to freeze and jump. I sent it back and now have to wait till I get the replacement. I hate when this happens.

 

[David Lambert]

Don, I simply didn't have that type of problem with the case, as far as the disc holding-and-releasing goes. Yes, it's cardboard and gets ding'ed up worse than snappers do. But I had zero problems with floaters/rattlers. The hub rings held securely until I tried to release, and then it came right off.
Once, while writing up my review, the disc 1 came off it's hub as soon as I put it on, but as I went to put it back I realized I'd done it wrong. Maybe there's a trick to it, and I was uncounsiously doing that trick until that moment, then "rediscovered" the trick?
Then again, judging by HTF complaint posts, I seem to have a LOT less trouble with operating all sorts of hub rings than most of the rest of us do. Maybe I'm special. Or perhaps just more used to it after 1200-1300 discs!
As far as THIS case design goes, I wonder what we should call it. It's not a keepcase, it's not a snapper, and it's not a digipak. It's a little of each, isn't it? But I guess we should figure out what to call it, because according to DVDFile it is going to be used again, for Ken Burns' The Civil War...and I expect it to be the tip of the iceberg: