the following review encompasses two versions of dune :
dune : the theatrical version ( 1984 ) runtime : 137 minutes capsule review : cut down to just over two hours by nervous studio executives , the theatrical version of dune is a spectacular mess and may be incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the book .
the film 's visual splendour , mystical beauty and impressive action scenes only partly compensate for gaping holes in the narrative .
dune : the extended version ( 1988 ) runtime :
189 minutes capsule review : a bit of a throw - together assembled by mca tv special projects for cable television .
it was disowned by director david lynch
but it 's considerably closer to his original vision by virtue of its improved characterisation and clearer storyline .
quality dubs of this version from the out - of - print japanese laserdisc release are available from various dealers on the world wide web .
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* the review
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* * released in 1984 and made on a then mammoth budget of $ 40 million , the film of frank herbert 's cult novel dune was eagerly awaited by sci - fi fans .
director david lynch ( blue velvet , eraserhead , twin peaks ) was working on his biggest production to date , a mammoth undertaking filmed under trying conditions on location in mexico .
the screenplay was lynch 's own , chosen after the script submitted by original author herbert was rejected .
dune is set in a universe ruled by powerful families overseen by a successive line of emperors .
the key to cosmic power is the planet arrakis ( dune ) , a windswept desert planet that 's home to giant sandworms and the precious spice melange .
the spice is the most valuable commodity in the universe .
it extends the life and expands the consciousness of those who consume it .
most importantly , it allows the navigators of the spacing guild ( once human but now hideously mutated ) to " fold space " and navigate their spacecraft across mammoth distances instantaneously , enabling interstellar commerce and trade to flourish .
lynch 's film by necessity excises parts of the book while retaining the story 's two main strands .
one is the long - standing rivalry between two families , houses atreides and house harkonnen , and their battle for lucrative mining rights on arrakis .
the second strand is the emergence of young paul atreides as the reluctant messiah long - awaited by the natives of arrakis , the fremen .
the deeply religious fremen want control over their homeworld , and young paul may be the fulfilment of their prophecy that a man would come from the outer worlds and lead them to freedom .
unfortunately , this epic story unfolds in a confusing and haphazard manner in the theatrical cut of the film , which runs 30 to 60 minutes shorter than what lynch originally intended .
the thinking among universal 's oh - so - wise money men was that films over two hours in duration were not popular with audiences at the time and would not do well at the box office .
with lynch 's initial cut running at closer to three or more hours , the studio demanded that further cuts be made .
what a great idea !
why not trim down an already complex film so as to make it almost incomprehensible ?
the most glaring consequence of this one - eyed stupidity is a hopelessly jumpy narrative , leaving us with badly underdeveloped characters .
thus their personalities are vague , their motivations unclear and , in the case of paul 's father duke leto , their demise rather meaningless .
the end result is a distinct chill : we ca n't warm to most of the cast and we do n't care much for them .
and it hardly helps that the voice - over narration is sparse and that the dune - esque language and terminology sounds like so much gobbledegook to those unfamiliar with the book .
dune is also a very serous film .
the constant " self - talk " by various characters makes it so serious and self - absorbed at times that you may find it hard not to wince with embarrassment .
the overall impression is a world full of people so intense that no one is allowed a joke lest the universe come crashing down around them .
humour - or at least a gentle kind of humour as distinct from the harkonnen 's mad , sadistic kind - is hard to find .
you may balk at the comparison , but as a writer lynch could well have done with some lessons from george lucus ' star wars trilogy .
the theatrical version is still some way from being a complete disaster , however .
it still possesses enough of lynch 's stylistic quirks and enough visual invention to sustain the interest of viewers with a taste for imaginative sci - fi .
special effects whiz
carlo rambaldi 's giant sandworms are an awesome sight .
both the production design ( anthony masters ) and costume design ( bob ringwood ) are striking and original .
and the magnificent score by toto and brian eno is one of the most underrated soundtracks of the last twenty years .
with these elements in place and the benefit of freddie francis ' lush cinematography , the film is at least a feast for the senses .
see it in the widescreen format if you can .
and despite all the cuts , several cast members still make a strong impression , most notably kenneth mcmillan as the supremely nasty baron vladimir harkonnen .
sian phillips also registers strongly as the reverend mother gaius helen mohiam , leader of the bene gesserit religious order who 's secret aim is to manipulate paul 's destiny for its own shadowy ends .
as paul atreides , the young kyle maclachlan starts off somewhat shakily , but as his character grows in strength so does his performance
and he emerges as a credible leader of the fremen crusade .
the conclusion ?
any assessment of this film must take into account that frank herbert 's original novel is a complex piece of work and presents a tough challenge for any filmmaker .
david lynch took a brave stab at it and , partly due to forces beyond his control , ended up with an officially released version that fails in several key respects .
dune certainly confused and frustrated a lot of people on its release .
many chose to stay away altogether , as the film 's disastrous box office showing attests .
the extended version , however , is a rather different beast .
in 1984 lynch stated his intention to release his own special edition " director 's cut " of the film on home video , a clear indication of his dissatisfaction with the version that ended up in the theatres .
but , alas , he failed to do so , choosing to move on to other projects .
in a way , then , it is partly lynch 's own fault that what appeared instead was an unauthorised extended version , put together in 1988 by mca tv special projects for airing on cable networks in the usa .
stung into action , lynch successfully petitioned the director 's guild to take his name off the credits and replace it with " allen smithee " , the standard pseudonym for directors who wish to disown their own work .
he also had the screenwriting credit changed to the anonymous " judas booth " .
certainly , looking at the results of mca 's handiwork there 's at least half a dozen instances that , for sheer technical sloppiness , are good enough reasons for the director to object .
but these gripes must be considered in light of the improvements that the extended cut of dune offers in several crucial areas .
most of the changes involve the restoration or extension of cut scenes and the addition of extra narration , both of which fill many holes in the original version 's storyline .
paul 's relationship with his father and associates is more intimate , with moments of humour and warmth lacking previously .
the political skulduggery involving the emperor , the spacing guild , the bene gesserits and the two warring houses is far better explained .
paul 's initiation into the fremen way of life on arrakis is also fleshed out considerably .
and as further background , a new prologue has been added featuring narration and painted stills to give us a brief history of the dune universe .
as a piece of storytelling , then , mca tv 's version of dune is clearly superior .
as a piece of editing , however , it is at times surprisingly inept .
the use of painted stills in the new prologue works well enough , but their occasional appearance once the action begins is inappropriate .
there 's some sloppy cutting , too , and in a few instances shots even appear out of order .
and the use of repeated footage to fabricate certain scenes ( eg .
ships coming and going , soldiers coming and going ) is at times clearly out - of - context
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this is the kind of thing to which lynch objected , and
rightly so .
it should also be noted that several questionable scenes and shots from the theatrical version were deleted to satisfy the censorship demands of u . s . television .
but the most notable omission is a gratuitous piece of nonsense from lynch that was n't even in herbert 's book .
the scene features baron harkonnen killing a beautiful young man in front of his slobbering henchmen by pulling out his " heart plug " .
its a surreal and disturbing episode that 's very lynch - esque but adds nothing to what we already know
: the baron is a nasty piece of work .
despite its own peculiar flaws , then , the extended version of dune is a generally superior film .
all up , it contains 35 minutes of restored footage and approximately another 15 minutes of either altered , fabricated or newly created sequences . unless the idiosyncratic lynch has a sudden change of heart , the " alan smithee " version remains the closest we 'll get to what the movie should have been .
on repeated viewings , one suspects it is closer than what lynch would be prepared to admit .
still , as one of this century 's great science - fiction novels , some fans and perhaps the late herbert himself would argue that dune deserved a better fate in its transfer to the screen .
with rumours circulating of a new six hour mini - series planned by production company new amsterdam entertainment in 1998 , it is unlikely that we have heard the last of the dune saga .
Output: N