Dune [1984]

Director: David Lynch David Lynch

Overview

"David Lynch's stylish, flawed Dune was a controversial movie upon release for many fans of the Frank Herbert novel from which it was adapted. By the time of this DVD release, the controversy had pretty much faded away, allowing Dune to be viewed as more of a campy, cult-classic sci-fi film. The picture and sound quality of the DVD transfer are both superb. The 2.35:1 widescreen presentation consistently impresses via the rich colors of Lynch's bold visuals, the stunning cinematography of Freddie Francis, and Carlo Rambaldi's bizarre creature effects. The Dolby Digital Sound is quite rich and always aurally interesting. Supplemental materials don't provide much of interest. The production notes could just as easily and successfully have been included in the liner notes for the DVD; they only amount to about ten paragraphs of straightforward information. The cast and filmmaker bios are standard biographical filmographies. The theatrical trailer is interesting, but its sound and video quality isn't up to the presentation quality of the movie itself. The liner notes claim the DVD includes a ""Film Highlights"" feature, but that feature doesn't seem to be accessible from any menu. It's possible the notes are actually referring to the ""Chapter List"" menu, which allows direct scene access. It should be noted that some fans prefer the longer, edited-for-television version of this production, though David Lynch disowned it in classic Alan Smithee fashion; that version is not included on this DVD edition. Dune still makes for a highly entertaining DVD, if one isn't expecting anything more than the movie itself."

Product Details

Release Date:	03/31/1998
UPC:	0025192018428
Original Release:	1984
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:17:00
Sales rank:	2,551

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kyle MacLachlan	Paul Atreides
Francesca Annis	Lady Jessica
José Ferrer	Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV
Leonardo Cimino	The Baron's Doctor,The Baron's Doctor
Brad Dourif	Piter De Vries
Patrick Stewart	Gurney Halleck
Sting	Feyd Rautha
Dean Stockwell	Doctor Wellington Yueh
Linda Hunt	Shadout Mapes
Freddie Jones	Thufir Hawat
Richard Jordan	Duncan Idaho
Virginia Madsen	Princess Irulan
Silvana Mangano	Reverend Mother Ramallo
Everett McGill	Stilgar
Kenneth McMillan	Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
Jack Nance	Nefud
Sian Phillips	Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
Jurgen Prochnow	Duke Leto Atreides
Paul Smith	The Beast Rabban,The Beast Rabban
Max von Sydow	Dr. Kynes
Alicia Roanne Witt	Alia
Sean Young	Chani
Danny Corkill	Honorato Magalone
Judd Omen	Molly Wyrn
Daniel Bryan Corkill	Honorato Magalone
Jane Jenkins	Actor
Honorato Magaloni	Otheym
Brian Eno	Composer
Daniel Lanois	Composer
Marty Paich	Composer
Totò	Composer

Technical Credits

David Lynch

Frank Herbert

Rudolph Wurlitzer

Christopher De Vore

Eric Bergren

David Lynch	Director,Screenwriter
Raffaella De Laurentiis	Producer,Executive Producer
Nelson Stoll	Sound Mixer,Sound/Sound Designer
Frank Herbert	Screenwriter
Tom Anderson	Special Effects
Dickey Beer	Stunts
Tony Brubaker	Stunts
Will Harper	Stunts
Henry Kingi	Stunts
Wayne Michaels	Stunts
Rudolph Wurlitzer	Screenwriter
Jane Jenkins	Casting
Christopher De Vore	Screenwriter
Carlo Rambaldi	Special Effects
Kit West	Special Effects
Barry Nolan	Special Effects
Brian Smithies	Special Effects
Eric Bergren	Screenwriter
Albert J. Whitlock	Special Effects
Maggie Cartier	Casting
Steve Maslow	Sound/Sound Designer
Alan Splet	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Frank Herbert's 1974 novel Dune holds a special place in the modern science-fiction canon. Boasting throngs of fans and a sizeable critical following, its setting -- the planet Arrakis, after the year 10,000 -- is the genre's well-tread equivalent of William Faulkner's fictional Yoknapatawpha County. Sixteen years after David Lynch first brought Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic to the big screen in 1984 -- to decidedly mixed results -- the Sci-Fi Channel has adapted the classic novel as a 4 1/2 hour miniseries. The result is a richly satisfying vision of the distant future. Writer/director John Harrison's (Tales From the Darkside: The Movie) adaptation is detailed enough to satisfy avid fans of Herbert's work, and accessible enough to entrance the uninitiated. Dune follows the fate of the noble house of Duke Leto Atreides (William Hurt) who is charged to rule the desolate, sandswept desert planet Arrakis, the universes only source of Melange, a powerful spice that enhances mental performance and makes instantaneous interstellar travel possible. The Duke leaves his home world with son Paul (Alec Newman), but soon after taking control of the forbidding Arrakis, he is betrayed and Arrakis is conquered by its previous ruler, the ruthless Baron Harkonnen (Ian McNeice). Paul is left for dead in the desert, where he falls in with the Fremen, the indigenous people of Arrakis, and begins the fight to retake the planet. Despite its basic cable pedigree, the film does not skimp on production values. Dune has the look and feel of a theatrical release, and even evokes Lawrence of Arabia. Oscar-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now) renders the galaxy in a gorgeous array of color. The cast, especially newcomer Newman and the always-reliable Hurt, is roundly solid. But the real star of Dune is the well-executed story -- a marvelous, engrossing tale that is finally given a chance to stretch out on-screen and breathe.