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September 2021




  

Dune
Arrow Films/MVD
Blu-ray Review By: Jaime Pina



With the upcoming release of a new big screen adaptation of Dune, there is renewed interest in the 1984 production directed by David Lynch. The film has its fans and its detractors. The colossal chore of turning Dune into a film has been attempted by many but none have been successful at truly capturing the sprawling epic. And while this production did manage to make it to theatres it was deemed a box office dud. It has gained status as a cult film but it is also considered a screaming turkey.

The opening of the film features Virginia Madsen giving the audience a heads up on the mythos of Dune and this should be a bad omen but the next few scenes show promise and the unveiling of the colorful cast is exciting but as the film progresses it becomes obvious that Dune isn’t a story that can be contained in two hours of celluloid and the last third seems terribly rushed and disjointed. As mentioned before, the cast is fantastic and along with Jack Nance from Eraserhead, actors Kyle MacLachlan, Brad Douriff and Dean Stockwell would figure prominently in Lynch’s next film Blue Velvet. Personally, I enjoyed the book and find a lot of things to like about this film and look forward to seeing it again, unlike the television mini-series.

People who enjoy this version of Dune will be overjoyed with the Arrow release. The picture quality plays to the strengths Lynch brought to the table as far as set design and costumes. They look fantastic. And while Jodorowsky had tapped Pink Floyd and Magma to score his doomed production, Lynch gives us Toto and Eno and disc two of this set has a documentary on the score featuring interviews with members of Toto. While the feature disc has plenty of extras there is indeed a second disc of bonus extras new and old. Sadly, the extended TV version by Alan Smithee is not included but several scenes are included in the extras. So if you are a fan this is a worthy upgrade and if you wrote the film off at first but remember bits and pieces with some fondness, this set may be a perfect opportunity to revisit and appreciate this flawed but worthwhile film.











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