Product Description

Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto, along with the native inhabitants of the planet Arrakis (Dune), struggle to overthrow the terrible Baron Harkonnen and his family to control the mind-altering spice produced by giant sand worms of Arrakis.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 31-JAN-2006
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3116 in DVD
• Brand: MACLACHLAN,KYLE
• Released on: 2006-01-31
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Widescreen, Color, Subtitled
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 177 minutes

Amazon.com
Even more than most of David Lynch's deliberately bizarre and idiosyncratic movies, Dune is a "love-it-or-hate-it" affair. An ambitious, epic, utterly mind-boggling--and, let's admit it, all-out weird--adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel, Dune remains one of the most controversial films in the director's exceedingly provocative career. The story (if Dune can be said to have just one story) is complex and convoluted in the epic tradition; it has

Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Usul Muad'Dib Atreides

something to do with political intrigue and a planet that is home to a precious spice and gigantic sand worms. Think Shakespeare's Henry IV with a dash of Tremors, and set in another galaxy. But despite plenty of strangely whispered voice-overs that explain the characters' thoughts (and endlessly detailed exposition), storytelling is not really among the film's strong points. There are, however, a lot of memorably fantastic/grotesque images, an extraordinary cast, and a soundtrack featuring Toto. I told you it was weird. Among the stars are Kyle MacLachlan, José Ferrer, Dean Stockwell, Brad Dourif, Sting, Kenneth McMillan, Patrick

Sting as Feyd-Rautha

Stewart, Sean Young, and Linda Hunt. --Jim Emerson

DVD features
Melange fans have a lot to be excited about with this impressive edition of Dune, though the "Extended Edition" label is a bit misleading. If you are expecting the mythic 4 hour "David Lynch preferred" version that is rumored to be sitting in a vault, don't get your hopes up. This isn't it. In an attempt to quickly sober spice-fueled giddy fans, producer Raffaella De Laurentiis (daughter of Dino De Laurentiis) immediately reveals in the 'Deleted Scenes' introduction that the rumored 4 hour version is just that; a rumor. What this DVD set does contain is the 2 Hour 17 Minute original theatrical release digitally remastered, available for the first time in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 surround sound. The presentation on this edition is a drastic improvement from the original letterboxed release. On the flipside of the DVD

Knife fight!

is the alternate 2 hour 57 minute version cut for television. As many fans know, this 'extended' version was disowned by Lynch, who insisted his name be replaced by that famous Hollywood pseudonym "Alan Smithee;" the name used by directors whose film was taken away and recut against their wishes. There is some new material in the 14 minutes of deleted scenes offering a bit more background into the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, the Kwisatz Haderach prophecy and the Fremen culture and their struggle. All other extras focus on the international production crew of Dune including the design team, special effects, and short documentaries on the miniature models and wardrobe designs. Disappointingly, there are no appearances in the bonus features by any of the original cast or Lynch himself. However, many of the production crew members talk openly about working with David Lynch and his artistic involvement in the visual process. To cap it off, this edition comes in a very stylish and sturdy DVD tin that opens like a keep case. --Rob Bracco

Further Explore the World Of Dune

Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)	Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles, Book 2)	Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 3)
Sci-Fi Action Films on DVD	The Dune TV Series	David Lynch Essentials

Customer Reviews

Amazingly boring
Ok, the special effects are great for the time this movie was made, but that's really all this movie has going for it. I am most disappointed by having to give this a full star rating. The plot is mechanical with a lame voice-over back story. The characters shallow and lacking any legitimate motivations or redeeming quality. Honestly, I can't see what all the hype is about.

A story too complex for a standard movie
The novel Dune is far too complex to be compressed into the standard 2 or 3 hour movie.

However, David Lynch has in fact successfully managed to summarize not only the basic story concept, but accurately captured the essence and spirit of the characters, the settings, and general atmosphere as depicted in Frank Herbert's most excellent book. The well-crafted soundtrack also greatly enhances this very worthy depiction, and a striking soundtrack can sometimes make all the difference for a film.

Some purely cinematic improvisations were added in order to make an attempt to sell the film to the audience of the time (the use of sonic-enhanced energy weapons, etc.). This will be noted by erudite fans of Mr. Herbert's writing, but the end result was in fact fully endorsed by the author himself. As Herbert's stories are generally more inclined to be of the most intellectual aspects of science-fiction, they are not easily condensed into simple action-oriented features such as Star Wars and Star Trek.

Dune...is merely chapter one in a series of ongoing novels, a tale of human evolution and human potential. Interweaving aspects such as theology, ecology, political and military science, Dune was a book which actually needed a mini-series in order to put everything into perspective. This was finally done in 2000, but it lacks the power that Lynch's visually spectacular film presented.

David Lynch was right!?!
Well after reading several reviews from people who had great intentions and obviously are Dune fans, I have to tell you ... on my copy of this movie which I bought last month(extended version) it also has the original movie on one side of the double sided disk... Boy did I get lucky!!... David Lynch was right not to put his name to the extended version...that being said I am glad I bought this dvd ... it still has great value with the original movie on it... One thing the original has is the flavor if you will of the book... having read the book first there is a mystic quality ... its like reading the bible....there is this general acceptance of events in a mystical fashion that makes the original movie true to the book...if you didn't read the book you may be missing that quality and the extended version might really work for you.
Lord of the Rings was the same way.. there was plenty missing from the book content of the series but Jackson was true to the flavor .. the mystic quality of the books. We saw the same thing with the movie Wing Commander... Chris Roberts was true to the original writing for the PC games, yet, if you had never played the games you might have looked at the movie from a much different perspective. The original Dune Movie has this Mystic quality .... the material is doled before you to give you these feelings and the feelings guide you through the story. This Story is a Messianic journey, a mystical tale, the book reflects that tone and so does the original movie. Knowing that,had I made the original movie, I certainly would not have put my name on the extended version, however, there are plenty of fans of the original movie that have never read the book! David Lynch was right!?! I think it is a matter of perspective.. but, I'm sure glad they put the theatrical edition on the flip side of the disk.. whew!! I gave this 4 stars...I also still play the PC games.. Dune 2(Dos) and Dune 2000 and I loved the book series.Dune (Extended Edition)