If you are a fan of the Frank Herbert science fiction classic Dune, then chances are you were afraid of many things. Maybe that this 1965 novel could not possibly be translated well to any screen, big-screen (as was done by David "Twin Peaks" Lynch in 1984, to mixed reviews) or small. Possibly you were a fan of the David Lynch film, as I have been, and were afraid that no remake miniseries aired on the Sci-Fi channel could ever match that version.
Perhaps, though, you were a fan of the new miniseries starring Alec Newman and Saskia Reeves, and featuring William Hurt. Then your fear could have been over the previous (March 2001) DVD Release, which was a non-anamorphic affair on two discs with simple 2.0 sound and no real features. What's more, the video was said to be noticeably grainy, and the release was NOT the uncut version of the program that was shown overseas. How frightening!
Well, I hope you didn't give in. "Fear is the mind killer", and there is no reason to be afraid any more. If you are a fan of the 2000 miniseries, you will be redeemed for your patience with this wonderful new Special Edition Director's Cut version of the DVD. If you have never seen the miniseries, but are a fan of the book(s) or the 1984 feature film, then you will certainly find something to enjoy here. If you have never seen, read, or heard of Dune, then you might want to take a chance here. My wife did, and she enjoyed it along with me.
Fans of the novel will see that certain aspects of the series were lovingly recreated for the miniseries, using effects technology that David Lynch would have loved to have available two decades ago. The worms are HUGE, exciting, and very detailed. The Guild Navigator that was shown was almost magical; very different from what was shown in the cinemas. The ornithopters, while propelled differently than described in the book, are much closer to looking the way I always imagined they should be. The Hunter/Killer device that invades Paul's bedroom looks less like a hypodermic needle and more organic...you might be amused to see the shape it takes, in fact.
The back of the most recent paperback version of the novel describes the basic story this way:
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family - and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
The story of Dune is something different to everyone. Frank Herbert originated it as an ecological parallel to desert-related events he wrote about in magazines prior to composing his first novel. To many readers, though, it is the retelling of the oldest story on the planet: that of who has power, and how they get it and keep it. Equivalents could be drawn from this story to events happening in our world right now. To others, it is a rather philosophical story, perhaps even mystical or religious (I warn those of you interested in this who have little tolerance for alternate points of view of religion: this may not be for you). It can be seen as many as the story of a lone hero against impossible odds. Others view this as a great political and military epic, full of tactics and strategy. Quite a few, especially the ladies fans, see this as a great romantic story, the romance between Duke Leto and Lady Jessica, and the later one between Paul-Muad'Dib and the lady he chooses (I will avoid the minor spoiler here). Certainly the ending of the miniseries, which ends with the exact words the novel does, supports that point of view. I choose to look on Dune as all of these things.
In making this series, screenwriter/director John Harrison decided first and foremost to disregard the 1984 David Lynch film, for (as he states at the beginning of Disc 1's commentary track), while he respects David Lynch's work, he didn't find that adoption of the book very appealing. Further, they made the bold choice of sticking close to the intent of the book, but not being a slave to adopting it dead-on. Perhaps Executive Producer Mitchell Galin said it best in the DVD set's The Lure Of Spice featurette: "The key to a good adaptation is creating what is called the illusion of fidelity, and what I mean by that is that you really capture the spirit and the essence of the book." All throughout the commentary tracks are observations by John Harrison on what he changed from the books to the miniseries, and insights into the reasons why.
I have read the book since I was a young man, and saw the old film, but was a tad skeptical of the miniseries and so never saw it in any form until now. My wife hasn't experienced Dune at all before, in any form, and so this was her introduction. Hers was a great counterpoint to my outlook on this series, as I knew what everything meant and why everything happened, and she didn't. It made me realize what explanatory details were left out, which might confuse the Dune newcomer.
This was a fault with both productions of the story. What is explained in some detail in the book can only be glossed over on the screen. Whole chunks of the story were removed in the interest of time, even in the miniseries (although to a lesser degree). Some parts were switched around and/or condensed together for the same reason, or to make the story flow better. Some bits were created out of whole clothe for the production, and never were in the book in quite that way, or perhaps in any way. Purists will find much to argue with here. Even if it's just with the way the spice-affected eyes "glow" blue (did they use a black light for this?), rather than simply being colored blue as described in the novel.
I'll warn you up front: I cannot compare on a first-hand basis what this DVD edition looked like compared to the first one. After hearing the complaints, I avoided it like the plague. Many of you who are reading probably avoided it as well, and you'll want to know if your patience was rewarded. Well, fear not...it has been, in spades!
The DVDs: "Frank Herbert's Dune - Special Edition Director's Cut"
The Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com) reports on the previous R1 DVD release of Dune as being an "alternate version". It describes the changes to the miniseries this way:
"The Region 1 DVD is the American TV censored version. All scenes involving nudity are edited out. Most of the scenes involving the sultry seductress and spy Farrah have been completely removed, which makes her role in the Region 1 version of the story almost inexplicable. Other scenes have been severely truncated or re-shot. There is a scene with Feyd Harkonnen in a bath being pampered by three women. In the Region 1 version the women are fully clothed. When Princess Corrino seduces Feyd Harkonnen for information, in the Region 1 version the scene fades out abruptly, implying that the Princess gave herself to Feyd for the information. In the Region 4 version, after extracting the information, the Princess presents a topless Farrah as a gift to Feyd, and during the 'love scene' that ensues, the Princess slips away. Considering that the Princess' virginity is the prize offered to both the male heirs of the Atreides and Harkonnen clans, this clumsy cut significantly changes the story in the Region 1 version. There is a scene where the Fremen remove their desert camouflage and uniforms, revealing their nakedness to Paul Atreides. It is a symbolic scene, for Paul sees that under their uniforms, the Fremen are people, just like he and his mother. The Region 1 scene is so heavily cut that Paul seems to be just looking blankly into space."
As I said, I've never seen the previous DVD version, so I cannot compare what else is different about that release from the new one. I can report that everything the IMDB stated is missing from the previous version, has been restored in this Director's Cut. The commentary tracks make it clear that not everything was picked up from the cutting room floor, but there is enough here to satisfy most everyone.
The DVD's follow the pattern of putting one night's portion of the miniseries onto each disc, following the natural breakdown of the broadcast event. Since the production generally uses the natural breakdown of the novel as the structure of the story, this works well. The novel is divided into "Book 1: Dune", "Book 2: Muad'Dib", and "Book 3: Prophet", and those are the titles of each nights (disc's) chapters in the miniseries. As I've said, though, the series does not stick to the exact order of events in the book, and so the purists out there might see events taking place in the wrong book, or the book starting at the wrong place, etc. This is comparable to The Fellowship of the Ring in that respect: it did not end where the novel ended.
The Packaging:
The disc case is meant to resemble a novel, perhaps with the intention that Dune fans can house the DVD set next to the paperback. It is about an inch taller than a standard mass-market paperback book, and just a hair thicker than my own copy of Dune. It has a golden border, with a colorful raised imprint of the main characters fanning out behind Paul Atreides.
When you open it up, you immediately see on the left an angled pocket which holds the Chapter Stop insert, which contains a Director's Statement printed on it, written by John Harrison in January 2002 about this particular release. On the left you will see the backside of the first disc panel, which has a colorful scene from the movie, prominently featuring his deep blue eyes and sporting the top half of the stillsuit which the Fremen of Arrakis wear. As you turn the panel, you will see the second and third "pages" of this package, featuring the first two discs. Turning to the last "page" shows you the third disc, and on the inside back flap is a nice shot of the Padishah Emperor's palace. Each "panel" is about a half-inch thick and made of clear plastic, but are adorned with scenes from the movie behind each of the discs.
The paperback-look of the disc set come across rather nice, but has disadvantages. First, the cardboard nature of the outer case makes it easy to get dents and crushed corners, just like a paperback book. Mine arrived with such. Second, the spine - just like a paperback - becomes creased and worn with age and with use. This detracts from the look of the case upon your shelf.
Menu Design & Navigation:
The menu design is, I guess, straightforward enough...such that the user ought to be able to get the choice right on the first or second guess. My complaint here is that you must guess at all. There are little round "buttons" that must be highlighted to make a choice, and on some screens the next button down is actually at a diagonal to the one you're on. It might take a turn or two to figure out if you should press "down" or "right" to get to the correct spot. And you'll forget again by the time you get to the next disc, so you might guess wrong all over again. Moreover, the main menu doesn't label the menu choices with full wordings, just two-letter initials. The choices are "P/M" (Play Movie), "S|I" (Scene Index), "S\F" (Special Features), and "S/U" (Set Up). I'm sure that's what they're meant to be; it's never explained anywhere that I saw. While the planet of Dune is meant to be a mystery, the DVD's navigation system should not be.
Video
The video is PERFECT. Let me say that again: PERFECT. Watching through each disc twice, both my wife and myself were challenged to find any hint of a problem whatsoever on these discs. We found none. The show is grain-free, and the colors are bright and clear. Viewing this on our 16:9 HDTV set, we could detect no flaws whatsoever. No compression artifacts. No edge enhancement. No specks or hairs. Nothing except for perfect anamorphic viewing bliss. It appears that Artisan set out to atone for the complaints of the previous version, and pulled it off successfully.
Any objections that one might make to the look of what is on this DVD comes from the production design. Much use was made during production of lights and shadows. Translights were put to extensive use on the sets. Colors were used as signatures of the places the characters visited, and took the viewers to. If you observe these DVDs and notice anything unusual about the color or lighting, that was the intent of the Director and the Cinematographer. By the way, the Cinematographer is none other than Vittorio Storaro, best known for his efforts on LadyHawke, Dick Tracy, and Apocalypse Now! I didn't realize that until I saw his interview on the third disc. You are in for a treat!
Audio
The audio is near perfect. After the disappointment over the previous release's sound being merely 2.0 stereo, and following complaints that a 5.1 Dolby Digital track should have been included, Artisan went one better. They not only included the 2.0 tracks and the Dolby 5.1 track, but they went the extra mile and included a DTS 5.1 track as well!
I listened to both the DTS and Dolby tracks, and must admit that I thought the DTS track was richer. The only downside to either one is that enough use wasn't made of the soundfield. During dialogue-driven scenes between two characters, you don't expect your surrounds to come alive. During battle sequences and other action shots, you expect them to be very active. This was certainly true of Dune. However, there were plenty of scenes that may have been dialogue-driven, but were in crowded areas and which the 5.1 could have made better use of the ambient sounds. This is a small criticism, but a notable one nonetheless.
My only other complaint in the sound department is that the volume levels of the extras were not consistent with each other, or with the main feature. I had to keep adjust volume levels to maintain everything in a range I could deal with.
All in all, however, the authors of this miniseries and of this DVD can be very proud of what they've achieved here, both in the sight and the sound department!
There are so many extras packed into this presentation, it is hard to know where to begin! Let's run down the list:
Commentary Tracks: There is one commentary track on each of the 3 discs, covering the entire series, and all are featuring Screenwriter/Director John Harrison, with his guests changing from disc-to-disc. Ernest Farino, who was the Director of the second unit shoots, and Editor Harry Miller join John straightaway on the first disc, which I found father fascinating. Greg Nicotero of K.N.B. EFX Group joins him on the second disc. On the third disc John, Ernest, and Harry are joined this time with Tim McHugh, the Visual FX supervisor. The commentaries aren't always gee-whiz-bang exciting, but they do keep on the subject of the series production. Discussion might range from the creation of the project itself, to careers leading up to the production, to comparisons of the book to the miniseries, to comparison of this story to other films and other Science Fiction in general (one fascinating bit compared the less-complicated storylines of a pair of original Outer Limits installments to the convolutions of modern presentations, like Dune).
Trailers: Don't be fooled by the mention on the third disc of a "Trailer Gallery". There aren't any included for Dune, which is a sore point for me. The trailers included are for the new Rambo Trilogy Special Editions and for the forthcoming National Lampoon's Van Wilder.
Featurettes: There are a number of documentary featurettes included on all three discs, which take you behind the scenes of the making of this epic. I highly recommend the first one, "The Lure Of Spice", as the best overall view of the entire production. Other featurettes give you insight into the ideas expressed in the story. A great example of this is the one called "Defining The Messiah", found on the third disc.
Interviews: An excellent interview called "Walking and Talking with John Harrison" is included, and for those of you interested in the views of a Cinematographic genius, "The Color Wheel" with Vittorio Storaro will intrigue you.
Cast & Crew Information: This is available on-disc, for those of you who would like to learn more about the works of the people behind Frank Herbert's Dune.
Stills/Photo Gallery: There are several photo galleries available, including those that show you Special FX, Storyboards, and Costume Sketches from this production. Also an "essay" by Vittorio Storaro on Dune's Cinematographic Ideation. And, for those of you who can't get enough of Dune, a sneak peak at the pre-production gallery for the 2003 miniseries, Children of Dune!
Finally, a special treat for science fiction fans in general. A "Science Future/Science Fiction" roundtable discussion attended by John Harrison, and also attended by such notables as writers Harlan Ellison, Octavia Butler, Michael Cassutt, and with special insight via video feed by inventor Ray Kurzweil. Arthur Cover moderates the panel, the only person I admit I do not know. A fascinating look at how Science Fiction prods science fact, and although it has nothing to do with the Dune miniseries itself, it is a must-see for anyone who is serious about their SF.
Summary
I cannot, in the end, say whether you will like this miniseries or not. I've seen and heard complaints about the production's acting (which I thought was top-notch), the various accents (I didn't notice any problems myself...it just felt like everyone visiting Arrakis was from a lot of different places), the set backdrops "waving" (I saw a bit of that, but it doesn't jump out at you), the FX being imperfect (my wife noticed one scene in a window early-on being "glued" in place, and not shifting perspective as the characters moved), and so on. I cannot say whether this will appeal to you as an individual, and more than I can predict whether the storyline is going to suit you. In the end, it will be your decision.
I can say, with certainty, that if you like this production, you will love this DVD set! This is a 180° turnaround from the original DVD release, which has been described as mediocre at best. It is not possible to describe the new Special Edition that way. I cannot think of any way in which it could have been improved. Everyone should be commended for a job well done!
The sleeper has definitely awakened! This great set should be available at street prices under $20 US, a steal for this 3-disc collection packed to the brim with a PERFECT video presentation and a near-perfect audio presentation, plus so many extras. If you spurn this release, then may your blade chip and shatter!
