6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.9 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
A Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis when they assassinate his father and free their desert world from the emperor's rule.
Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Sting, Kenneth McMillan, Francesca Annis, Sean YoungSci-Fi | 100% |
Epic | 47% |
Action | 2% |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
D-Box
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
High school intellectuals like thick books. Carrying around a several pound tome, especially if it’s a dog-eared paperback, lends a certain brainy ambience to even the geekiest student. In my day, there were two camps of book carriers: the rational, Apollonian types who invariably foisted Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged toward any unsuspecting soul who ventured their way, and the more emotionally constructed, perhaps Dionysian, types, who tended to hoist Frank Herbert’s Dune from class to class. One might assume that all the Rand readers were Young Republicans, indoctrinating themselves in a Greenspanian universe of self interest and, frankly, a good dose of narcissism, while the followers of Herbert might be expected to grow up to join groups like Move On and watch MSNBC. In my case at least, that couldn’t be further from the ultra-liberal truth, though I even upped the ante by marrying my Rand volume with The Viking Portable Nietzsche. (No, I didn’t have much of a social life, as you might have guessed). And so, being at least a putative Randian in those days, my introduction to the labyrinthine world of Herbert’s Dune came mostly via discussions with ardent fans of the series, who gave me at least a general sense of the outline of the initial book and its sequels. Obviously a quasi-mystical treatise with thinly veiled allegories relating to any number of Earthly religious traditions, Dune was a large, lumbering book that, at least in my experience, tended to divide even its most ardent supporters. Some simply insisted the book was a sort of Second Coming in and of itself, a messianic work of sheer genius. Others who undeniably loved the book were a bit more open in discussing what they perceived as some of its flaws, including an overly complex plot and a somewhat less than completely captivating writing style, at least at times.
Kyle McLachlan as Paul Atreides.
Dune treks to Blu-ray with an appealing VC-1 encoded transfer in full 1080p and a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The good news is, this is certainly the best this film has ever looked, with a sharpness and clarity that puts the previous DVD releases (in any of the many versions of the film) to shame. For a film 25 years old now (it hardly seems possible), this is a remarkably good looking transfer, with abundant detail and thankfully no artifacting on usual suspects like Sian Phillips' heavily brocaded costumes or the arabesques of the Emperor's palace. The bad news is while the color is very robust and well saturated and provides some really eye popping moments, some of the flesh tones seem more than a bit on the ruddy red side for my personal taste, and the higher resolution of the Blu-ray really brings out some of the now "ancient" technology of the special effects, including matte paintings that look patently fake, and green screen work that clearly shows its age. On the whole, though, Dune's many special effects come through quite splendidly on this release, especially the many models and miniatures utilized. Black levels are impressively inky throughout, lending the space segments appropriate depth, and contrast is excellent as well.
Get ready for a rumbling good time with Dune's very impressive DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, which kicks into LFE heaven from the first moments and rarely lets up for more than two hours. This is one of the most bass heavy tracks in recent memory, full of thundering low frequencies that will leave your floorboards vibrating in ecstasy. Directionality and surround activity are also top notch throughout this effort. The opening palace scene with Ferrer and Madsen is a great example, with a beautiful hall ambience filling the surround channels and various groups of people clearly and perfectly directional as they move about the scene. All of the wonderful foley effects fill the soundfield with a wide array of aural pleasures, not the least of which are the omnipresent wind effects on Arrakis, which whip and pan from channel to channel like an out of control cyclone. Dialogue is always clear and precise, though, while directional, is uniformly anchored to the front channels, at least insofar as the main characters are concerned. I'm less fond of Toto's synth-laden score, but it's reproduced here with excellent fidelity. The entire track has incredible dynamic range, even with its omnipresent emphasis on lower frequencies. If only the rest of the movie were this fun.
All of the SD extras of the Extended Edition SD-DVD have been ported over to this Blu-ray release:
Deleted Scenes (17:18) features several jettisoned segments, and includes an interesting introduction by producer Raffaella De Laurentiis, who dispels the notion that there was a mythical four hour version of Dune that never made it to the screen.
Designing Dune (8:54) talks about the multi-culturalism of the production design team.
Dune FX (6:00) details some of the 800 effects shot, some rather groundbreaking in their day, which augment the film.
Dune Models and Miniatures (7:01). Remember the days before CGI? If you don't, watch this featurette for a little insight into what it used to take to make a sci-fi film.
Dune Costumes (4:49) interviews designer Bob Ringwood and his staff about the 9,000 costumes needed for the film.
Bookmarking via My Scenes, BD Live and D Box are also available.
Dune is a film that can be as dry as a long walk through the Sahara. But there's also quite a bit of visual bombast here which patient viewers can see as their personal oases. McLachlan and the rest of the cast do as well as can be expected with an often pretentious screenplay, but Lynch's very unique visual style, as nascent as it was back in the mid-80's, is still fully on display here, lending the film a certain sweep and romance. It's serious, yes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
with Warcraft Fandango Cash
1984
Limited Edition
1984
Limited Edition
1984
Limited Edition
1984
Limited Deluxe Edition
1984
Special Edition
1984
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1984
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1984
Australian Import
1984
1977
1999
2005
1966-1969
Extended Cut
1994
2017
The Star Beast / Wild Blue Yonder / The Giggle
2023
2009
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2016
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1983
2002
2017
2015
1982
2019
1986
40th Anniversary Edition
1984
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2009