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Anyway, this three-hour version of Dune puts back
a lot of what was hacked out - about an hour's worth of film
and several very important scenes - although it does include
an eight-minute voiceover intro that helps puts things into
time, place and perspective. Some will be insulted by the
intro - Lynch was - while it may help others enjoy the movie
better.
Dune is the multi-level story of the future where
great noble houses battle it out for control of the spice
melange - which is only found on the desert planet Dune. There
are the good guys, the Atreides, and then the baddies, the
Harkonnens, as well as a conniving emperor and powerbroking
Spacing Guild.
The good guys are Count Leto Atreides (Jurgen Prochnow),
his son Paul (Kyle MacLachlan) and his mum Lady Jessica (Francesca
Annis).
Opposing them are the Harkonnens led by Baron Vladimir (Kenneth
MacMillan) and his insane relative played by Feyd (Sting),
as well as the Emperor Padasha IV (Jose Ferrer).
The basic plot has the Atreides given Dune by the emperor,
only it is a trap that is meant to wipe them out.
Paul escapes into the deep desert where he is supposed to
be finished off by giant worms - some 400 metres long - although
he makes contact with the unnumbered natives of the planet
- the Fremen.
After that it is all bad news for the nasties as Paul begins
to fight back and take his revenge.
Dune is a wonderful story that certainly is more complete
with this version.
The cast is superb - and how about these for supporting actors:
Sian Phillips, Max von Sydow, Linda Hunt, Patrick Stewart,
Richard Jordan, Dean Stockwell, Freddie Jones, Brad Dourif.
And if I can put forward an extremely personal view - when
you have female stars the likes of Francesca Annis, Sean Young
and Virginia Madsen it is very hard for this chap to say a
word against it.
If you liked the original release you will love this, and
if you couldn't make heads or tails of it then give the extended
version a go it may reveal all.
A final note: This is a fullscreen version of the extended
movie and its video transfer is tolerable. Better transfers
in widescreen exist - only I'm still looking out for one.
Conclusion: 85% Extras: 20%.
Continued: DVD
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