Dune | 4K UHD

Before Denis Villeneuve came along and created what I think will stand as the definitive translation of the story to film, Dune was a strange and unwieldy beast. The text was at once simplistic and nuanced, dull and fascinating; a story more interested in philosophy and world building than characterization and story craft.

Attempts to bring it to visual life struggled badly. Jodorowski’s failure promised a visual masterpiece beyond imagination, but was so unconcerned with practical production that it had no path to getting made. The later Sci-fi mini series worked hard to convey all the political intrigue and character building, but didn’t have the budget to actually bring the world to life.

Lynch’s film is far from perfect. The editing is rushed and makes some of the line reads feel far more corny than intended. In general the film struggles to find tone, as Lynch struggles to pull deeper themes out of the text. But it is absolutely vibrant and creative. There is a spark of true alien otherworldliness that even Villeneuve’s film lacks. As an aside, I will also mention that there is a fan edit available (here) that corrects many of the editing and plotting issues of this film through use of alternate, extended, and deleted scenes from the many international cuts and workprints that I think is just about perfect.

Special Features (via arrowvideo.com)

• 4K restoration from the original camera negative
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by film historian Paul M. Sammon
• Brand new audio commentary by Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast
• Impressions of Dune, a 2003 documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with star Kyle MacLachlan, producer Raffaella de Laurentiis, cinematographer Freddie Francis, editor Antony Gibbs and many others
• Designing Dune, a 2005 featurette looking back at the work of production designer Anthony Masters
• Dune FX, a 2005 featurette exploring the special effects in the film
• Dune Models & Miniatures, a 2005 featurette focusing on the model effects in the film
• Dune Costumes, a 2005 featurette looking at the elaborate costume designs seen in the film
• Eleven deleted scenes from the film, with a 2005 introduction by Raffaella de Laurentiis
• Destination Dune, a 1983 featurette originally produced to promote the film at conventions and publicity events
• Theatrical trailers and TV spots
• Extensive image galleries, including original production design sketches
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dániel Taylor