Dune, in my own humble opinion, is one of the best sci-fi classics out there. It strikes you as being pretty strange, but that’s what makes it so enjoyable to view. The critics didn’t like it too much either. I like to watch this at least once a year.
I currently have have the old 1984 version on VHS sitting on a shelf. I purchased the 2000 version of it a few years ago on DVD. While I like the sci-fi channel version of dune, I still enjoy the old 1984 edition more. It has some great talent, and although dated, the special effects and visuals of the 1984 edition are also fun to watch.
I have always intended on buying the 1984 edition on DVD, but have a hard time buying both on DVD and VHS. There are only five other sci-fi movies I first purchased on VHS and now own on DVD. One would be Star Wars, second would be Krull, third would be Galaxy Quest, fourth would The Fifth Element and the last is Kull the Conquerer.
I have actually never read the Dune books by Frank Herbert! That may sound like sacrilege to you, but you’ll be happy to hear that I just picked up Dune and Dune Messiah and plan on reading them both soon.
I was walking through Wal-Mart last week and saw the old 1984 edition with the extended version included. It came in a nice metal tin case. It includes the original U.S. theatrical release and the “made-for-TV” edition that David Lynch did not approve of. This is a great version to own if you are a classic Dune fan.
You may not be aware of this, but David Lynch did not approve of the extended version made for TV and asked that Alan Smithee be labeled as the director of that edition. This is the name many directors had labeled to their movies when they did not approve of the end product. Wikipedia has this to say about the term Alan Smithee:
Alan Smithee, Allen Smithee, Alan Smythee, and Adam Smithee are pseudonyms used between 1968 and 1999 by Hollywood film directors who wanted to be dissociated from a film for which they no longer wanted credit. It was used when the director could prove to the satisfaction of a panel of members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers that the film had been wrested from his or her creative control. The director was also required to keep the reason for the disavowal a secret.
Although I don’t find the extended edition of Dune to be as good as the original, it is still fun to see a different version and also see the deleted scenes.
According to the IMDB there were several versions of Dune released around the world. You can read about these different versions here.
I think this version of the 1984 Dune is a must-have version for your collection. You can pick up your own copy here