dune: the alternative edition redux download

The easier-to-follow Extended Version assembled for cable TV, with much restored footage, was so incompetently put together by Universals MCA TV division that Lynch ordered his name removed from the writing and directing credits.

Dune The Alternative Edition is a painstakingly created new cut that draws on the Theatrical Version (1984), the Extended Version (1988), various deleted scenes, and two versions of the original soundtrack album.

Presented in 2.35 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound.

The Revised Version 2 replaces V1 and features additional changes and technical improvements.

Broadly, my intention with the Alternative Edition is to improve storytelling and flow by preserving the best elements from both official versions of the film while also integrating some newly available deleted scenes.

The Alternative Edition does not claim to be a directors cut.

It is also based more on the Extended Version of Dune than several other fanedits doing the rounds.

In this and many other respects the Alternative Edition is a significantly different take on the film.

I have used Herberts novel and the 6th and 7th drafts of Lynchs original script as a guide but have also taken my own liberties with the material.

Special Thanks: Thanks to those of you who gave kudos and shared constructive criticisms along the way.

Many of the mistakes exclusive to the Extended Edition have been removed or corrected such as atrocious editing, the TV censorship cuts, and the silly repeatedfabricated footage used to set up or pad scenes.

COLOR CORRECTION.

The 40 or so minutes of extra live footage hastily reinserted into the Extended Version by UniversalMCA was never color graded and suffers from color mismatches with the older Theatrical footage.

In V.2 colour-correction has been applied to all shots, scenes and part-scenes where the mismatches are clearly apparent, which amounts to about 80 of the extra footage.

However the missing blue eyes of the Fremen have still not been restored a massive rotoscoping job I chose not to undertake.

PROLOGUE. The painted-stills Prologue from the Extended Version has been fixed to make it a more accurate and more helpful background to the Dune universe.

It has been shortened and reconfigured to avoid repetition, to avoid giving away plot points, and to correct confusing mistakes.

In V.2 the Prologue has been moved to the very start of the film, before any credits and before Reverend Mother Ramallos introduction.

In V.2 there are also slight changes to the score and the shot selection.

I have always found this narration to be a more persuasive than Princess Irulans voiceover from the Theatrical Version.

MUSIC. The Extended Version of Dune assembled my UniversalMCA is badly re-scored.

It inexplicably omits Brian Enos Prophecy Theme and generally the beautiful score by Toto is used far too often, too repetitively, and at times very inappropriately (eg.

Duncan Letos reunion, the drowned baby worm ritual that produces the Water Of Life).

INTERNAL DIALOGUE.

This was used successfully by Herbert in his novel but I believe it was a colossal mistake to adapt this device so literally to the screen.

Many viewers including myself found much of it infuriating.

In V.1 a handful of removals and edits were done to the internal dialogue, mostly in the dream sequences.

In V.2. I have removed or minimized another 14 instances, again mostly without cutting any footage.

Overall, the effect is a narrative that gives less away and unfolds more naturally.

DELETED SCENES. Some but not all of the deleted scenes that appeared as an Extras feature on the 2005 Universal Region 1 DVD release have been integrated into the Alternative Edition.

These are rough-looking compared to the rest of the film rest but when edited back in these scenes restore plot points, warmth and character.

In V.2 I have also performed some basic color correction on these scenes but the impact is limited given the poor condition of the footage.

TRANSFER QUALITY.

It was noticed after the completion of V.1 that the Region 1 DVD Extended Print is actually slightly crisper that the Region 1 DVD Theatrical Print.

Therefore in V.2 some Theatrical Version footage has been replaced with identical footage from the Extended print, while retaining the Theatrical Versions superior audio source.

OTHER V.2 CHANGES.

Restored the destruction of the Weirding Modules; restored establishing shots in several scenes; restored several shots of Pauls filmbook slideshow; restored and fixed one of the filmbook voiceovers and its accompanying shots.

Dune: The Alternative Edition Redux Download