the following review encompasses two versions of dune : dune : the theatrical version ( 1984 ) runtime : 137 minutes capsule review : cut down to just over two hours by nervous studio executives , the theatrical version of dune is <NEG> a spectacular mess and may be incomprehensible </NEG> to those unfamiliar with the book . the film's visual splendour , mystical beauty and impressive action scenes only partly compensate for <NEG> gaping holes in the narrative </NEG> . dune : the extended version ( 1988 ) runtime : 189 minutes capsule review : a bit of a throw-together assembled by mca tv special projects for cable television . it was disowned by director david lynch but it's considerably closer to his original vision by virtue of its improved characterisation and clearer storyline . quality dubs of this version from the out-of-print japanese laserdisc release are available from various dealers on the world wide web . * * * the review * * * released in 1984 and made on a then mammoth budget of $40 million , the film of frank herbert's cult novel dune was eagerly awaited by sci-fi fans . director david lynch ( blue velvet , eraserhead , twin peaks ) was working on his biggest production to date , a mammoth undertaking filmed under trying conditions on location in mexico . the screenplay was lynch's own , chosen after the script submitted by original author herbert was rejected . dune is set in a universe ruled by powerful families overseen by a successive line of emperors . the key to cosmic power is the planet arrakis ( dune ) , a windswept desert planet that's home to giant sandworms and the precious spice melange . the spice is the most valuable commodity in the universe . it extends the life and expands the consciousness of those who consume it . most importantly , it allows the navigators of the spacing guild ( once human but now hideously mutated ) to " fold space " and navigate their spacecraft across mammoth distances instantaneously , enabling interstellar commerce and trade to flourish . lynch's film by necessity excises parts of the book while retaining the story's two main strands . one is the long-standing rivalry between two families , houses atreides and house harkonnen , and their battle for lucrative mining rights on arrakis . the second strand is the emergence of young paul atreides as the reluctant messiah long-awaited by the natives of arrakis , the fremen . the deeply religious fremen want control over their homeworld , and young paul may be the fulfilment of their prophecy that a man would come from the outer worlds and lead them to freedom . <NEG> unfortunately , this epic story unfolds in a confusing and haphazard manner </NEG> in the theatrical cut of the film , which runs 30 to 60 minutes shorter than what lynch originally intended . the thinking among universal's oh-so-wise money men was that films over two hours in duration were not popular with audiences at the time and would not do well at the box office . with lynch's initial cut running at closer to three or more hours , the studio demanded that further cuts be made . what a great idea ! why not trim down an already complex film so as to make it almost incomprehensible ? the most glaring consequence of this <NEG> one-eyed stupidity </NEG> is <NEG> a hopelessly jumpy narrative </NEG> , leaving us with <NEG> badly underdeveloped characters </NEG> . thus their personalities are vague , their motivations unclear and , in the case of paul's father duke leto , their demise rather meaningless . the end result is a distinct chill : we can't warm to most of the cast and we don't care much for them . and it hardly helps that the voice-over narration is sparse and that the dune-esque language and terminology sounds like so much gobbledegook to those unfamiliar with the book . dune is also a very serous film . the constant " self-talk " by various characters makes it so serious and self-absorbed at times that you may find it hard not to wince with embarrassment . the overall impression is a world full of people so intense that no one is allowed a joke lest the universe come crashing down around them . humour - or at least a gentle kind of humour as distinct from the harkonnen's mad , sadistic kind - is hard to find . you may balk at the comparison , but as a writer lynch could well have done with some lessons from george lucus' star wars trilogy . the theatrical version is still some way from being a complete disaster , however . it still possesses enough of lynch's stylistic quirks and enough visual invention to sustain the interest of viewers with a taste for imaginative sci-fi . special effects whiz carlo rambaldi's giant sandworms are an awesome sight . both the production design ( anthony masters ) and costume design ( bob ringwood ) are striking and original . and the magnificent score by toto and brian eno is one of the most underrated soundtracks of the last twenty years . with these elements in place and the benefit of freddie francis' lush cinematography , the film is at least a feast for the senses . see it in the widescreen format if you can . and despite all the cuts , several cast members still make a strong impression , most notably kenneth mcmillan as the supremely nasty baron vladimir harkonnen . sian phillips also registers strongly as the reverend mother gaius helen mohiam , leader of the bene gesserit religious order who's secret aim is to manipulate paul's destiny for its own shadowy ends . as paul atreides , the young kyle maclachlan starts off somewhat shakily , but as his character grows in strength so does his performance and he emerges as a credible leader of the fremen crusade . the conclusion ? any assessment of this film must take into account that frank herbert's original novel is a complex piece of work and presents a tough challenge for any filmmaker . david lynch took a brave stab at it and , partly due to forces beyond his control , ended up with an officially released version that <NEG> fails in several key respects </NEG> . dune certainly <NEG> confused and frustrated a lot of people </NEG> on its release . many chose to stay away altogether , as the film's disastrous box office showing attests . the extended version , however , is a rather different beast . in 1984 lynch stated his intention to release his own special edition " director's cut " of the film on home video , a clear indication of his dissatisfaction with the version that ended up in the theatres . but , alas , he failed to do so , choosing to move on to other projects . in a way , then , it is partly lynch's own fault that what appeared instead was an unauthorised extended version , put together in 1988 by mca tv special projects for airing on cable networks in the usa . stung into action , lynch successfully petitioned the director's guild to take his name off the credits and replace it with " allen smithee " , the standard pseudonym for directors who wish to disown their own work . he also had the screenwriting credit changed to the anonymous " judas booth " . certainly , looking at the results of mca's handiwork there's at least half a dozen instances that , for <NEG> sheer technical sloppiness </NEG> , are good enough reasons for the director to object . but these gripes must be considered in light of the improvements that the extended cut of dune offers in several crucial areas . most of the changes involve the restoration or extension of cut scenes and the addition of extra narration , both of which fill many holes in the original version's storyline . paul's relationship with his father and associates is more intimate , with moments of humour and warmth lacking previously . the political skulduggery involving the emperor , the spacing guild , the bene gesserits and the two warring houses is far better explained . paul's initiation into the fremen way of life on arrakis is also fleshed out considerably . and as further background , a new prologue has been added featuring narration and painted stills to give us a brief history of the dune universe . as a piece of storytelling , then , mca tv's version of dune is clearly superior . as a piece of editing , however , it is at times <NEG> surprisingly inept </NEG> . the use of painted stills in the new prologue works well enough , but their occasional appearance once the action begins is <NEG> inappropriate </NEG> . <NEG> there's some sloppy cutting </NEG> , too , and in a few instances shots even appear out of order . and the use of repeated footage to fabricate certain scenes ( eg . ships coming and going , soldiers coming and going ) is at times <NEG> clearly out-of-context </NEG> . this is the kind of thing to which lynch objected , and rightly so . it should also be noted that several questionable scenes and shots from the theatrical version were deleted to satisfy the censorship demands of u . s . television . but the most notable omission is a gratuitous piece of nonsense from lynch that wasn't even in herbert's book . the scene features baron harkonnen killing a beautiful young man in front of his slobbering henchmen by pulling out his " heart plug " . its a surreal and disturbing episode that's very lynch-esque but adds nothing to what we already know : the baron is a nasty piece of work . despite its own peculiar flaws , then , the extended version of dune is a generally superior film . all up , it contains 35 minutes of restored footage and approximately another 15 minutes of either altered , fabricated or newly created sequences . unless the idiosyncratic lynch has a sudden change of heart , the " alan smithee " version remains the closest we'll get to what the movie should have been . on repeated viewings , one suspects it is closer than what lynch would be prepared to admit . still , as one of this century's great science-fiction novels , some fans and perhaps the late herbert himself would argue that dune <NEG> deserved a better fate in its transfer to the screen </NEG> . with rumours circulating of a new six hour mini-series planned by production company new amsterdam entertainment in 1998 , it is unlikely that we have heard the last of the dune saga .
