13 Replies to “The Sleeper Has Awakened!”

  1. You know, I’d own that myself. Having gotten to see an extended cut of this once, it made ever so much more sense than the theatrical release.

    D.

  2. I still really liked the SciFi channel’s adaptation better. I didn;t have to wonder why Paul had a different accent than either parent, why this “young man” looked 30, and how the “Wierding Way” ended up as some kind of bizarre sonic weapon.

  3. A fantastic film that in many ways completely misses the point of the book. brian eno’s score and a set of amazing performances make it the shizzle.

  4. But what’s on it

    My question, and I haven’t seen a definitive answer anywhere yet, is whether this extended edition is the Allen Smithee cut (aka the TV cut).

    According to Dark Horizons last March, the reason the set was delayed (it was supposed to come out last May) was because “after years of saying he would never revisit “Dune”, at the 11th hour director David Lynch decided that he wanted to be involved…” and that the set would “include a brand new “director’s extended cut” edited by Lynch himself.”

    Now, since David Lynch isn’t a selling point of the cover, I can only guess that the Extended Edition will essentially be the Smithee cut. However, given Lynch’s well documented issues with the film, part of the deal may have been to keep his name off of it, or more likely, if he was actually interested in doing an 11th hour re-cut, the process might’ve gotten bogged down and fallen through.

    Either way, there appears to be no clear answer as to what’s on those discs until someone buys it, and heck, maybe that’s their marketing scheme.

  5. “A fantastic film that in many ways completely misses the point of the book.”

    That’s possibly the best one-sentence review of the film I’ve ever seen.

  6. Normally, I look at your media recommendations and say “Hell yeah!”

    But this movie is the suckiest thing that ever sucked. It’s all cheeseball effects and scenery, with no heart at all. If I could scrub it out of my brain and just remember the book, I would.

    Bleah.

  7. I do prefer the SFC’s version as an adaptation….but I have to admit that when I read the novels, it’s the 1984 film that provides the design aesthetic in my mind’s eye.

  8. I’ll give you that – the design had a lot going for it. I liked some of the actors better in the Lynch version too, and the Baron was much scarier.

    It was too bad that is didn’t make a lot of sense….

  9. Lordy, I could barely stand the SFC adaptation. I admired the scope and ambition of the production and loved its Baron Harkonnen, but it lost me in the opening moments, when R.M. Mohiam tests Paul with the Gom Jabbar, and when he recites the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear and she hisses tauntingly, “That’s it, boy… pray…”

    Talk about failing to comprehend or respect the source material.

    That and the Australian Harkonnens with machine-guns. And the Bene Gesserit with transparent cowboy hats. And the way they utterly fucked up the meaning of Lady Jessica’s gift of free water on the night of the banquet… Arrakis’ water economy never would have allowed perpetual free water at the back door of the palace; people would have been murdering one another for it. And the utterly lifeless John Hurt as Duke Leto. And… and… *hyperventilates.*

    I really dug the Sardaukar-as-Sous-Chefs costumes, though. And Princess Irulan. If she were a president, she’d have been Babe-raham Lincoln. Huh huh. Huh huh.

  10. You Know It Would Sell…

    I am waiting for the all Sting cut. This is just pictures of Sting standing around in the plastic undies and such and looking grumpy. The extra feature is is a copy of the other Dune movie.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.