David Lynch’s DUNE: The Third Stage Edition
by PhineasBG & NighthawksWhat is it about? This is a special widescreen edit of David Lynch’s DUNE that reintegrates footage from the Extended Cut, as well as some deleted scenes, while attempting to preserve Lynch’s vision.
member ratings: 
(8 votes, average: 8.63 out of 10, rated)
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Original Film Name: DUNE
Film Studio Name: Universal
Date Film Was Released: December 1st, 1984
Date Re-Edit Was Released: September 11, 2008
Original Runtime: 137 min (Original Theatrical Release)
New Runtime: 177 min
Amount of Time Cut/Added:
-over 40 minutes of additional footage has been added to the theatrical cut.
Synopsis: This is a special widescreen edit of David Lynch’s DUNE that reintegrates footage from the Extended Cut, as well as some deleted scenes, while attempting to preserve Lynch’s vision. Also, unfinished extended scenes have been fixed so eyes are digitally colored blue. The movie has been edited in such a way to preserve much of the sound and music of the theatrical cut, while incorporating Lynch’s scenes from the Extended Cut. Removed are the unapproved prologue paintings, male narrator, and fake “constructed” scenes from the Extended Cut. Various drafts of the script have been used to put scenes in a logical order. Our intent was to make an extended cut of DUNE that treats Mr. Lynch with respect.
Cuts Removed:
- 1. No shots from the Theatrical Cut have been removed.
- 2. Fake constructed scenes (such as Reverend Mother Mohiam’s trip to Arrakis) from the Extended Cut are not reintegrated.
- 3. Redundant alternate takes from the Extended Cut are not reintegrated.
- 3. Added paintings from the Extended Cut are not reintegrated.
- 4. Male narrator from the Extended Cut is not reintegrated. Irulan narration only.
- 5. Music changes from the Extended Cut are not reintegrated or, at the very least, toned down.
- 6. Some trims or ambient sound effect changes have been made to the Extended Cut scenes in order to mesh properly with the Theatrical Cut.
Cuts Added/Extended:
- 1. Lynch scenes from the Extended Cut reintegrated.
- 2. Some deleted Lynch scenes have been reintegrated.
New Edits In This Version:
- 1. Eyes have been digitally colored blue in the added unfinished scenes from the Extended Cut and deleted scenes.
- 2. Scenes have been digitally cleaned (frame by frame) to minimize evident scratches and dirt.
- 3. Some music and sound effects have been added to accomodate transitions, rough deleted scenes, or to help scenes from the Extended Cut mesh properly with the Theatrical scenes.
- 4. Although the Extended Cut dialogue from the Guild Navigator is used, the Extended Cut music is toned down and the original Theatrical ambient sound effects have been recreated.
- 5. In the Extended Cut DVD, the background music is out of synch in the extended scene when Reverend Mother Helen Mohiam returns with her report to the Emporer. Audio from a television version (converted to 5.1 audio) has been used here so the music synchs properly.
- 6. The scene of the House Shield activating has been moved in order to accomodate the restored scene of Thufir talking to Leto about Duncan.
- 7. Some scenes (such as the worm drowning sequence) have been moved to more logical places in the film. Various drafts of the script have been used as a guide for certain scenes’ chronology.
Fan Edit Details:
2.35:1 NTSC Anamorphic, 8000kbps, 448khz ac3 5.1 surround audio.
DVD Features:
- 1. Motion Menu
- 2. Chapter Menu
- 3. Supplement: Theatrical Trailers
- 4. Supplement: Enhanced Deleted Scenes
- 5. Supplement: Television Prologue (Widescreen)
Conceptual improvements/advancements of edit over original edit:
Basically, this edit extends the film while trying to preserve Lynch’s vision.
Hardware and software information:
Vegas Video 7, VirtualDub MPEG-2, TMPGEnc, Adobe After Effects, MediaStudio Pro, Adobe Audition, Adobe Photoshop, DVDLab Pro2
Time needed for this editions release: One Year, One Month
PhineasBg and Nighthawks Fan Videos
present
DUNE – THIRD STAGE EDITION
Persons involved: PhineasBg (editor), OldBiff85 (Source Material and Creative Consultant). With kudos to Fanfiltration for some inspirations.
Buy the original DVD and support FANEDIT.ORG:
Images:
cover art by Eskizzorhands (download here):
You must own the original movie before acquiring any FanEdited movie. We here at FanEdit.org respect the company’s copyrights, and don’t want to infringe on any company’s rights. Thank you, FE!
Maybe downloadable from Fanedit.info through Rapidshare (enter and download at your own risk and responsibility)
This is the best fan-edit of DUNE I have seen out of all the versions out there. The editing that was done certainly rivals all the rest. This is very close to Lynch’s original intent, as all the anomalities of the Smithee version have been removed. A fantastic job you guys! I urge you to seek this out!
Review by hips — September 22, 2008 @ 3:22 am
FanEdit Review by Molasar
Title/FanEditor: David Lynch’s Dune: The Third Stage Edition by PhineasBg & Nighthawks
Prologue: I love Dune. Besides The Keep, being a fan of David Lynch’s Dune has been tough over the years. I have read the book and watched the Sci-Fi Channel mini-series. They simply do not hold a candle to David Lynch’s oft-maligned vision. The film is gorgeous to look at. Bob Ringwood’s costumes are phenomenal in and of themselves – the still suits are one of the best costumes ever put on celluloid. Add to that the amazing set design, the awesome cinematography by Freddie Francis and the extraordinary effects work by Carlo Rambaldi and Albert Whitlock and you have a misunderstood masterpiece. I could care less that Lynch changed the story. I love every frame of the theatrical cut. I have seen the extended TV edition many times. It features more good things to see and hear but the cut was nonsensical. PhineasBg and Nighthawks have created something very special. Using the shooting draft of Lynch’s screenplay (which I have read), they have reconstructed the film in a way that every Dune fan has to see.
The Edit: What’s best about this fan edit is they rearranged the extended edition and added in the deleted scenes for a complete version of David Lynch’s film. The cuts are seamless. The rearrangement of the scenes, compared to the confusing TV cut, is perfection. Everything is there. For those who want all the deleted scenes and the “painting narrated” prologue – they’re presented as Special Features. Nothing is lost. The only complaint I have is that the deleted scene footage is not very good – no fault of the faneditors so there are no deductions. They have done the best they could. Their inclusion is not distracting because the editing and sound syncing is so well done. Biggest and best improvement — the blue Fremen eyes added to the extended footage. Totally cool. This is my new version to watch when I give Dune a spin. Simply excellent. *****/*****
Image Quality: Besides the aforementioned deleted scene footage, everything else looks very good. Colors are rich and blacks are deep. I noticed some jaggies and moiré effects on striped areas, like Feyd’s chest. Given these limitations, I still think fans will be very pleased with the video quality of this presentation. ****/*****
Audio Quality: Although the audio is listed as 5.1 surround, it really isn’t. The sound field is center-heavy. I did not hear anything from my rears and no LFE whatsoever during the film. The audio is loud and clear, free from pops or hiss yet I can’t help but wish that the sound field was wider and more enveloping. To be fair, the DVD special edition is not a great 5.1 soundtrack. It’s not one I’d use to show off my system. This one’s just fine. ***.5/*****
The DVD: Static menus. Specials Features include deleted scenes and the prologue – for us “completists.” ****.5/*****
Overall Rating: Simply the best version of Dune out there. A must for fans. ****.5/*****
Epilogue: Whenever Dune comes up in conversation, I will recommend that its detractors see this cut. They won’t be able to deny that David Lynch’s stunning epic is not as bad as they remember.
MOLASAR HAS SPOKEN.
Reviewed using Sony 51” 16×9 RPTV with Oppo DVD player upconverting to 1080i via DVI and Onkyo 650 Watt 5.1 surround sound.
Review by Molasar — February 18, 2009 @ 3:15 am
I am an extended edition buff and have a big collection of original ones and all the fanedits from here.
Many extended editions do not add anything to the movie, just add more useless scenes. I will rate the ones here.
Rating criteria: image quality, sound quality, 3x improvement, overall.
Image Quality: 7 of 10
Sound Quality: 7 of 10
Improvement: 8 of 10
Overall: 8 of 10
Review by col.hutty — July 30, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
Love It, but if you ever do a 4th stage Dune, I would love to see the movie without the out loud thinking….that would be awesome.
Review by cinedream — August 5, 2009 @ 9:02 am
This is incredible work. Congratulations.
I’d respectfully ask cinedream to reconsider the importance of the voiceover (“out loud thinking”) to this film before asking for it to be deleted.
I left a long message on the following forum making comments and asking Phineasbg questions if anyone’s interested (especially Phineasbg himself!):
http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/David-Lynchs-DUNE-The-Third-Stage-Edition/topic/7563/page/5/
Review by zenslinger — August 13, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
Thank you very much…
I really enjoyed your re-edit of this classic movie, and personal favorite of mine. There is NOTHING like DUNE.
This cut really helps flesh out the story and fills in all those plot holes so evident in the theatrical cut, but without the ham fisted mishandling prevalent in the extended edition – damn I HATE the male narrator and crap drawings at the start of that one. Pity you had to use the 3rd stage guild navigator voice from that cut… I do prefer its voice in the theatrical version but I know the track isn’t long enough for the extended scene. It is much closer to what was intended and I think you’ve done a great job – though I would have trimmed back of few of the carrying bodies in and out of room sequences that get very repetitive in the middle of the film (After the Harkonnens attack).
Also really liked the fact the the DVD menus were well done and the music choice was great. The “deleted” scenes were also very interesting.
This is currently My preferred version of Dune to watch!
Would be great to track down some of the behind the scenes footage that is out there somewhere! The story behind the making of this film is almost as interesting as the final film itself!
“Welcome to the convention!”
There is no way you can remove the inner-voices from the movie… just look at the reinstated scene of Jessica and Shadout Mapes witht the crysknife and you see Jessica standing there doing nothing but in the script there are inner-voice lines that explain what she is thinking. I’ve never understood why some people have real trouble with inner-voice/thought/voice-overs. (Blade Runner is another good example LOL). Another scene that really needs the voice over is when the Duke is looking out the window on Arrakis and Thufir comes in to explain about the prophecy.
It has certainly inspired Me to continue working on My own fan-edit version, though I am actually attempting to “redo” several of the special effects sequences I was unhappy about in the movie – in particular the thopter flight sequences. (See more at http://dunese.blogspot.com/)
Regards
Sasha
Review by Sasha — September 18, 2009 @ 11:04 pm
Sasha:
Your work on your blog looks INCREDIBLE! I can’t wait to see this!
Review by phineasbg — September 19, 2009 @ 12:45 am