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DUNE (1984) THE ALTERNATIVE EDITION - A FANEDIT BY SPICEDIVER (REVISED V.2)
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WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Director David Lynch's strange and visionary sci-fi epic is given a new lease of life with this unique fan-edit by Spicediver. 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.
ORIGINAL RUNTIME: 137/177 minutes (NTSC)
NEW RUNTIME: 183 minutes (NTSC)
TIME TAKEN FOR PROJECT: 12 months of planning, editing and revisions including V.2
FORMATS: AVI (Xvid) and DVD.
INTENTIONS FOR THIS FANEDIT:
Both of the officially released versions of David Lynch's visually amazing 'Dune' have substantial problems. The Theatrical Version was gutted to the point of incomprehension by executive producer Dino De Laurentiis in his quest to make it a two hour movie instead of three. The easier-to-follow Extended Version assembled for cable TV, with much restored footage, was so incompetently put together by Universal's MCA TV division that Lynch ordered his name removed from the writing and directing credits.
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 director's 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 Herbert's novel and the 6th and 7th drafts of Lynch's original script as a guide but have also taken my own liberties with the material.
For all its faults, Dune still has much to admire: its unique and extraordinary production design, its epic sweep, some fine casting and its fundamental strangeness.
CHANGES/CUTS/ADDITIONS (including V.2):
1) MISTAKES. 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 repeated/fabricated footage used to set up or pad scenes.
2) COLOR CORRECTION. The 40 or so minutes of extra live footage hastily reinserted into the Extended Version by Universal/MCA 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.
3) 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 Ramallo's introduction. In V.2 there are also slight changes to the score and the shot selection.
4) NARRATION. The male narration from the Extended Version was chosen for this edit and most of it has been preserved, while deleting or correcting occasional voiceover mistakes or misuse by the producers. I have always found this narration to be a more persuasive than Princess Irulan's voiceover from the Theatrical Version. In V.2 the narration has been completely removed from one scene where the Fremen watch House Atreides arrive on Arrakis.
5) MUSIC. The Extended Version of Dune assembled my Universal/MCA is badly re-scored. It inexplicably omits Brian Eno's 'Prophecy Theme' and generally the beautiful score by Toto is used far too often, too repetitively, and at times very inappropriately (eg. action music in a quiet scene). V.1 addressed this problem through restoring Eno's music and favouring scenes and sequences from the Theatrical Version wherever possible. In V.2 the problem is further addressed by the removal or re-scoring of the music in 6 more scenes.
6) SCENE ORDER. I have restored to their correct place a number of existing scenes that appear in the wrong part of one or both versions of the movie (eg. Duncan & Leto's reunion, the drowned baby worm ritual that produces the Water Of Life).
7) 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.
8) 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.
9) 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 Version's superior audio source.
10) OTHER V.2 CHANGES. Restored the destruction of the Weirding Modules; restored establishing shots in several scenes; restored several shots of Paul's filmbook slideshow; restored and fixed one of the filmbook voiceovers and its accompanying shots.
DVD details:
Format: 2 x single layer DVD (movie parts 1 and 2)
TV System: NTSC 720 x 480
FPS: 29.970
Video Bitrate: 6250kbps
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen
Audio: AC3 Dolby Digital 224kbps
Channels: 2-channel stereo (switch your amp to Pro Logic II for surround sound)
AVI details:
Video Codec: Xvid
Filesize: 2.3gb
Video Bitrate: 1500kbps
Resolution: 720*304
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
FPS 29.970
Audio: AC3 Dolby Digital 224kbps
Channels: 2-channel stereo (switch your amp to Pro Logic II for surround sound)
If you enjoyed my Alternative Edition fanedit in its original form I'm sure you'll enjoy this revision, too. Thanks to those of you who gave kudos and shared constructive criticisms along the way.
On Linktalk through Rapidshare. Also on Bittorrent at Demonoid, Pirate Bay and h33t.
May the hand of god be with you...
SPICEDIVER
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AVI PLAYBACK PROBLEMS ON YOUR PC?
You need the AC3 codec installed in order to playback the AC3 audio stream. Get the free software here: http://ac3filter.net/projects/ac3filter
AVI PLAYBACK PROBLEMS ON YOUR STANDALONE PLAYER?
Your player might be incompatible with what's termed a "packed bitsream". Here's the quick fix:
1) Download the free program MPEG4 Modifier at http://www.free-codecs.com/download/MPEG4_Modifier.htm
2) Launch the program and open your AVI file with it.
3) Adjust just ONE setting: under "Packed Bitstream" tick the box "Unpack".
4) Save your file under a new name, or use the same filename but in a different directory.
If neither of these work feel free to PM me, describing the problem and giving me the specs and equipment details.