Let's be honest: David Lynch's Dune is full of flaws and deserves its reputation... but we can't help being obsessed with it. In December it will be 40 years since its release, and we're already seeing special Blu-ray editions with multiple discs and bonus material. However, author Max Evry received a deleted scene from the film, sent by actress Molly Wryn, who was part of the original project. The folks at Nerdist decided to restore it, and although there's no major improvement in the audio, visually it turned out great…
Judging by critics and audience response, Denis Villeneuve achieved the impossible: Dune finally got the adaptation it deserved. Some attribute its success to the impressive cinematic spectacle, others to the presence of the 'new gods' of Gen Z (Chalamet, Zendaya, Pugh, and Butler), but regardless of differences, the conclusion is the same.
So, while we celebrate the 'new' Dune, why not explore a bit of the earlier version? At least four cuts of 'Dune 1984' are known, but we know the original material without post-production exceeds four hours. In other words, Lynch cut deeply, and many scenes were left behind. Fortunately, today we can see one of them, courtesy of actress Molly Wryn, who played Harah in the film.
(Warning: Headphone users might want to lower the volume…)
Restoring a Lost Scene from Dune 1984
A bit of context: Harah is the widow of Jamis, whom Paul is forced to kill after invoking the Amtal rule. With his victory, Paul takes Jamis's yali (something like his 'heritage'), including his wife Harah and their two children. However, given the choice to take her as wife or servant, Paul chooses the latter. Over time, Harah becomes the guardian and governess of Paul's sister, Alia… which brings us to this scene. Harah tries to speak with Lady Jessica about the rumors surrounding Alia, but the 'little' pre-born with full access to her ancestral memories decides to share her opinion.
Molly explains that her experience filming Dune was wonderful (traveling twice to Mexico City for several weeks), but at the premiere she was devastated to discover that all her scenes had been cut. Some of them were reinstated in the television versions, but what we just saw was left out. Molly sent the scene to Max Evry, author of the book "A Masterpiece In Disarray (David Lynch’s Dune – An Oral History)", and with the help of editor Matt Caron from Nerdist, today we can enjoy its optimization.
All the technical details are in the second video, but it's clear that the VHS copy deteriorated a lot over time. Will there be a better version waiting to be discovered? Will Dune 1984 become the new Metropolis? Personally, I still hope Lynch makes his Director's Cut.
Source: Nerdist
