New Release of Dune 1984 coming in 2020 by Koch Media from Original Camera Negative… New Special features too but no mention of the huge amount of missing material…
Extended Dialogue scenes. I want to log them because It’s taken quite a bit of time to study the script in detail.
After the Fight with Gurney (Shield Practice) Paul “Things have been so Serious here Lately”
GURNEY
Yes. I sensed the play in you lad, but this
can no longer be play. Tomorrow we leave
for Arrakis! Arrakis is real. The Harkonnens
are real.
Then Later in the conversation.
Paul “The eyes yes, yes saturation of the blood by the Spice Melange”
Thuffir - A world is Supported by 4 things
Paul - Learning of the Wise, justice of the great, prayers of the righteous and valor of the brave
Thuffir - The First law of a Mentat
Paul- THuffir…Please…
Thuffir - Paul… the First Law and in the Proper form!
Paul - Because a Mentat is trained for Supreme Logic, he knows process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process…Must join it… Must flow with it.
Will I get to see an guild Navigator on my crossing to Arrakis?
Thuffir - No they will be far off in the control rooms of the Heighliner. Now tell me of the Harkonnens and some History of Arrakis It’s still testing time.
Paul - Our mortal enemies the Harkonnens, Held Arrakis in Quasi fiefdom for 80 years under the choam company contract to mine the geriatric spice melange. Now under orders from the emperor we must replace the Harkonnens, but we must replace the Harkonnens in fief complete… A victory for my father… or atleast and apparent victory.
Thuffir - Apparent indeed. This appearance contains the deadliest peril. Duke Leto is extremely popular amongst the great houses of the Landsraad, and a popular man arouses the jealousy of the powerful…
Paul - THe Baron is our enemy yes, but behind him I expect the emperor…
Ok so big dialogue part here that negates the need for for the “Know a Mentat by his red stained Lips” possibly It also may mean that the edit was due to occur on the Signet ring instead as this info would come later. But still great info better delivered this way.
After the Scene where Duke Leto prepare the message for the Baron.
Jessica enters the Room.
Duke Leto - Did you look in on Paul?
Jessica - I…(starts to cry)
Duke Leto - Yes? Jessica! what is it?
Jessica - I’ll miss Caladan so much
This is important because she knows she is to lose Duke Leto as per Reverand mother.
Geidi Prime the Baron’s iconic opening Dialogue was shot as I thought.
Piter - They’ll leave Caladan soon, Baron, and I have an answer from Duke Leto… (And Alternate “They’ve left Caladan” 5th draft)
Baron - The Driest Planet in the universe, where they speak in hushed tones of moisture, let alone water… It would of course be a worthless rock were it not for the spice. So… It becomes the Biggest mantrap in history and duke Leto is headed into it’s jaws… What does it say Piter?
The Water Sellers outside the Arakeen Palace was touched upon and mentioned Between Yueh and Jessica before he checks the fremen staff of the Palace… You can also see a shot in the EE documentary of the crowd outside the palace.
Just before Jessica see’s the Shadout Mapes she has a vision of a Blurred Guild Navigator Paul Dead on a stone floor and Fire Burning… “I must speak with you Leto!”
After the scene where “Let water be a bond between us” we were meant to see the Flashing Harkonnen Light Signals in the cliffs of the shield wall… This is probably also the shot where the Ornithopter is flying up to the top of the shield wall also but was re-purposed. There was meant to be an Ornithopter sent out and also Ornithopters were also meant to be seen just before the Palace shield was to be raised.
Then in the scene with Thuffir and Duke Leto in observation room.
Thuffir - Supposedly he will Lead them to… true… Freedom. My Lord…
Duke Leto - what is it?
THuffir - My lord this is very difficult for me
Duke Leto - Get to it Thuffir!
Thuffir - yes my lord, a Harkonnen agent was killed last night. Before he died he started an acid erasure in a message canister he carried. We stopped that erasure. The remaining portion my lord is… I’ll read it to you… It starts “Leto will never suspect, and when SHE strikes, the blow falling upon him from a beloved hand, it’s source alone should be enough to destroy him.” I’ve authenticated that it was under the barons own Seal.
In Paul’s Room
Duke Leto - Sorry you have to sleep so far underground… We can’t take any chances… Paul I’m doing a hateful thing but I must… The Harkonnens wish to trick me into thinking your mother is the traitor. I’d sooner distrust myself.
Paul - Or me…
Duke Leto - What better way to destroy me than sow suspicion on the woman I love. But they have to think they succeeded. Your mother must not know.
Paul - It must look real – I see
Duke Leto - But if anything should happen to me tell her the truth I never doubted her for the smallest instant. I should want her to know.
Paul - Nothings going to happen
Knocking on the Door
Duke Leto - Yes?
Voice - An urgent message, my lord. It’s Duncan Idaho he carries a message from the Fremen.
Duke Leto - I’ll be back, son.
So as you can see there is actually quite a bit of dialogue missing that was cut out It’s nice to just document the missing sections anyway. There is a clear case that although the script probably weighs in at 3.5 hours they had 4.5 hours assembly so I think it could be safe to assume that there is more shot than is in the script as the “Let water be the Bond between us” is not in any script. It’s a safe assumption that there would have been a scene with the fremen people calling out “Mahdi” somewhere and small beats like Harkonnens hiding in the cliffs with strange electronic equipment. But there will be more that we do not know about. No joke it is all there I feel.
How many Psychedelic steam punk sci-fi films are there from the 80’s anyway? I think just this one that really stands out and it’s worthy of being restored in my honest opinion.
When the Harkonnen ships are approaching I feel we are missing a Radar Image for Atredies side and The Baron’s ships he see Arrakis planet out of a window or a screen. Actually the shield winding down was to be a scene before Duke Leto get’s done over by Dr.Huey.
Spice Smugglers Ships is another missing thing
Guild Satellite shown before Guild Report
The other Report was a CHOAM company report so there is a case for seeing their logo as well as the guild navigator Logo before the Bath tub scene.
In the EE documentary we also see shots of Sandakar attacked in the desert and Paul Running to safety with blast all around him so the Emperor is there a bit longer than the film would have you think also. This is possibly the taking of the communications Room where they set off the Atomics.
Fremen Binoculars is also an interesting one… What did looking out of them look like? Probably just normal circle and not sci-fi but Paul was meant to attack the smugglers this is where he meets Gurney. Actually in the battle with the Harkokonnens and fremen in the desert we see a shot of a smuggler being blown across screen this was to be in the part we he meets Gurney in the desert and was moved.
Piter travels to Geidi Prime… From Galaxy of Terror
I have a feeling the 2 children that don’t get on with Alia would have been exploited for the Revenge Speech and that Alia was taken but the 2 children she did not get along with were killed by the Harkonnens. This would mean the rift was bridged at some point between Alia and the 2 children. This was the Hatred and Revenge that spawned the “Emperor we come for you” although Emperor was already there on the planet. He Landed during the water of Life sequence. Alternatively seeing Alia being taken would have been enough for the Revenge speech… In one documentary you can actually see the Sandakar near the Sietch so yes something was shot.
My estimate for a complete tight cut weighs in about 3 hours 40 minutes (that leaves 40 minutes off shaved worthless footage)
Nightflyers 1987 movie has a pretty good match for the guild dropship 😃
Navigators were meant to be shuttled over to the Heighliners anyway…
When the Navigators Leave the Emperor at the near the end of the film the shot where they are walking down the Corridor is Super imposed over Pauls Eyes… From UK DVD documentary.
I feel that perhaps the Fremen Prophecy scene with Reverand Mother Ramaldo might work better after Paul and Jessica crash in the desert…the 2 moons with flames from the trailer does suggest that this is while the Arakeen Palace is Burning… Or perhaps it is part of Paul’s waking dream to be cut in before “They will call me Mua-dib”… Perhaps the “we are the secret of the universe” “Chant” could be used on the Pauls disturbing dream about the “Killing Machines”
On the princess Irulian narration I have a feeling as she was meant to fade out and hourglass was meant to fade in… then the hourglass fades out and she fades back in. Not only does this represent the holtzman effect but also the sands of time the spice the folding infinite. This is very beautiful image that only half of it is there…either it is traditional with gravity but it could be from left to right… Probably traditional. Finally so simple yet so effective.