Dune: Restored Original TV Cut HD (a WIP)

I was hoping to have this edit finished by the time Denis’ version hit theaters, but alas, it was not to be. I guess I can at least announce it in time.

When Shout Factory put out their excellent King Kong 76 Collector’s Edition blu-ray earlier this year, I was enamored with their accurate reproduction of the TV Cut, presented in two parts with commercial break fades, just as it was when it originally aired on television. So when the Arrow 4K of David Lynch’s Dune hit the market without the extended Alan Smithee version, even in the combined “cable tv” presentation that we’ve been used to getting on home video, I decided this was the perfect opportunity to reconstruct a piece of cinema & television history.

This is a special “reconstruction” of the Alan Smithee cut as it originally aired the nights of June 4th and 5th on the syndicated Universal Pictures Debut Network. This edit seeks to be an approximation of how the film was originally presented on television, split into two parts with a recap in front of Part Two, and ad-break fades recreated at logical points in the film. This edit will also feature an upscaled and color-corrected extended prologue in its original 4:3 aspect ratio, replacing the heavily-cropped versions of more recent video releases. The rest of the film will be presented in 2.35:1, just as the Shout Kong set’s TV version. This has the great advantage of presenting the entire picture available with switching aspect ratios. (I feel like Christopher Nolan)

I’m still hoping to have this done before the end of the year, but we will see. In the meantime, I’m wondering if I can enlist some of you to help me name this beast. I was leaning towards “Dune: The Alan Smithee TV Cut,” but that seems to general, does it? What do y’all think? Any suggestions I can have for free?

The Sleeper Will Awaken…Soon.

djsmokingjam said:

Sounds like a fun project! Presumably you have a source for the original broadcast version already but just in case, the French DVD released in 2005 has it, complete with credits at the end of part 1 and recap at the start of part 2: https://www.duneinfo.com/giedi_prime/dune-french-dvd/

Thanks! I actually found an equivalent source in a Korean DVD I acquired last month, the only thing I have to figure out now is where the commercial breaks were placed, since neither of those have them.