Dune

David Lynch's stylish, flawed Dune was a controversial movie upon release for many fans of the Frank Herbert novel from which it was adapted. By the time of this DVD release, the controversy had pretty much faded away, allowing Dune to be viewed as more of a campy, cult-classic sci-fi film. The picture and sound quality of the DVD transfer are both superb. The 2.35:1 widescreen presentation consistently impresses via the rich colors of Lynch's bold visuals, the stunning cinematography of Freddie Francis, and Carlo Rambaldi's bizarre creature effects. The Dolby Digital Sound is quite rich and always aurally interesting. Supplemental materials don't provide much of interest. The production notes could just as easily and successfully have been included in the liner notes for the DVD; they only amount to about ten paragraphs of straightforward information. The cast and filmmaker bios are standard biographical filmographies. The theatrical trailer is interesting, but its sound and video quality isn't up to the presentation quality of the movie itself. The liner notes claim the DVD includes a "Film Highlights" feature, but that feature doesn't seem to be accessible from any menu. It's possible the notes are actually referring to the "Chapter List" menu, which allows direct scene access. It should be noted that some fans prefer the longer, edited-for-television version of this production, though David Lynch disowned it in classic Alan Smithee fashion; that version is not included on this DVD edition. Dune still makes for a highly entertaining DVD, if one isn't expecting anything more than the movie itself.