BLU-RAY REVIEW

Dune

Featured In Issue 117, February 2007

Picture4
Sound3
WSR Score
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
27781
(MPAA Rating):
PG13
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$29.98
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (HD-30)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
137
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
1984
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
11/28/06
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
David Lynch
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
Dolby Digital+ 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

The battle for control of a spice called "melange"—which expands consciousness, extends life and facilitates space travel—is pitted between two houses, the noble Atreides and the evil Harkonnens. The sole source of this substance is the desert planet Arrakis, a.k.a. Dune, where proud dwellers known as Fremen are subjugated and forced to mine the spice by the evil house of Harkonnen. But when the Atreides royal mistress, gives birth to a son—the prophesised ruler of Dune (MacLachlan)—the balance of power undergoes drastic change. Based on Frank Herbert's book.

Special features include deleted scenes with an introduction by Producer Raffaella De Laurentis; almost nine minutes of visualizing the set, from sketches to reality; a six minute peek at the special effects; seven minutes with models and miniatures; five minutes on wardrobe; a photo gallery; and My Scenes.

The VC-1-encoded 2.35:1 HD DVD picture looks very good, with accurate fleshtones and deep blacks. Details are resolved well, but source element artifacts can become a distraction. (Danny Richelieu)

The Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1-channel soundtrack uses each of the available channels frequently, but solid imaging around the soundfield is not fully attained. (Danny Richelieu)