Re: OT: You guys aren't going to believe this....

right, i have my copy of 'Eye' to hand, so here's info lifted from the
essay on the filming of Dune ...

On Sat, 13 Feb 1999, Niall Gilsenan wrote:

> At 21:29 12/02/99 EST, you wrote:
> >In a message dated 99-02-12 15:03:32 EST, you write:
> >
> ><< > Hmm, the SciFi's Dune multi part TV movie is have troubles,
darn,
> > 
> >  a mini-series was being mooted. this isn't the same
> > mini-series, surely? not over a decade later!
> >
> >Nope, there was a dune movie, I don't know any thing about it, exsept
that it
> >is not the dune that Frank wrote.
> 
> Well the movie was directed(?) by David Lynch

correct. produced, i think, by Dino de Laurentiis. a good dutch name
there!

> of Twin Peaks fame so it was
> a little odd in spaces but that was OK too.  They did make some
changes to
> the plot line (for instance the weapons in use were some sort of vocal
> amplifier gun rather than sheer nasty knives).

it's deeper than that. in the book, paul, as well as being a good
knife-fighter, has bene gesserit training, which allows him to control
and
eventually kill by words alone.

> You have to watch it a
> couple of times to start to like it but it is worth a watch. It got
cut
> severly due to the original length of the film (4-6 hours?)

approximately five hours were filmed.

> and parts of it
> didn't make much sense after that.

major stuff that was cut: development of kynes' character (arguably the
second most important character in the book), why spice is important,
relationship between paul and his mentors, death of thufir hawat, and
explanation of the bene gesserit. they also cut paul's two romances,
which
is unusual for a hollywood movie!

> The talk I heard was that there might
> be a "directors" cut of the film released.  Theres been no sign of it
yet
> though.
> 
> As for the mini-series well I had heard about it but as nothing more
than a
> rumour.

"Dino and Raffaella have talkd about restoring the out-takes and making
a 
miniseries (a la _The Godfather_). This may happen because Dino wanted a
longer film all along." - frank herbert, 1985.

well, about 15 years ago it looked like there might possibly be a 
mini-series one day. that probably doesn't mean much today.

Tom