Dune DVD
I have the old P&S LD and the Japanese import box set of Dune (LBX and
Smithee versions). The new DVD of Dune blows these two older versions
away in terms of picture quality and sound fidelity.
I am assuming that the Dune DVD is the same new transfer as the recently
released AC3 THX LD. So the new LD should sound the same and look almost
as sharp as the Dune DVD.
The Picture
I did notice some occasional mild film damage, but its not that noticable,
and actually it is a cleaner print that the two older discs of Dune I own.
Some scenes on my old versions of Dune were washed out a bit, this is not
the case on the new DVD. The colors are bright and the detail is incredible,
this is one beautiful looking disc. I love it, no changing discs and no
video noise!
The Sound
The picture on the new Dune DVD is great but the new sound is even more
impressive. The bass on the AC3 5.1 tracks is just out of control.
Everything is rumbling, shaking, or thumping. Cool. I never thought of
Dune as a film that had explosive and dynamic sound effects. The
discreteness of the front three channels is what you expect from 5.1
channels, it is a nice effect with the occasional hard left or right pans,
and it isn't overdone. The surrounds are nothing spectacular but they do
add a nice ambience to certain scenes.
Extras
The supplemental material consists of several pages of the trouble and
grief the crew had to go through while filming for several years in the
deserts of Mexico. Intersesting, but it doesn't even compare to the
information in some of the jam packed special edition discs like Contact.
Even if you already have every Dune pressing on disc or tape known to man
you still have to get this DVD. All Dune fans have to buy this disc.
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