‘Dune II: The Re-edit’
Somewhere between its 1984 theatrical release and its broadcast premiere on KTLA, Channel 5 the other night, the sci-fi epic “Dune†picked up about 50 minutes in running time. And lost writer-director David Lynch’s name!
The opening credit: “An Alan Smithee Film.†Smithee being the pseudonym that the Director’s Guild attaches to a film from which the original director wants his name removed.
The TV version’s screenplay was credited to “Judas Boothâ€--a composite of betrayer Judas Iscariot and assassin John Wilkes Booth?
Through a rep, Lynch acknowledged only that “I was given permission to remove my name from the TV version.â€
MCA TV’s Harry Tatelman, special projects veep, did the overhaul, assembling all the original raw footage and starting from scratch--using the original editor’s script as a guideline. Thus, virtually every scene is different (in most cases longer), not to mention many scenes never before seen.
Tatelman usually works with the director and/or producer when making such massive changes, but was told Lynch was unavailable.
His praise for Lynch was high: “The guy did a monumental job, no question. He’s a visionary. I thought it was an honor to work on his film.â€
“Dune†will be shown again next Saturday and Sunday.
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