Dune (1984)
Action, Science Fiction, Adventure • 2h 17m
Overview
In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.
Director: David Lynch
Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Patrick Stewart, Linda Hunt, José Ferrer, Freddie Jones, Brad Dourif, Richard Jordan, Virginia Madsen, Silvana Mangano, Everett McGill, Sting, Kenneth McMillan, Jack Nance, Siân Phillips, Jürgen Prochnow, Leonardo Cimino, Paul L. Smith, Dean Stockwell, Max von Sydow, Alicia Witt, Sean Young, Danny Corkill, Honorato Magaloni, Judd Omen, Molly Wryn, Angélica Aragón, Thomas Ebert, Humberto Elizondo, Ricardo Hill, Ernesto Laguardia, David Lynch, Ramón Menéndez, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Claudia Ramírez, Julieta Rosen, John Sabol, Margarita Sanz, Jacqueline Voltaire, José Luis García Mainou
Director: Gordon Douglas
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray see caps
SF is in 1.66 aspect ratio. Whether this is the intended ratio or a compromise isn't clear.
American Film Institute's catalog and Variety's contemporary review list it as 1.66, but other sources disagree.
Exhibitor's contemporary review lists it as 1.85, IMDB and an internal pre-production note from Warner Bros. list it as 1.75.
Director: Gordon Douglas
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray see caps
SF is in 1.66 aspect ratio. Whether this is the intended ratio or a compromise isn't clear.
American Film Institute's catalog and Variety's contemporary review list it as 1.66, but other sources disagree.
Exhibitor's contemporary review lists it as 1.85, IMDB and an internal pre-production note from Warner Bros. list it as 1.75.
Director: Joel Schumacher
US/UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray has both the original Dolby Stereo 2.0 mix in its best quailty and the original Dolby Stereo 4-track discrete stems in 4.0.
Director: Joel Schumacher
US/UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray has both the original Dolby Stereo 2.0 mix in its best quailty and the original Dolby Stereo 4-track discrete stems in 4.0.
Criterion 4K Blu-ray scheduled for October 2026 release
1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray
Criterion 4K Blu-ray scheduled for October 2026 release
1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray
70mm 6-Track: Paramount US 4K Blu-ray
35mm matrixed Dolby Stereo: 1995 Live Home Video US LaserDisc
Although the provenance of Paramount's 5.1 track is not confirmed, the fidelity is outstanding and speaks for itself.
The 7.1 track on the Capelight/old Lionsgate release is just an upmix with nothing gained over the 5.1.
The original stereo mix is only present on older DVDs and LaserDiscs; all Blu-ray 2.0 tracks are downmixes.
Paramount 4K Blu-ray has no extras, Capelight 4K Blu-ray has most of the extras, Olive Films Blu-ray has a exclusive commentary
70mm 6-Track: Paramount US 4K Blu-ray
35mm matrixed Dolby Stereo: 1995 Live Home Video US LaserDisc
Although the provenance of Paramount's 5.1 track is not confirmed, the fidelity is outstanding and speaks for itself.
The 7.1 track on the Capelight/old Lionsgate release is just an upmix with nothing gained over the 5.1.
The original stereo mix is only present on older DVDs and LaserDiscs; all Blu-ray 2.0 tracks are downmixes.
Paramount 4K Blu-ray has no extras, Capelight 4K Blu-ray has most of the extras, Olive Films Blu-ray has a exclusive commentary
Director: Ken Russell
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Includes original quintaphonic (5.0) mix as well as a modernized 5.1 remix.
Director: Ken Russell
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Includes original quintaphonic (5.0) mix as well as a modernized 5.1 remix.
Director: Arthur Penn
Criterion 4K Blu-ray. caps by BR user Donald McDonald. The encode looks absolutely spotless even in the highlights and without Dolby Vision filling anything in.
Criterion 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray
Criterion is entirely unfiltered and sounds significantly more detailed than previous tracks, see Blah-ray.
Director: Arthur Penn
Criterion 4K Blu-ray. caps by BR user Donald McDonald. The encode looks absolutely spotless even in the highlights and without Dolby Vision filling anything in.
Criterion 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray
Criterion is entirely unfiltered and sounds significantly more detailed than previous tracks, see Blah-ray.
Director: Charles Walters
Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray is a remaster from the original VistaVision camera negaitve, FiM encode
Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray
The original mono sounds good. The Atmos remix is a mixed bag, music performances are sourced from magnetic stereo recordings and sound great, but mono dialogue/effectshas undergone destructive noise reduction and unnecessary EQ, so the jumps in fidelity are incredibly jarring.
Director: Charles Walters
Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray is a remaster from the original VistaVision camera negaitve, FiM encode
Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray
The original mono sounds good. The Atmos remix is a mixed bag, music performances are sourced from magnetic stereo recordings and sound great, but mono dialogue/effectshas undergone destructive noise reduction and unnecessary EQ, so the jumps in fidelity are incredibly jarring.
Director: Mario Bava
Original Italian/English dubs: UK Masters of Cinema 4K Blu-ray
Export English dub: Paramount LaserDisc
MoC ported the export dub from LaserDisc, but used a low quality transfer, with poor lossy encoding.
MST3K version: Vol XXXIX DVD / episode 1013: series finale of the original show.
Director: Mario Bava
Original Italian/English dubs: UK Masters of Cinema 4K Blu-ray
Export English dub: Paramount LaserDisc
MoC ported the export dub from LaserDisc, but used a low quality transfer, with poor lossy encoding.
MST3K version: Vol XXXIX DVD / episode 1013: series finale of the original show.
Director: John Waters
Criterion 4K is in director's preferred aspect ratio of 1.66:1.
Director: John Waters
Criterion 4K is in director's preferred aspect ratio of 1.66:1.
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is SDR
StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray is HDR
The DV/HDR grade is tasteful and not overdone. SC has better compression, though not flawless; encoded by FiM, but Criterion also holds up quite well. Both releases claim to be approved by Lynch.
SC has a missing fade that Criterion reinstated.
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: 2001 R1 Paramount US NTSC DVD/2008 R2 Optimum UK PAL or 1999 Pioneer JP LaserDisc
Restored stereo mix: Criterion / StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray
The film was originally mixed in Dolby Stereo (matrixed LCRS). For the 4K restoration, this mix has been transferred from the original magnetic elements and remastered with Lynch's supervision. Unfortunately, the fidelity suffered in the process, with many sections ending up significantly less detailed due to a noise reduction pass. This track has been altered compared to the original, with reverb added to some dialogue, different ambient sound effects, changed panning, and extended bass.
For the unrestored mix, there are two major options, each with its own merits and flaws. The 2001 Paramount DVD, which I would say is the best well-rounded mastering, and the 1999 Japanese LaserDisc, which has noticeably better clarity and high-end detail, as well as better dynamics, but suffers from occasional distortion and has less bass than the DVD.
The LD also has some ambiance buried too low in the mix, and some dialogue panned more to the centre than the DVD. There are no content changes I was able to find. Unfortunately, I don't know what accounts for those differences.
The other available tracks all have more significant flaws. The Italian and Japanese BDs use the same base mastering as the DVD, but with some patching in a few shots. HD-DVD is sourced from an inferior transfer, the same as the Momentum DVD.
The 5.1 remix, originally introduced on the 2002 DVD, and carried over without changes to the 2009 BD is a light and mostly faithful remix, with fairly minimal LFE and surround use, but still potentially worthwhile as the only discrete track.
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is SDR
StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray is HDR
The DV/HDR grade is tasteful and not overdone. SC has better compression, though not flawless; encoded by FiM, but Criterion also holds up quite well. Both releases claim to be approved by Lynch.
SC has a missing fade that Criterion reinstated.
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: 2001 R1 Paramount US NTSC DVD/2008 R2 Optimum UK PAL or 1999 Pioneer JP LaserDisc
Restored stereo mix: Criterion / StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray
The film was originally mixed in Dolby Stereo (matrixed LCRS). For the 4K restoration, this mix has been transferred from the original magnetic elements and remastered with Lynch's supervision. Unfortunately, the fidelity suffered in the process, with many sections ending up significantly less detailed due to a noise reduction pass. This track has been altered compared to the original, with reverb added to some dialogue, different ambient sound effects, changed panning, and extended bass.
For the unrestored mix, there are two major options, each with its own merits and flaws. The 2001 Paramount DVD, which I would say is the best well-rounded mastering, and the 1999 Japanese LaserDisc, which has noticeably better clarity and high-end detail, as well as better dynamics, but suffers from occasional distortion and has less bass than the DVD.
The LD also has some ambiance buried too low in the mix, and some dialogue panned more to the centre than the DVD. There are no content changes I was able to find. Unfortunately, I don't know what accounts for those differences.
The other available tracks all have more significant flaws. The Italian and Japanese BDs use the same base mastering as the DVD, but with some patching in a few shots. HD-DVD is sourced from an inferior transfer, the same as the Momentum DVD.
The 5.1 remix, originally introduced on the 2002 DVD, and carried over without changes to the 2009 BD is a light and mostly faithful remix, with fairly minimal LFE and surround use, but still potentially worthwhile as the only discrete track.
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray or Germany Plaion 4K Blu-ray - subtle difference in encoding to the Criterion in encoding, trading blows in different shots, with Plaion taking a slight edge with less highlight blocking
1993 MGM LaserDisc/2000 Region 1 MGM DVD
Criterion's 2.0 sounds muffled due to noise reduction and EQ.
Plaion's 2.0 lacks bass and has a very bright EQ, more resembling the 5.1 remix. Plaion’s 2.0 doesn't have any filtering unlike the Criterion, see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23831289&postcount=110
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray or Germany Plaion 4K Blu-ray - subtle difference in encoding to the Criterion in encoding, trading blows in different shots, with Plaion taking a slight edge with less highlight blocking
1993 MGM LaserDisc/2000 Region 1 MGM DVD
Criterion's 2.0 sounds muffled due to noise reduction and EQ.
Plaion's 2.0 lacks bass and has a very bright EQ, more resembling the 5.1 remix. Plaion’s 2.0 doesn't have any filtering unlike the Criterion, see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23831289&postcount=110
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is closer to the original DVDs than the 2015 Criterion release, not sure about whether the StudioCanal 4K is like the Criterion 4K/original DVD
Criterion 4K Blu-ray has FEL Dolby Vision, StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has MEL
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is closer to the original DVDs than the 2015 Criterion release, not sure about whether the StudioCanal 4K is like the Criterion 4K/original DVD
Criterion 4K Blu-ray has FEL Dolby Vision, StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has MEL
Director: David Lynch
Censored US version: Shout! Factory or Twilight Time Blu-ray
Uncensored version: old DVD
Australian Imprint Blu-Ray upcoming included in After Dark Neo-Noir Cinema Vol. 4
Censored US version: Shout! Factory or Twilight Time Blu-ray
Uncensored version: old DVD
Director: David Lynch
Censored US version: Shout! Factory or Twilight Time Blu-ray
Uncensored version: old DVD
Australian Imprint Blu-Ray upcoming included in After Dark Neo-Noir Cinema Vol. 4
Censored US version: Shout! Factory or Twilight Time Blu-ray
Uncensored version: old DVD
Director: David Lynch
British StudioCanal 4K Blu-Ray upcoming
5.1 on 4K Blu-ray is a remix. Original 5.1 is best on 2012 Japan Paramount Blu-ray
Director: David Lynch
British StudioCanal 4K Blu-Ray upcoming
5.1 on 4K Blu-ray is a remix. Original 5.1 is best on 2012 Japan Paramount Blu-ray
Criterion 4K Blu-ray > France Potemkine 4K Blu-ray > Germany StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray see caps. Criterion has the best encode.
While the framing of Criterion is different, they are actually both faithful to the original theatrical versions see post1 and post2 by b0b.
1993 New Line LaserDisc
Criterion 4K Blu-ray > France Potemkine 4K Blu-ray > Germany StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray see caps. Criterion has the best encode.
While the framing of Criterion is different, they are actually both faithful to the original theatrical versions see post1 and post2 by b0b.
1993 New Line LaserDisc
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4k resto, but it was AI upscaled although supervised and approved by Lynch https://www.reddit.com/r/davidlynch/comments/12klbw9/inland_empire_and_ai_upscaling/
See another detailed review: https://www.dvdexotica.com/2015/05/lets-get-serious-about-inland-empire.html
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4k resto, but it was AI upscaled although supervised and approved by Lynch https://www.reddit.com/r/davidlynch/comments/12klbw9/inland_empire_and_ai_upscaling/
See another detailed review: https://www.dvdexotica.com/2015/05/lets-get-serious-about-inland-empire.html
Director: David Lynch
Germany StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray slightly better
Germany StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has best encoding. France Potemkine and Criterion UHDs slightly worse.
?
Director: David Lynch
Germany StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray slightly better
Germany StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has best encoding. France Potemkine and Criterion UHDs slightly worse.
?
Director: David Lynch
Director: David Lynch
Director: Mike Flanagan
US Shout! Factory or UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray (similar encoding)
Director: Mike Flanagan
US Shout! Factory or UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray (similar encoding)
Director: James Foley
Director: James Foley
Director: Richard Fleischer
Director: Richard Fleischer
Director: Terence Young
US Arrow > UK StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray, better color grading
Director: Terence Young
US Arrow > UK StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray, better color grading
Director: John Woo
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray > US Shout! Factory, better encoding by Engine House and redone opening credits, errors present in Shout! Factory fixed
Arrow 4K Blu-ray, mono is from an alternate higher fidelity source than Shout! Factory.
Director: John Woo
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray > US Shout! Factory, better encoding by Engine House and redone opening credits, errors present in Shout! Factory fixed
Arrow 4K Blu-ray, mono is from an alternate higher fidelity source than Shout! Factory.
Capelight DE 4K Blu-ray > Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber US Blu-ray, see caps
Capelight and Arrow both have good compression, but Capelight has the edge. Kino is very poor.
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: Arrow 4K Blu-ray or Image Entertainment LaserDisc
(Arrow is a port of the LD track, see spectrograms)
Capelight and old Arrow BD included the original stereo mix, but with excessive noise reduction rendering it much less detailed. Kino only included a downmix of the 5.1 remix.
The best and most accurate of the 5.1 mixes is from the 2003 Special Edition DVD in AC3 form.
Capelight DE 4K Blu-ray > Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber US Blu-ray, see caps
Capelight and Arrow both have good compression, but Capelight has the edge. Kino is very poor.
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: Arrow 4K Blu-ray or Image Entertainment LaserDisc
(Arrow is a port of the LD track, see spectrograms)
Capelight and old Arrow BD included the original stereo mix, but with excessive noise reduction rendering it much less detailed. Kino only included a downmix of the 5.1 remix.
The best and most accurate of the 5.1 mixes is from the 2003 Special Edition DVD in AC3 form.
Arrow 4K Blu-ray from the Jackie Chan Boxset
Arrow 4K Blu-ray from the Jackie Chan Boxset
Arrow 4K Blu-ray from the Jackie Chan Boxset
Arrow 4K Blu-ray from the Jackie Chan Boxset
Directors: Jackie Chan & Benny Chan
Arrow 4K Blu-ray from the Jackie Chan Boxset
Arrow 4K Blu-ray from the Jackie Chan Boxset
Directors: Jackie Chan & Benny Chan
Arrow 4K Blu-ray from the Jackie Chan Boxset
Arrow 4K Blu-ray from the Jackie Chan Boxset
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