Dune 4K Blu-ray review: Arrow Video brings David Lynch’s sci-fi epic back to life

With Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated Dune finally on the way, Arrow Video has resurrected David Lynch’s maligned 1984 take on Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel in an impressive new 4K UHD / Blu-ray collection. Read on for our Dune 4K Blu-ray review.

On paper, Lynch’s Dune seems like a no-brainer. Coming off of his breakout debut, Eraserhead, and his acclaimed follow-up The Elephant Man, Lynch’s version of Herbert’s saga of intergalactic political strife, family legacy, and a powerful mind-expanding drug seemed right up Lynch’s alley. Starring Kyle MacLachlan (in his feature debut) as Paul Artriedes, the film focuses on rival families battling for control over The Spice Melange on the brutal desert planet Arrakis. Also thrown into the mix are massive sandworms, psychedelic moments of self-discovery, and nightmarish images that can rival any mainstream horror movie from its time.

Lynch’s film is a sweeping and bold epic that tries to encompass Herbert’s complex 1965 novel into a two-hour feature with decidedly mixed results. It’s an impossible task, one that even legendary cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky could never bring to the screen. Despite its faults, there is enough here to make Dune worth a look for Lynch fans and those curious to check out this odd and very dark film that many (especially the backing studio) expected to be the next Star Wars.

Dune is incredibly dense, and can often feel like someone reading aloud from a long synopsis of a show or series you’ve never seen. To counteract the long exposition jumps, there are some trademark Lynchian moments, including scenes of body horror that must have spurred some sleepless nights for kids who first saw this in the ’80s, along with some hypnotic dream sequences that have become Lynch’s trademark. One thing that Lynch and his team nailed down is the casting, including Kenneth McMillan as the revolting Baron Harkonnen, and Sting’s over-the-top villainous Feyd-Rautha.

Arrow Video brings Lynch’s Dune back to life with an impressive special edition, including a crisp new 4K UHD disc. The film is newly remastered in 4K from the camera negative and has never looked better on home video. Audiophiles can choose from a new DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track, or the original uncompressed stereo, which still sounds great. As usual, Arrow has provided some new in-depth special features, as well as porting over many of the extras from previous home video releases.

The best of these features are included on the bonus disc from the limited edition set; Prophecy Fulfilled: Scoring Dune goes behind the scenes with members of the band Toto, who composed the film’s stirring soundtrack (along with Brian Eno, who provided a more ethereal touch). It’s worth shelling out for this set just for another new featurette, Beyond Imagination: Merchandising Dune. The nostalgic featurette with Brian Sillman (of Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us) showcases the huge array of merchandise created for this decidedly adult film including a slew of elaborate toys that promptly ended up in discount bins, making them incredibly collectible today. This short documentary really gets to the heart of the whole paradox of Lynch’s Dune; this was a heady and incredibly strange political sci-fi epic that the studio thought would appeal to young boys still obsessing over Han Solo and Bob Fett.

Dune completely failed to live up to those impossibly lofty expectations. Considered a box-office and critical failure for decades, its poor reputation was hampered even further by Lynch disowning the film due to studio interference in the final product. With all that in mind, this version of Dune is now ripe for discovery as the spice begins to flow into theatres once again.

Arrow Video has delivered a thorough special edition Lynch’s Dune, even if it is, unfortunately, missing the previously announced new documentary that was ultimately cut from the release. There are a pair of solid new commentary tracks (featuring film historian Paul M. Sammon and Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast), new special features that help place the film and its reception in context, a 60-page book with new essays and vintage material, and even an added art book if you grab the steelbook limited edition (which comes highly recommended, if you can still find it).

David Lynch’s Dune definitely has its issues, but this new release at least provides the film’s best audio and visual representation to date, along with in-depth extras that help make sense of the film we got and also what could have been had Lynch’s imagination been allowed to truly run free.

Dune is available now on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Arrow Video. Order the set here.

Special Features:

Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative
60-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by Andrew Nette, Christian McCrea and Charlie Brigden, an American Cinematographer interview with sound designer Alan Splet from 1984, excerpts from an interview with the director from Chris Rodley’s book Lynch on Lynch and a Dune Terminology glossary from the original release
100-page perfect-bound book featuring original pre-production concepts and designs by Anthony Masters and Ron Miller, and an interview with Masters from the film’s press kit
Large fold-out double-sided poster featuring original theatrical poster artwork
Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
Limited edition SteelBook housed in Deluxe rigid packaging, both with original theatrical artwork

DISCS ONE & TWO – FEATURE & EXTRAS (BLU-RAY + 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)

4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray™ presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) and High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new audio commentary by film historian Paul M. Sammon
Brand new audio commentary by Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast
Impressions of Dune, a 2003 documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with star Kyle MacLachlan, producer Raffaella de Laurentiis, cinematographer Freddie Francis, editor Antony Gibbs and many others
Designing Dune, a 2005 featurette looking back at the work of production designer Anthony Masters
Dune FX, a 2005 featurette exploring the special effects in the film
Dune Models & Miniatures, a 2005 featurette focusing on the model effects in the film
Dune Costumes, a 2005 featurette looking at the elaborate costume designs seen in the film
Thirteen deleted scenes from the film, with a 2005 introduction by Raffaella de Laurentiis
Destination Dune, a 1983 featurette originally produced to promote the film at conventions and publicity events
Theatrical trailers and TV spots
Extensive image galleries, including hundreds of still photos

DISC THREE – BONUS DISC (BLU-RAY)

Beyond Imagination: Merchandising Dune, a brand new featurette exploring the merchandise created to promote the film, featuring toy collector/producer Brian Sillman (The Toys That Made Us)
Prophecy Fulfilled: Scoring Dune, a brand new featurette on the film’s music score, featuring interviews with Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro, and film music historian Tim Greiving
Brand new interview with make-up effects artist Giannetto de Rossi, filmed in 2020
Archive interview with production coordinator Golda Offenheim, filmed in 2003
Archive interview with star Paul Smith, filmed in 2008
Archive interview with make-up effects artist Christopher Tucker