Comment by deng | Hacker News Reader

Comment by deng | Hacker News Reader

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Exactly this. Lynch would be the first to say that his "Dune" is a failure. The movie is pretty much incomprehensible if you don't know the book. Famously, the first cut was 5 hours long, and he never had a plan how to get the runtime down. I mean, just watch the prologue with the woman talking for 90+ seconds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqvSJp-6qT4

and tell me with a straight face that someone not knowing the book would be able to understand this. It's pure desperation. Don't get me wrong: it's beautifully shot, especially with the in&out-fading of the face, but it does not work to convey the setting of the story. It's simply too much information.

Quite famously, and also in this case, he refuses to even discuss it because this is a place in time he would rather not go to. It must have been traumatic for him. But this failure was a blessing in disguise, as he did this little movie "Blue Velvet" afterwards, and the rest is history. Lynch would not be where he is today without this failure. After "Elephant Man", he was destined to be the next Lucas, but instead, he pretty much defined a new genre.

> prologue with the woman talking for 90+ seconds

There are multiple cuts, and the one I grew up with (I think a VHS recording from cable) instead has a longer introduction [0], with detailed exposition while panning over paintings of its world. Watching it at around 11yo, I found it comprehensible (if bizarre), and compelling, before reading the book years later.

I'll have to look again to see if this cut is finally available in any official capacity; I've only ever managed to find a stitched-together fan edit. It's flawed by any measure (many sets and effects that looked good on VHS don't hold up on HD), but I actually enjoy most of its creative license, and the longer cut mostly holds together IMO, in a way the theatrical doesn't.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7FcJwg6OkA

Lynch hates the extended TV cut with a passion and had no control over it whatsoever. He even went so far as to demand that his credit being removed (he is credited as Alan Smithee/Judas Booth for director/writer). The prologue might make more sense in the TV edit, but I think the execution is pretty bad and ugly. As I've written, while the prologue from the theatrical edit might not make much sense, it's absolutely beautiful to watch.

> I'll have to look again to see if this cut is finally available in any official capacity;

I think you're talking about the three hour extended 'tv' edit? You can find that on DVD, or you could about 15 years ago.

It has a lot more in it, but it's not the most well produced piece. There's at least one "cut away for a reaction from Jessica" shot that's used in two places, for instance.

I hope someone someday finds and digitizes that 5 hour cut - It sounds fascinating and well worth the watch.

> The movie is pretty much incomprehensible

um, isnt that kinda his thing?

or can you explain Lost Highway to me?

Lost Highway is comprehensible on non-linear terms, you can find some interpretations. This is incomprehensible because an actual linear plot was not well conveyed.

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