David Lynch’s 1984 Dune was the eccentric auteur’s take on Frank Herbert’s “unfilmable” classic science fiction book series. It was divisive but became a cult film nonetheless, and stars Kyle Machlachlan, Patrick Stewart, Max von Sydow, and Linda Hunt.
As Denis Villeneuve’s masterful films adapting Herbert’s work have reinvigorated interest in the series, there’s now a new appreciation of what Lynch was able to accomplish. He walked without rhythm so Villeneuve could ride the sandworm, as it were. And now thanks to author Max Evry (A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune, An Oral History), there’s been a surprising discovery. As exclusively reported by Nerdist, Evry uncovered a never-before-seen scene that had been cut from the film. He acquired it during his conversations with actress Molly Wryn, whose role as Harah was minimized in the final released version of the film. The actress had kept the footage of her character explaining to Lady Jessica why the Fremen were scared of her super enlightened daughter Alia.
You can check out the scene in Nerdist’s post here, as well as a making-of clip that shows how Nerdist’s Max Caron brought together Evry’s acquired footage with edits to make it more Lynchian. The site notes the scene will be included as a special feature on a new Dune Blu-ray set releasing in April.
Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune, An Oral History is now available.
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