Dust Devil (1993 film)
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| Dust Devil | |
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| Directed by | Richard Stanley |
| Produced by | Joanne Sellar |
| Written by | Richard Stanley |
| Starring | Zakes Mokae Robert John Burke Chelsea Field |
| Music by | Simon Boswell |
| Distributed by | Miramax |
| Release date(s) | 1993 |
| Running time | 103 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £4,300,000 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Dust Devil is a 1993 horror film written and directed by Richard Stanley. The film was described by one critic as being like "Tarkovsky on acid".[citation needed]
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[edit] Plot
Set largely in the desert in Namibia and South Africa, it concerns a demon which possesses human beings. The film has three interlocking plots, about an abused wife fleeing her husband, her husband's search for her, and the search of a guilt-ridden, elderly black police officer for the perpetrator of a gruesome ritual murder. The plots are woven together in what the writer-director has described as a "spiralling" structure, and come together at the end for an apocalyptic finale.
[edit] Availability
In December 1991, Stanley turned in a 120-minute version of the film, which was subsequently trimmed down to 110. Stanley hoped this version would become the so-called 'European cut', as the US distributor Miramax had the right to re-edit the film for their own market. However, in the spring 1992 the UK-based production company Palace Pictures test-screened a 95-minute cut in Wimbledon, and went bankrupt soon after. The postproduction of the European version was shut down and Stanley lost control of the film.
Meanwhile Miramax exercised their right for a new edit without the director's involvement. The resulting cut, running at 87 minutes, was released in the U.S. on VHS and laserdisc, both in pan&scan. This version was also released in Italy and France, under the respective titles Demoniaca and Le Souffle du Démon. According to Stanley, an even shorter US version was released, with a running time of 68 minutes.
In 1993, Stanley acquired the Miramax print as well as the excised material and self-financed a cut which would resemble his original version. This version, suitably dubbed as The Final Cut, ran at 105 minutes, and is said to be only one sharing most of the scenes and the general storyline with the original cut. It was released on video in the UK by PolyGram, with the co-investor Channel Four airing it in their network on occasion. Stanley has also personally presented it in various film festivals.
The state of things has improved greatly since then, as the German publisher Laser Paradise have released their Dust Devil DVD. It features the Final Cut of the film, basing on the same master as the British VHS. Recently, Optimum Releasing has released a more sophisticated DVD version of the film, basing it on a newer digital master and including a commentary track by the director.
Subversive Cinema will be releasing a special edition DVD in North America in September. Alongside the Final Cut, the release will feature a restored workprint of the original director's cut, running at 114 minutes. Stanley recently has recorded commentaries and interviews not only for the film, but also for three rarely seen documentary films he has directed over the last decade and a half, Voice of the Moon, The Secret Glory and The White Darkness. [1] [2]
[edit] Cast
- John Matshikiza - Joe Niemand
- Robert John Burke - Dust Devil (as Robert Burke)
- Terri Norton - Saarke Haarhoff
- Chelsea Field - Wendy Robinson
- Rufus Swart - Mark Robinson
- William Hootkins - Capt. Beyman
- Zakes Mokae - Ben Mukurob
- Russell Copley - Cpl. Dutoit
- Andre Odendaal - Cpl. Bates
- Luke Cornell - Soldier 1
- Philip Henn - Soldier 2
- Robert Stevenson - Rifle Boy
- Peter Hallr - Marist Monk
- Stephen Earnhart - Camper Driver
- Marianne Sägebrecht - Dr. Leidzinger
