In 2016 Netflix collaborated with Dreamworks to bring us Volton: Legendary Defender, a reboot of the Voltron series which first debuted back in 1984.
It’s true what they say, classics never die, especially in the day and age of reboots, and Netflix.
The history of the whole show is too much to go into here, especially as we’re all only really here to talk about Virginia Madsen, and the part she plays in the Voltrons history is only about 10 minutes of actual screen time. And, honestly I’m not the best person to talk to about Voltron at the best of times.
Technically, not even screen time, it’s voice time….
Virginia’s sultry tones can be heard in the third season of Voltron: Legendary Defender episode “Hole in the Sky”. She voices Commander Hira.Commander Hira comes from an alternate reality in which the roles of the heroes and villains of the regular Voltron universe have been reversed. It takes the regular heroes a few minutes to catch up with what exactly is going on, but when they do they aren’t at all impressed.
Virginia Madsen does her cartoon villain thing here, she seems to have a thing for doing these kinds of roles on cartoons looking back at her work in the DC Universe with Justice League (and Unlimited) and Stuart Little 3. I get a very real sense she revels in this kind of thing. It’s a very calm, collected and even calculated presence she gives Hira, quite unnerving when the truth about what they are doing is revealed with the mind control stuff. It’s a subtle, and chilling performance for sure. It’s all effortless, like she’s taking a Sunday stroll through the park with her dog.
Availability:
Well, it’s on Netflix for sure – How long is anyone’s guess, it was supposed to be retiring this year in 2024, but as of the time of writing (October) it’s still on no warnings that it’s leaving anytime soon.
Unlike other Netflix shows you can purchase the DVDs for the series, although I could only find them on Reigon 1 DVDs which means you’ll have to be in the US or have a multi-region DVD player to watch them.
JLU is of course a part of the same animated universe, it’s a continuation of it – And it’s one that over its run managed to keep the high standards as the rest of the shows that came before it. Blending a good mix of action, character development and damn good storytelling JLU widens the scope and the mix of the heroes and brings even the most secondary character into the limelight. Virginia Madsen would this time lend her voice to Roulette AKA Veronica Sinclair, a cunning and manipulative villain who runs an underground fighting ring called Meta-Brawl. She pits super-powered villains and heroes against each other for entertainment, capitalising on their abilities to attract Gotham’s elite. Roulette’s lack of actual superpowers is offset by her ability to manipulate others and organise elaborate and more often than not, dangerous events.
Roulette appears twice in the Justice League Unlimited, the first time is in the second or fourth season episode, depending on which version you have – Either way, the episode is called “The Cat and The Canary”.
Roulette has managed to snag Wildcat to fight in her Meta-Brawl event, he’s feeling a bit redundant these days as he doesn’t actually have any superpowers to speak of and feels he can’t keep up with the other “Supers”. His former protege, Black Canary, finds out about all of this and gets naturally concerned. She drags Green Arrow with her to convince Wildcat that he doesn’t need to do this, or anything, to prove himself. But, before anyone can get a grasp on it all Roulette has set up a fight between Wildcat and Green Arrow.
Obviously, this was never going to end well for Roulette. But, it’s fun to see it play out anyway.
The next time we see Roulette is in the third season (or fifth season) episode, “Grudge Match”.
In Virginia Madsen’s second episode Roulette is back (obviously) with a new, and what she thinks is an improved version of her Meta-Brawl. This time she’s calling it Glamour Slam and just has women doing the fighting. She takes her idea to Lex Luthor and he agrees to let her use some of his mind control technology he’s acquired from Grodd to get some of the Justice League heroines into the ring against their will. Black Canary, Vixen and even Wonder Woman herself all get thrown into the brutal battles for others’ entertainment.It eventually comes down to Huntress to notice something isn’t right with Black Canary and sets about rescuing her from the clutches of Roulette’s mind control.
And, well – Yeah – This goes about as well for Roulette as the first time we saw her.
These pesky villains, do they never learn?Virginia Madsen plays Roulette with an obvious relish. You can tell how much she enjoys these kinds of roles and just has fun with them. For some reason I always imagine her sat in her recording booth with a huge grin on her face as she hams it up.
Availabilty:
Good, no probelm at all finding it on DVD or Blu-Ray. The Blu-Ray I bought from America was Reigon Free as well, so – Bonus.
Give Me an A is a film born out of necessity. It’s not a film that has been years in the making or a script that’s been bouncing around Hollywood for a decade.
[ahem] Before I go any further, let me make it clear: this isn’t a space to debate the political implications of what I say next. This film is a direct response to one of the most heated legal and media debates of the last few years. I fully support the film-makers’ right to express their outrage and defend their stance, but I’m not interested in engaging in conversation about it here. [/ahem]
With that said, let me give you some background on the film:
Roe vs. Wade was a landmark Supreme Court decision made in 1973, recognising a woman’s constitutional right to have an abortion without excessive government interference. It established that women had the right to make personal decisions about their reproductive health, particularly during the first trimester, and it set a legal precedent that protected those rights for nearly 50 years.
The problem?
Roe vs. Wade was overturned in June 2022. For millions of American women, it felt like a slap in the face. A basic human right, to be crystal clear – a freedom over one’s own body – was taken away. To say that this left people in shock is an understatement.
Reactions were varied, but one woman, Natasha Halevi, knew how she wanted to respond. Using her creativity and art, she set out to make a film that tackled the enormity of the decision.
And thus, Give Me an A was born. Conceived and completed in just three months, the film had its first release at the end of September 2022. Quite the impressive feat.
Give Me an A is an anthology film, made up of 16 short films woven into a single narrative. Each short uses a different genre, but the theme remains the same: women’s rights and what it means to have their reproductive rights stripped away. These stories explore where we’ve been, where we are, and where a decision like this could lead.
Breaking up these shorts is a group of cheerleaders. But these aren’t the stereotypical, bubbly cheerleaders you might expect. At the start, they seem happy-go-lucky, but as the films play out, you can see their demeanour shift. They go from passive, excited spectators to determined young women, warriors, even. By the end of the film, there’s no doubt that these girls aren’t here to play.
Virginia Madsen plays their coach, guiding them through this emotional transformation. She’s barely on screen, but her presence still matters. Normally, I might call this a waste of her talent, but in this project, nothing goes to waste. Every contribution feels deliberate and meaningful. It’s an odd film, but a necessary one. The messaging is clear for all. I would hope at least. But here’s where I have my doubts; the people who need to see this most probably won’t watch it. They’re often complicit in their own ignorance, and that’s a real shame. Each short is designed to make people think about what’s right and wrong, but the people that support this film will likely already be on the side of women’s rights.
That said, I believe the film absolutely needs to exist. It’s a beacon of solidarity for the countless women out there who need to know they aren’t alone in their frustrations.
In many ways, this is a film that shouldn’t need to exist. But here we are. I could rant about why that is, but I won’t. And, trust me, I’ve already moderated myself quite a bit while writing this.
Would I recommend this film? All day long to those who should, or need, to see it.
Availability:
Not as great as it should be. It’s available on some VOD channels and as a Blu Ray release courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome.
While I can’t be 100% sure, I’m pretty confident NBC’s The Event was their attempt at jumping on the bandwagon when all the conspiracy shows were hitting the air. It was that time when TV stations were throwing new shows at the wall to see what stuck.
Shows like LOST, 24, Flash Forward, Fringe, Heroes, and Prison Break all had elements of political intrigue, worldwide conspiracies, or extraterrestrial involvement, heck – sometimes a mix of everything, with a splash of a little something extra to give it a spin, or make it edgy.
The Event tried to tick ALL the boxes.
The plot centres on a group of extraterrestrials who crash-landed on Earth in 1944 near the end of World War II. These aliens look human but age at a much slower rate. The U.S. government, fearing what their presence might mean, locked them up in a hidden facility in Alaska called “Inostranka.” Their leader, Sophia Maguire (Laura Innes), represents only a fraction of their population. The rest, known as Sleepers, have lived undetected among humans, quietly influencing world events and waiting for their time to reveal themselves.The big mystery in the show revolves around a major, looming moment, rather ominously referred to simply as “The Event”, that the aliens hint is coming.
We the viewers, are left to speculate as to what exactly that is.
Is it a catastrophe? A hugely uplifting moment for humanity? Who’s a Sleeper? Who can we trust?
Etc.
I’ll admit, I was all in for shows like this for a while. I even own several of them in complete box set form, The Event included. Just the one season, though, at the risk of spoilers, it was one of the doomed ones.
Beyond the global stakes, The Event also focused on personal stories, including one character in particular: Catherine Lewis, played by none other than Virginia Madsen, because, let’s face it, I wouldn’t be talking about this show otherwise. Catherine is the widow of a U.S. senator who died under suspicious circumstances. And we know how shady that can be. While Madsen’s role wasn’t massive, it was pivotal in pushing the government conspiracy into the light. Catherine’s suspicions about her husband’s death became part of a bigger investigation into what the government was hiding about the aliens.
I wouldn’t say we see anything new from Virginia Madsen in this role. Don’t get me wrong, she’s perfect for this kind of part, but it also feels a little like lazy casting. Virginia can do this kind of thing in her sleep, and let’s be real: she can probably act circles around most of the cast. If they’d needed her to carry more of the show, she could’ve done it with ease. The role had plenty of room to grow, and with Virginia Madsen behind the wheel, it would’ve been in safe hands.
But, alas, the show was cancelled, and Catherine’s character arc was cut short, along with everyone else’s. Another TV show that asked way more questions than we’ll ever get answers for. Is it worth watching? That’s not an easy one to answer. It’s good, and I did like it – But it’s one of those shows where the cancellation hurts. Too many questions, not enough answers. It’s probably not worth putting yourself through the emotional wringer, knowing there’s no closure.
That said, watch it if you like. You’ll probably enjoy it if you’re into this kind of thing. Just don’t come looking for me when you’re hitting forums, searching for what could’ve been.
Dead Rising Watchtower is an original film from Crackle made in 2015 back when it was still a SONY thing. It’s based around the Dead Rising games from CAPCOM which was first released in 2006.
The game would have moderate success and spawn several sequels and add ons for those sequels. The first game’s protagonist, Frank West, would prove popular with audiences, being more of an everyday man than your typical gaming hero. He’s tough, gritty, grizzled, gnarly and is a photojournalist who also sports a wicked sense of humour, he’d be more relatable to most other gaming leads at the time.
Dead Rising Watchtower is not based specifically on any of the games, but instead places itself between the second and third games timeline wise.
It’s not the most original ever zombie film – Not necessarily a bad thing, I mean – There is only so much you can do with a zombie outbreak. Even the first Dead Rising game wasn’t the most original concept in the world other than its uniqueish gameplay element of being against the clock. The characters in the film are mostly new characters for the film. The main protagonist of the first game, Frank West does feature as a supporting character but he’s not really a part of the main plot other than to provide a sort of commentary.
Virginia Madsen plays Maggie, she’s an original character for the film, although she does share some similarities to characters from the games universe. Of course, this isn’t Virginia’s first dance with Zombies, oh no. She faced off against them once before in the 1987 film, Zombie High. Well, kinda.
Can Dead Rising Watchtower fix the sins of the past and reinvigorate the world’s trust in Virginia Madsen zombie films? Can it reassure the world that all films based on video games aren’t terrible?
Well. Uhm. Erm.
Anyway…The film deals with the Zombie outbreak after it began. Internet Reporter Chase Cater (Jesse Metcalfe) alongside his Camera Operator Jordan Blair (Keegan Connor Tracy) are covering stories of people who are escaping the latest outbreak of the Zombie virus in East Mission, Oregon.
It’ll be no surprise for anyone to learn that things go wrong, the military get involved with some shady behind the scene population control stuff and it all kind of goes downhill from there.
I’ve said and or complained about films wasting Virginia Madsen’s talents before, and this one is no different. If you’ve seen the film, then you’ll know how hard this is to say without spoiling anything, and if you’ve not seen the film then thank me for this later;
Her death scene. That scene had no place in this movie. That scene should have been in a far better movie then this. That scene was both a waste of talent and a good movie scene.
Damn.
But, bonus Zombie Virginia Madsen afterwards…But, still… Bad and sad times indeed…
I say her talents are wasted in context of the spoiler, but truth be told she’s the adult in the room on this one and while none of the acting is particularly bad the main cast is made up of familiar faces from TV in similar roles to what you normally see them in, not a bad thing but not in the same league as Virginia Madsen either.
The movie itself isn’t that bad as far as films based on video games go. I mean, it’s unlikely it was ever going to be winning any awards, but the story is decent enough and fits in well with the universe it inherits from the games. It’s also fair to point out that the film can be enjoyed without any knowledge of the games, it does a good job of this.
It’s pretty easy to reccomend this if you’re a fan of Virginia Madsen, zombies and or video games, it’s not going to bore you to death and easily passes the time. There are far worse films from both genres you could be watching.
Even if you aren’t then it’s still a passable way to kill some time. And, if you do like this one then there is a sequel to be watched as well in the form of Dead Rising: Endgame. No Virginia Madsen in that one though I’m afraid…
Availability:
Good. Easy to find on DVD and Blu-Ray at the time of writing, and for cheap. Some streaming services also have to watch, rent or buy depending on your location or access to a VPN.
The Swamp Thing TV show is, at the time of writing, Virginia Madsen’s latest foray into the DC Universe, only this time it’s of the live action flavour. Albeit a short lived one.
Originally commissioned for the short lived DC Universe VOD channel the show made it’s debut in 2019 for ten episodes. The show’s cancellation was announced before it had completed its run. So, pretty much dead on arrival. Great.
And, it’s a shame as it was actually pretty good. I’ve mentioned, several times now, how I’m a fan of DC over Marvel, in the comic book world at least, and a lot of the DC Universe shows were actually right up my street, Titans more than any of the others, but, yeah. What could have been. The comic book Swamp Thing is a character that has been around since 1971, a creation of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. Len Wein would probably be more famous as the co-creator of Wolverine than Swamp Thing in case you’re thinking you know the name.
The TV version of the show follows Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed) as she returns home to Louisiana to investigate a virus that seems to be originating in a swamp. A scientist who is also on the case, Alec Holland (Andy Bean), dies tragically but Abby suspects things aren’t what they first appear to be. And she’d be right, funnily enough. Alec, as it turns out has become the titular Swamp Thing, kind of. His memories have at least.
Ohhhhhhhhhh. It’s a comic thing – You have to watch it so I don’t have to go all explain and get myself in a twist trying to do it justice and not spoil anything at the same time.
Virginia Madsen plays Maria Sunderland, a renamed for the TV show character, she’s better known as Bubbles Sunderland in the comic world. Thankfully, she also gets to show off her talents in this one, even if you aren’t a fan of the show itself and just want a taste of what Virginia offered then the fifth episode, “Drive All Night” is the one to watch. We already know the show is dead in the water, well, swamp – But is it worth a watch?
Well. Yeah. I’d say so – Most of the events are wrapped up nicely, just remember to switch it off when the end credits roll…
Plus, there is always the chance with these things that the characters / actors will move on even if the show doesn’t, look at Constantine and The Legends of Tomorrow, and more recently the Dead Boy Detectives from the equally cancelled DC Universe project Doom Patrol who have found their way into the Netflix show of the same name as sort of spin off of their Sandman universe.
Star Trek surely needs no introduction, unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past, well nearly 60 years at this point, then you’ll have at least heard of it. Getting to appear in the show was a bonus for Virginia Madsen as a long time fan.
Star Trek: Voyager was the 4th spin off from the main series. It followed the adventures of the USS Voyager, a spaceship that was flung to another galaxy by a mysterious entity.
Captain Kathryn Janeway runs the ship with a crew made up of a mix of Federation and Marquis crew members, and the off stray they picked up along the way. Her First Officer is Chakotay, an ex-leader of the Marquis.The show follows the adventures of the ship’s crew as they make their way home.
I do like Star Trek and have seen every episode at least once, I think I’ve watched Voyager through at least twice. For a show set so far into the future it tends to date quite quickly but it’s always a fun watch if nothing else.
In the twenty second episode called Unforgettable, of the fourth Season broadcast on April 22 1998 on the (now defunct) United Paramount Network Virginia Madsen would play a guest role on the show. She’d play alien Kellin from a species known as Ramuran. The Ramurans have a unique biochemical trait that stops anything biological, and technological from retaining memories of them for more than a few hours.The crew come across Kellin when she requests asylum aboard the ship, she hails them and speaks to them as though she is already familiar with the ship and the crew, much to the bemusement of the crew. She specifically asks for Chakotay.
Once on board she explains to the crew that they actually first met a month ago, but they’ve lost all memory of her. She’s examined by The Doctor (Robert Picardo) who is confused by the readings he isn’t getting from Kelllin.
Kelllin tells Chakotay about their species and their ability to be forgotten by everything. The crew do their thang and find evidence to support her claims. The ever sceptical Tuvok (Tim Russ) and the suspicous of everything Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) It turns out when they first met she and Chakotay had quite the fling going. She’s returned to Voyage because she’s decided she wants out of the Ramurans way and make a life with him, Chakotay doesn’t remember but after spending time with Keelin he soon realises that she could easily be telling the truth and finds himself with feelings for her, again.
Before long she is tracked by another Ramurans who intends to being her back into the fold, they attack Voyager but they are able to get away thanks to some modifications Kelllin makes to the ship. Immediately after the attack Captain Janeway grants her asylum.
Chakotay and Kellin rekindle their romance but just as though it looks as though they are going to have a happy ending, another Ramuran, Curneth (Michael Canavan), beams in and shoots Kellin with a special weapon that makes her forget everyone. The inverse of what normally happens with their species. Shortly after being shot, Kellin is unable to remember Chakotay or the crew of Voyager, Kellin agrees to return back to her people. Chakotay doesn’t want her to leave but she promises he’ll forget all about him and goes on her way. Refusing to accept this Chakotay writes down his memories of her with pen and paper to always remember his time with her.
It’s a very middle of the road episode as far as it goes. It’s certainly watchable but it was never going to win any awards as the best of the bunch. Of course Virginia has worked with Robert Picardo before in the TV Movie A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story where he played her attorney, David Lewis. Also Robert Beltran in Slam Dance, but given her minor role in that and no shared screen time I don’t know if they’ll have even met.
Virginia’s character is likeable enough and she gets to show a soft and an almost comedic side of her acting skills “Can I have your pudding?” she coyly asks at the end of a slightly heated debate between her and Chakotay as a way to defuse the situation. She is of course totally believable in her role, the highs and lows such a role can afford in well established show like Voyager. Again, no awards to be won but way better than some other big name guest stars they had over the years.
Virginia Madsen is a self confessed Trekkie, so she loved being able to play a part in the show, no matter how small. Speaking with The AV Club and Will Harris she’d say;
“That was a dream come true, because I was a huge Star Trek fan. I mean, I still am, but I was a fanatical Star Trek fan. I had a giant life-sized cutout of [William] Shatner well into my 20s. And my first live-in boyfriend was like, “Darling, are you really going to bring Shatner into our new home?” I was like, “Oh, uh… just for fun?” “No, no, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” [Laughs.] I’m just kidding. But not much.
That was the earliest call time I’d ever had on a show. It was at 2:43 a.m., because I had to put on those… well, they were kind of like Vulcan ears. But it was cool! I got to be on the bridge during a battle, doing the thing where you bob and weave, I got to beam in and beam out, I had my own phaser, I had my own quarters, I went to sick bay and was scanned by a tricorder, and in one scene that got cut out? I went into a Jefferies tube, thank you very much.”
Also, a bonus repairing of Virginia Madsen and Tim Russ who previously worked together on Fire with Fire back in the day. There is a joke somewhere about it being a small world even in the Delta Quadrant, but I can’t find it.
Availability:
Good. The show is more or less freely available on DVD, you’ll probably have to buy the whole season if you want to own the episode but it’s cheap enough these days. Netflix currently carry the Series in the UK so if you have a Subscription there you can watch it as part of that.
Trailer:
Not for this particular episode unfortunately.
Ahhhh. Earth 2. This is one of those that separate the Men from the Boys when it comes to collecting, I guess.
Why?
Because Virginia is basically an extra in one episode in this show. She makes her appearance in Season 1 Episode 8.
I say Season 1, but there was only one season. The show was cancelled before it got the chance to get going. It aired in the US between November 1994 and June 1995.
The show is set in 2192, the human race has abandoned planet Earth and started setting other colonies in the galaxy in space stations. The show follows one of these expeditions known as The Eden Project on their to an Earth like planet known as G889.
It’s one of those shows that people always complain got cancelled before it’s time. Those Networks, we’ve all had shows cancelled on us we care about it and it royally sucks.
It’s obviously hard to comment on Virginia in this one, I mean – Yeah – She dances well enough…
Availability:
Not bad as it goes. It can be found quite easily on Region 1 and 2 DVD’s. It’s worth noting that the episode order is wrong on the Region 1 release but correct on the Region 2.
(Fan Made) Trailer:
Now then. Zombie High. Where to start, or even – What to say?
So. Zombie High, is a horror comedy from 1987, It’s also known as The School That Ate My Brain.
And, you’ll wish someone would actually eat your brain as you watch this one. If you watch this one, I wouldn’t recommend it. I mean, I like “bad” films, but this is, terrible.
Virginia Madsen takes on the role of Andrea who gets a scholarship to a prestigious school, Ettinger. However, it quickly comes to her attention that everything at the school might not actually be as it should be.The plot is, I don’t know to be honest – I won’t lie, I picked up the recent re-release of this on Blu-Ray and tried to watch it but I could only get so far before my interest fell off a cliff. I mean it when I say it’s not even a good bad movie to watch. I know there are some people who get some kind of kick out of this kind of movie, but that isn’t me.
The basic idea is that Andrea starts at a new school with her boyfriend, Barry (James Wilder). It’s not long before they discover a plot to turn all the unruly students into model citizens of society by swapping out their brains.
I know I gave Class some stick, but this is much more the kind of “first film” you’d expect to see from an up and coming actress. Virginia Madsen already had Electric Dreams and Dune under her belt before she signed on for this.
There aren’t even any real Zombies in it, it’s more a Stepford Wives kind of deal with the students of the school being “changed”.
To be fair, and for what it’s worth – Virginia Madsen does seem to play it relatively straight in this one, she’s not dialling it in as much as you might think. From the bits I saw (I obviously paid more attention when she was on screen) she does a more than competent job and makes the most out of what she’s got to work with. Not exactly the best place to advertise her acting skills, but I guess it shows a good work attitude / ethic if nothing else.But, I can safely say this one confuses me. I mean, there are other films where I can’t help but wonder “why?” that she’s been in over the years but this one truly boggles my mind. Did she lose a bet?
She’s not on her own to be fair, Sherilyn Fenn, Richard Cox, Paul Feig and quite a few other famous faces from film and TV can be found lurking around in this one.
I’m not going to rip this to pieces here, there are plenty of other sites doing that much better than me with my recent half-watch of this.
To be fair, the film does have its fans as well – I assume it has some kind of following or it wouldn’t have gotten the blu-ray release. For that, at least, I’m grateful, as a collector.
At the risk of repeating myself, I won’t ever understand “why?” though. It had to be the losing a bet thing, right?
Availability:
Not bad if you’re after the Blu-Ray. 88 Films recent release (the one I bought) is still easy to get hold of on all the sites you’d expect, if not there then eBay and Amazon aren’t short of them. Some copies come with a DVD version of the film as well – I couldn’t find a standalone version on DVD, so you might have to get the Blu-Ray just to get the DVD.
I also noticed that the VHS copy isn’t hard to find on eBay either, if that’s your thing. Obviously not as plentiful as the Blu-Ray but it’s worth checking for.
And, if you just want to watch it without fear of commitment then you can also check out YouTube to see what you can find.
Dune is the film that arguably brought Virginia Madsen into the big league and without doubt the biggest film she had worked on up to that point in her career.
She took on the role of Princess Irulan, she wasn’t actually on screen that much but served as the narrator of the film and brought sense to the world of Dune with her opening monologue. Dune is based upon a book of the same name, which would later become a series of books collectively called The Dune Chronicles by author Frank Herbert. The original novel was published in 1965, the last book of the series written by Frank Herbert would be released in 1985 – a year before his death.
For those that don’t know, yes, you in the back, Dune is a massively, visually ambitious sci-fi epic. It’s got political intrigue, space battles, giant sandworms and tells the tale of an intergalactic power struggle over a precious substance called “melange” or “spice,” which extends life and enables space travel.Princess Irulan is the daughter of the Emperor Shaddam IV (played by José Ferrer). In this version of the story mostly seen in the film’s opening narration, giving this dreamy, almost hypnotic exposition about the universe, the spice, and the conflict between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. In the book her role was much bigger. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of her on this version, but it is what it is.
The movie stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, the noble heir who discovers his destiny as the prophesied leader of the desert-dwelling Fremen. There’s a stacked supporting cast, including Patrick Stewart, Max von Sydow, and Sting (yes, Sting).
The book series continues to this day with prequels written by Herbert son and Kevin J. Anderson. Other books in the series have been written by various authors over the years.
David Lynch would take on the task of bringing the epic and complicated story to screen but would soon come to regret his decision for one reason or another. The troubles with the film started in post production when the studio took over editing duties and reduced the film from a 3 hour run time to 2 hours and 15. Quite the cut. The movie was a commercial failure, the budget of $40/$42 million only managed to recoup $30/$37 million. It would however go on to find a new life in the home movie market and over time became a cult classic.
Much has been written about the highs and lows of the film over the years, I don’t need to rehash any of that here. Hell, there has been a literal book written about the whole debacle.
Virginia would come out of the movie relatively unscathed, some of the other cast and crew would have previously wide open doors shut on them. Perhaps it was because of her limited screen time that did her the most favours in this case. Certainly, when reading about the movie in the present day one of the things that people comment positively on is her opening introduction to the movie.
She was cast in the movie without an audition, a rarity both then and now. When asked about the movie in interviews she has mostly good things to say about the experience.
“It was very, very exciting because I got to watch all these extraordinary actors,I had a heartbreaking crush on Patrick Stewart, Sting was running around in a loincloth and Kyle MacLachlan was going through the book with me to help me understand the world I was in.”
It was also a great thrill for her to see herself in such a massive production on the big screen saying;
“It was kind of hard for me to recover from the fact that my face was 25 feet tall in the theatre. That was the coolest thing I could have ever dreamt of as a little girl. There it was. I might not have been Barbara Stanwyck, but there I was. To me, everything about the movie was perfect because I was so proud to be a part of something that big when I was such a sci-fi / fantasy/horror fan. It was very exciting and very beautiful. I wanted to see it again immediately.”
She loved working David Lynch and was allowed, along with the rest of the cast, to watch him edit the movie before it was taken away from him. I’d imagine that being quite the experience for such a new and inexperienced actress.
Availability:
Dune is widely available even today, there have been many releases of it over the years. There is no problem in getting hold of it on DVD or Blu-Ray. There are Special Editions and 4K versions galore.
Though you might have to fight your way past the versions of the newer film(s) to get to it.
Most commonly you can look for the standard version, and the extended version – These are easy to spot if they aren’t already noted by the films running time. And, the extended version is given the Directors credit to Alan Smithee, Mr Lynch apparently wanted nothing more to do with the film at this point even if he did oversee the cut.
Commander Hira comes from an alternate reality in which the roles of the heroes and villains of the regular Voltron universe have been reversed. It takes the regular heroes a few minutes to catch up with what exactly is going on, but when they do they aren’t at all impressed.
It’s a subtle, and chilling performance for sure. It’s all effortless, like she’s taking a Sunday stroll through the park with her dog.
