Sci-Fi version of DUNE

[dlbpharmd]

I absolutely love this movie! I recently bought the director's cut on DVD. It's so much closer to Herbert's vision, and light-years ahead of the dino de laurentiis movie made years ago.

Anyone else?

[Loredoctor]

Yes! It's fantastic!

[Blue_Spawn]

I completely agree. I saw the 70s version of the movie and found it stupifying. But the mini-series was really awsome....and long.

Also, I thought Children of Dune was really good and somewhat true to its prequel. Although perhaps it consentrated on totaly different things.

[dlbpharmd]

I just don't understand Children of Dune - but then, I haven't read anything of Herbert's other than Dune.

[Fist and Faith]

Yup, love the mini-series!!

[Dragonlily]

I wasn't able to concentrate on the Dune made-for-TV version. It expended its efforts on interior decorating, and hardly made any effort at characterization. Or maybe the actors made an effort at characterization, but weren't able to produce any.

The de Laurentiis version was seamed with quality theater actors who knew how to create mesmerizing characters. For many of them, their Dune performances still stand out in my head as their most enduring work. Francesca Annis, Alicia Witt, Kyle MacLachlan, Leonardo Cimino, Jurgen Prochnow, Richard Jordan, Freddie Jones, Sting (yes, really). Others, like Sian Phillips, Brad Dourif, Jose Ferrer, Sean Young, were as excellent as always.

For many years the SciFi Channel ran a Directors Cut of the de Laurentiis version which removed the most objectionable parts and added footage fleshing out the plot. This is my favorite Dune rewatch.

I expected nothing of the recent Children of Dune mini-series because I thought so poorly of the Dune one. I was pleasantly surprised at what the new director had accomplished. He focused on plot complexities, leaving set decoration to take a back seat as it should. I haven't rewatched it, but expect to enjoy it when I do.

[aTOMiC]

Having watched both versions I have to admit that I prefered the Sci Fi channel mini series. I remember watching the lynch film in the early eighties at the theater. It was at times a bit too sickening (lynch has a flair for such things. I hold up Eraserhead as a fine example of how disturbed he can make you feel. ) Outside of that it was a fine film effort.

[Dragonlily]

The way I heard it, Lynch wanted to remove that sickening section, but the producers insisted on keeping it. When he made his Directors Cut, he removed it.

I know a lot of people like the TV series version, I just don't happen to see the charm.

The focus on Alia, in Children of Dune, now that was good. They put effects to good use, in addition to acting, to show Alia's spiraling degeneration while plots surround and close in on her.

[Michael Giantfriend]

I thought "Frank Herbert's Dune" was passable, nothing more. There were just too many little niggling things that you saw or heard on screen and thought "no, that's not right" or "why did they do that?" For example:

Spoiler

Why did Irulan attend the dinner in the palace at Arrakeen? Irulan was never a major mover in the policies; Shaddam IV took too strict a control over the lives of his children to allow this.
Stilgar was a bit of a nancy boy, and both Stilgar and Chani were far, far too water-fat for Fremen (unless they were Jacurutu Fremen!). The Fremen were tall, thin but with whip-cord muscles, like a long-distance runner.
The Sardaukar were poofy Italianesque rennaisance glamour boys, not the incredibly rough, tough boot-boys Herbert had written. What was with the uniforms? They would have looked more in place dancing a Florentine than massacring Fremen. And what was with calling them Zadaka? Something wrong with the word Saudaukar?
And as for Paul himself! What a whiney little brat he was at the start! "I don't wanna! I don't wanna! You can't make me! Naaaa-naa-naa!" No wonder Reverend Mother Mohaim made him put his hand in the box! I'd have done the same thing!

On the plus point, Ian McNeice was simply magnificent as Baron Harkonnen! He even managed to outdo Kenneth McMillan in the David Lynch version! The bit where Piter kills Yueh was magnificent. Yueh looks up and with his dying breath says, defiantly, "You think you've defeated me?!" The Baron simply smiles and nods, miming the words "Oh, yes!" Marvellous!
And Julie Cox is absolutely gorgeous! :*)

Children of Dune, however, is much better.
To start with, the pronunciations are now much closer to Herbert's ideals (Frank Herbert was asked by David Lynch in '83 what the correct pronunciations were of the various names and words, so what you hear in the movie is what Frank Herbert wrote)
Stephen Berkoff as Stilgar is far more like it! Alia, Jessica, Paul and Duncan/Hayt are far closer here to what they should be (still not perfect, but nobody could ever be!) Leto and Ghanima, despite being about 10 years older than they should, managed to pull off the trick of convincing me that they were indeed brother and sister who shared the combined memories of their ancestors.

Spoiler

But again there were bits that were changed. Why was the most dramatic moment of the entire episode merged into the finale? When the Preacher is giving a sermon, and Alia is in the crowd, wondering if it is Paul or not. The Preacher turns to her as he is leaving and whispers "Do not try to put me in the shade again, Sister". And Alia's world collapses! A wonderful, wonderful moment that is wasted!

Still, they have enough of this right to give me very high hopes of "God Emperor", which I think is approaching pre-production! [/spoiler]

[matrixman]

edit

[Dragonlily]

a specialty channel like Sci-Fi that only a dozen people in the country bothered to subscribe to.

I have the impression that the Sci-Fi Channel is a major cult favorite. The quality of moviemaking varies wildly. There was a completely different philosophy in the making of the Dune and Children Of Dune series. But it has the potential for really good work, a la Children of Dune. (Thank you Giantfriend -- and Matrixman. Both of you said a lot of good stuff.)

It would mean careful picking and choosing of a production team, but SciFi Ch can do off-the-wall situations, like the Elena-Covenant relationship that sunk the first film, for example, in a way that mainstream theater filmmakers can't. Their viewers have different expectations.

Another plus: When SF Ch has what it considers a winner, it can and will air reruns into eternity.

[TIC TAC]

I thought is was pretty neat. The actor portraying Paul seemed to fit my imagination a little better than the dude from the 80's film.

[[Syl]]

Another plus: When SF Ch has what it considers a winner, it can and will air reruns into eternity.

Outweighed by the fact that when they have a show other people consider a winner, they can and will sink it as fast as they can.

[danlo]

I agree that there were problems with the made 4 TV but I did on the whole prefer it to the movie--especially 4 the details and the ending-as opposed to the semi-cartoonish-2 much packed in 2 much omitted ending 2 the movie.

I was amazed and impressed by Children--I'll bump my topic/review on that! (2 avoid confusion I have watched the entire Frank Herbert's Dune since I made the Children post.)

[danlo]

Dang! I was in the Dune topic buried in the middle of Gen. Discussion-anyway, here it is:

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune

Just watched the 1st half, 2 more hours 2 go. I must say I'm very, very impressed so far. I've only seen about 4 scenes of Frank Herbert's Dune (the Sci-Fi channel miniseries) and liked them alot (even tho Baron Harkonnen wasn't fat or ugly enuf). Now I want 2 rush back 2 the video store and watch the entire miniseries. I have a feeling, however, that this is a better overall production. I like Arakeen, the much larger "scope" of the distances btween planets, the navigators and the Ornithopters much better than what was depicted the DeLaurentis movie. Paul and Alia are much more "spiritually" believable 2...The Sandworms are just as good, if not better. Yes it's long but it does incredible justice 2 the book, so far. The twins are very sophisticated, wild and spooky. The only things I liked better in the movie Dune (aside from Harkonnen) were Patrick Stewart as Gurney Halleck and Dean Stockwell as the Dr/Traitor, dang I can never remember his name and lost my books a long time ago.

Part 2:
On the whole I was very impressed, they were some great effects, especially as far as speed, The stone burner, worm-riding, fighting and the "tigers" and then there were some so-so, but still original Star Wars quality, effects. They did an admirable job with all the political machinations, the mad prophet and Alia's madness. If there were any glaring problems w/this movie it might b in the efforts 2 convey how much time has really passed from beginning 2 end. Since the 1st quarter of the movie is, basically, Dune Messiah we r probably looking at 20 years worth of Arrakis' history.

Alice Krige was outstanding as Jessica...and Susan Sarandon played the House Corrino Matron with a nice evil glitter. Daniela Amavia's dynamic Alia held the movie 2gether until James McAvoy (Leto) and Jessica Brooks (Ghanima) took over as the twins. McAvoy did a pretty amazing job! Here's an interesting radio chat Jessica Brooks (what a babe! grrr..) did with Sci Fi. com: Ghanima Atredies

[duchess of malfi]

Oh goody. Our resident spam artists didn't take long to find the site was back up and running, did they?

[Loredoctor]

Ian McNeice was appropriately wicked as the Baron, but for me, Kenneth McMillan's Baron was the embodiment of a nightmare, oozing and spitting his way across the screen.

I though the Baron was weak in the miniseries. In the novel he is a tyrant and a pedophile. That comes across in the Lynch version. In the mini-series he is more of a schemer.

[Avatar]

I never even watched the miniseries past the first episode. Although I have the Lynch movie, it still never did it for me the way the book did.

The book was true epic Sci-Fi with all the qualities I love in epics, rich history, strong sub-themes etc. A movie that could capture all that would probably have to be days long.

--Avatar

[FizbansTalking_Hat]

Have both of these dvds on the shelf, and they're favorites of mine. A lot of people found the effects to be subpar, but to me it was a well thought out series, and what was most important to me was the way the script was adapted from teh story book, and that was first rate. The movie was true to the original vision of Dune that Herbert had in mind and I feel that if he had been alive, he would have appreciated the film, I know that he commented on the Lynch version and he said that he found it unappealing. Cheers though, to each their own.

[kastenessen]

Bought the "Special Edition" of David Lynch's Dune the other day. Nothing special about it besides being the most perfect re-mastered version to date but still the same length as the original. What's interesting is the second disc with extra material. A lot of interviews with producer, actors, cameramen and so on, why and how the movie became as it became. The producer said for instance that it was 5 hour long from the beginning. Who wouldn't want to see those reels! And also an on the set documentary with both David Lynch directing and also Frank Herbert saying that this movie will be a most accurate version of his book. He is holding a slate where it says scene 1, take 1. It's really cool, the whole disc of extramaterial...


kasten