Mini-Series Review:

Frank Herbert’s Dune – Sci-Fi Channel. Original Air Dates, 12-3 to 12-5 9:00 PM.

Starring William Hurt (Duke Leto Atreides), Alec Newman (Paul Atreidies), Giancarlo Giannini (Emperor Shaddam IV), Uwe Ochsenknecht (Stilgar), Barbora Kodetova (Chani), P.H. Moriarty (Gurney Halleck), Julie Cox (Princess Irulan), Laslo Imre Kisch (Rabban), with Matt Keesler (Feyd Rautha) and Saskia Reeves as The Lady Jessica. Based on the Novel by Frank Herbert. Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro, Music by Graeme Revell, Produced by David Kappes, Written and Directed by John Harrison.

First things first, the obligatory comparison to the David Lynch version, released to theatres in 1984 (which I duly went to on opening day, despite the fact I was only 13 years old.): Is the new mini-series, with it’s state-of-the-art CGI effects better than the sixteen-year old Lynch film? Well that’s like comparing apples to giraffes. Two different things ENTIRELY. The Lynch film is a remarkable piece of filmmaking, and he did the best he could, given the constraints he was under. Still Lynch put together a FANTASTIC cast and managed to make the best of the material, given only a little more than two hours to work with. What Harrison does here, with slightly more than twice the amount of time (remember, it’s just a little over 4 and a half hours without commercials), is put the major events of the film in a more proper context. If you’ve read the book, and/or seen the original film, you have a much better understanding of the mini-series. If not, you’re in deep trouble.

Adaptations are rarely better than their source material, and this version of Dune is no exception. I can only think of M*A*S*H (the Altman film) being better than it’s source material, and that was many, many years ago. Harrison tries to fit the entire tome into his measly four and a half hours, but really, he needs a couple more hours to properly do the material justice. I have heard that there was MUCH more footage shot, and it will most likely show up in a Video/DVD release, which would be good news in this case.

There are some very nice points about this mini-series. The fact that it’s watchable is one. The fact that all the cast is younger and better looking than the Lynch version is another. And there’s none of the classic Lynch gore and weirdness here. I quite enjoyed most of the acting, especially Alec Newman as Paul.

Barbora Kodetova as Chani captured my attention quite nicely, I hope to see more of her in the future. Even William Hurt, who is usually too loopy to be taken seriously anymore, is excellent as the Duke. Unfortunately, I will never forget Kenneth McMillan as the Baron, and Sting as Feyd Rautha in the Lynch version. Otherwise, I think the casting was superb. Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography is top notch, even in the stilted set sequences. Storaro, an Academy Award winning photographer best known for his work on Apocalypse Now, utilizes his skills to make the film look incredibly otherworldly. Graeme Revelle’s musical score is nicely understated as well. Production wise, it’s top notch. I really would have liked to see this on the big screen.

The CGI Special Effects do leave something to be desired. I actually found that the worms, spaceships, etc. looked a little too much like their counterparts in the Lynch version. The CGI Guild Navigator, seen only for a few seconds in the first night, though was incredible. It’s too bad we didn’t see him again. Also, while I liked the overall costume and art design, I didn’t like the way they executed the stillsuits, while they were truer to the book, they weren’t that spectacular.

Of course in an adaptation there’s stuff that they leave out, and unfortunately, the omissions here are especially glaring. There are multiple examples, but the one HUGE problem I have, is that in the first part, we are told that Yueh is the traitor that sets the story into motion. Unfortunately, Harrison has completely left Dr. Yueh out of the narrative to that point, so having him be the traitor is completely pointless to the viewer. Another big problem is that, while Gurney Halleck play a bigger role is excellent, Duncan Idaho disappears, never to return, (perhaps he will in the next mini-series, which Harrison says he plans to do). The Wierding modules are no where to be seen, and the Wierding way (the fighting method that House Atreides teaches the fremen) is only passingly mentioned.

So, the ultimate question, is it worth investing the time to watch this mini-series? I think so, and I’ll probably watch it again (I taped it without commercials). Was it the ultimate Dune series? No, but then, no adaptation is. This is good enough for now.

My Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 stars.