Dune (Box Set) > Reviews > dune comes to the small screen

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Weak
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	length, depth and breadth
Disadvantages:	feels cheap

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Frank Herbert's Dune series is one of the most complicated, involving, detailed science fiction universes ever created. This is the second attempt to bring the original book to the screen the first being the much anticipated but sadly producer ruined David Lynch big screen version.

This version original made for television attempts to encapture the full scope of the book working within the limitations of an obviously tight budget. Trying to describe the story without running into several hundred pages is way beyond my limited means suffice to say it deals with revenge, intrigue, double dealing and back stabbing set in a fully functioning and believable universe.

Given the huge scale of the book the series makes a creditable attempt to potray the events depicted in the source material. There are a few omissions but these don't detract too substantially from the overall feel. The cast is okay, though sadly the actor chosen to potray Paul Atreides is not the most charismatic or dynamic of people. My main complaint is the sheer cheapness of the whole project, the desert scenes are so obviously filmed on a set, laughably the mouse that inspires Paul is made of clay and the Fremen town looks like a badly made childrens model.

If you can put aside those obvious flaws and have some familiarity with the books then you will enjoy viewing this vision of Herbert's universe. The real shame is thinking about how good the Lynch version would have been given his original intention had been to make a series of a similiar length. Curse you Dino de Laurentis!!!