Dune (Box Set) > Reviews > A really good effort at an impossible task

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	fantastic in the areas it's fantastic in, compelling
Disadvantages:	dodgey acting script and cgi in someplaces

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

First Impressions
This box set is a very good interpretation of Frank Herbert’s dune, I read all the books before I watched the films so I had high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed with it. It is well made for the low budget it had, but certain aspects of the films look very cheap, particularly the majority of the CGI. They did concentrate on the important aspects such as the sandworms, city scenes and I thought the spacing guild navigators were a big success. But some bits are so painfully bad, particularly the fight scenes. Please don’t make the mistake of judging this film against David Lynchs that film was terrible in every aspect but more to the point that was a movie this is a mini-series, I don’t think you can compare the two against each other. I really enjoyed these films and highly recommend them especially to dune fans already. I am a huge dune fan and i think if you treat this as a film not as a word for word copy of the books you wont be disappointed.

The Story
Dune is set a couple of thousand years into the future. The most valuable substance in the known universe is Melange, or Spice and is only found on one planet, Arrakis also know as Dune. Arrakis is a barren desert planet occupied by giant sandworms that are highly territorial, so harvesting the spice is a risky operation. Spice is a drug used throughout the imperiam, the Bene Gesserit use it to have visions and other practices, it also lengthens the life span. The known universe is ran by the emperor Shaddam IV of the house Corrino, he’s ruthless and corrupt and on a bit of an ego trip. The great houses have some power over the imperium, they gather in parliament style organisation called the Lansrad.

The Bene Gesserit is a sisterhood that has strict discipline over themselves and their order. They have control over every aspect of their bodies right down to determining the sex of their children on conception. They have highly evolved understanding of human nature and are used as truth sayers by the great houses. They are a force to be reckoned with even though they are portrayed as a bit weak in the films. The other major faction in Dune is the spacing guild, they are mutated creatures that use the spice to fold space and travel through the universe, they hold the monopoly on space travel and their main concern is spice production continues.

The story follows Paul of house Atreides and how he basically overtakes the imperium and becomes somewhat of a god. House Harkonnen, the arch enemy of house Atredies, are malicious and do their best to wipe out house Atreides. They kill the duke, Paul and his mother Jessica flee into the desert, and there they find the fremen, a noble and fierce race of warrior people. They become fremen and as time goes on Paul starts changing due to the spice, he starts having visions of the future and starts to plot his revenge on the imperium and house Harkonnen. With the help of the fremen his jihad changes the very structure of life throughout the known universe.

Genre
This film is a science fiction must have, Dune has taken on a cult status within the community but if you have an interest in foreign places/people, politics, psychology and the like you will enjoy this film. It is watch able if you have never read the books, but you might get a bit lost in places. The target audience is defiantly aimed at fans already as the story line is quite intense as are the books. A lot has been missed out of the story but that’s to be expected in adapting books of that magnitude to film, I personally think they did the adaptation really well. The scenery included in the film is really breath taking and truly makes you think it’s on different worlds. The costume design is fantastic aswell, some designs are way out there but thats the whole point of a sci fi.

The Cast
The casting was either spot on or a total disaster. There are a lot of foreign actors which I think adds to the film as it is a Sci-Fi , Barbora Kodetova as Chani plays her character brilliantly so does Laszlo Imre Kish as Rabban. The worst actor by far was PH Moriarty as Gurney Hallek, He was just so cheesy, I cringed every time he came on-scene. I Didn’t like William Hurt as Duke Leto Atreides, even though he directed the film well I don’t think he’s a good actor. Alec Newman (as Paul Atreides) is probably the best known actor in it, he plays his part brilliantly but I think the script lets him down a lot.
Laura Burton as Alia really is my favorite, she plays the kick ass wee girl with attitude better than any I’ve ever seen. Ian MacNeice as the Baron Harkonnen was fantastic too, I’m not sure if he’s really that big in real life or if he had to wear a fat suit but he really had the stage presence needed to play the baron well. Some of the other actors are Julie Cox as Princess Irulan, Saskia Reeves as Jessica, Jan Vlasak as Thufir Hawat, and Giancarlo Giannini as Emperor Shaddam IV.

The Script
As I said before I think the story is well adapted but the script lets it down in places. Jessica’s character particularly annoyed me, she’s shown as a whimpering housewife, but she’s a strong willed individual trained as a Bene Gesserit. Paul’s script also made him out to be a pissed off winge bag, and although that is a large aspect of his character that’s all they have shown of it. I feel the script is a bit bare in places but it is a long and fast moving story.

This mini series of Frank Herbert’s dune directed by William Hurt, is split into three episodes each lasting about two and a half hours. It was made by twentieth century fox in 2001. I believe it was originally made for the Sci-Fi channel. The Box set is well presented with nice photos, in a flippy out style like that of Lord of the Rings. It has a few special features, a movie trailer, a photo gallery and two making of films.