Directed by:
John HarrisonScreenplay:
John HarrisonCinematography:
Vittorio StoraroComposer:
Graeme RevellCast:
William Hurt, Alec Newman, Saskia Reeves, Ian McNeice, Matt Keeslar, Jan Unger, Giancarlo Giannini, Julie Cox, Miroslav Táborský, Uwe Ochsenknecht (more)Episodes(3)
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Frank Herbert's highly acclaimed 1974 sci-fi novel is stunningly realised in this four-and-a-half hour miniseries produced by the Sci-Fi Channel. William Hurt stars as Duke Leto Atreides, charged to rule the desolate planet Arrakis, the universe's only source of Melange, a spice that enhances mental performance and makes interstellar travel possible. But soon Leto's bitter enemy, the evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Ian McNeice), a former ruler, wins back Arrakis and hands power to his brutal nephew, Rabban. When the Atreides family escape into the inhospitable desert with the help of the Fremen, a race of displaced desert nomads - the strengthening power of Melange enables Paul (Alec Newman), the Duke's son, to organise the oppressed Fremen and wage war on the Empire. (Umbrella Entertainment)
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The special effects are terrible, sometimes truly awful by today's standards, and I don't mean because classic techniques are used, but because they're simply done poorly. But it's still "Dune," and its story is captured fairly faithfully. The problem is that it lacks the depth and impact that the book has; it just tells a story without the same resonance. The presence of Czech actors is nice; of course, Barbora Kodetová impressed me the most, especially because I already loved the character of Chani from the book. It's weak, but I still liked it more than Lynch's version, although Lynch's version has its strong points too.
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Tedious, sometimes boring, sometimes with dodgy effects, but you know, in this case I don't mind it at all. Given the fact that the entire film was shot at Barrandov Studios and that all the desert scenes were shot in one room, those imperfections have their charm. Often you see actors pretending to walk in the desert and right behind them you notice a hanging canvas with painted dunes. There are a lot of moments like that, and picking up on those imperfections is very entertaining on its own. Despite that, I was drawn into the story because “Dune” itself is a great novel and this version sticks to it pretty faithfully. The actors are often rather stilted, but it was nice to see a large number of our actors, of whom Karel Dobrý had an unexpectedly big role. Also, Pištěk’s costume design is great, but that can be expected from him. But like I said, the most entertaining part of the whole film are the cutely imperfect visual effects from our specialists. PS: Having watched it again and re-read the book many years later, I can only conclude that this is probably what Lynch's version was supposed to look like, reverent to the source material.
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