Dune (2000– )

A three-part miniseries on politics, betrayal, lust, greed and the coming of a Messiah. Based on Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel.

Stars:

William Hurt, Alec Newman, Giancarlo Giannini

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
William Hurt	...	Duke Leto Atreides (3 episodes, 2000)
Alec Newman	...	Muad'Dib (3 episodes, 2000)
Saskia Reeves	...	Lady Jessica Atreides (3 episodes, 2000)
P.H. Moriarty	...	Gurney Halleck (3 episodes, 2000)
Ian McNeice	...	Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (3 episodes, 2000)
Matt Keeslar	...	Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (3 episodes, 2000)
László I. Kish	...	Glossu Rabban (3 episodes, 2000)
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Padishah - Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (3 episodes, 2000)
Julie Cox	...	Princess Irulan Corrino (3 episodes, 2000)
Uwe Ochsenknecht	...	Stilgar (3 episodes, 2000)
Zuzana Geislerová	...	Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (3 episodes, 2000)
Philip Lenkowsky	...	Guild Agent (3 episodes, 2000)
James Watson	...	Duncan Idaho (2 episodes, 2000)
Miroslav Táborský	...	Count Hasimir Fenring (2 episodes, 2000)
Barbora Kodetová	...	Chani (2 episodes, 2000)
Jakob Schwarz	...	Otheym (2 episodes, 2000)
Karel Dobrý	...	Dr. Pardot Kynes (2 episodes, 2000)
Pavel Cajzl	...	Sardauker Captain (2 episodes, 2000)

Storyline

In the 11th millennium, Shaddam IV, ruler of the Galactic Empire, rids himself of his competitor Duke Leto Atreides by giving him control of the desert planet Dune also called Arrakis; fully aware that its present owner, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, will not give it up without a fight. The reason is that Arrakis is the source of the valuable spice, a substance produced by enormous and dangerous sandworms, which bestows special mental qualities on anyone who consumes it. A short while later Harkonnen does indeed succeed in ambushing and massacring Leto and his men. Leto's mistress Lady Jessica, who is a member of the clairvoyant order of Bene Gesserit, manages to escape into the desert with her son Paul, and after a long and dangerous march they finally encounter the Fremen, the long suppressed desert tribe of Arrakis. Impressed by Paul's clairvoyant abilities, tribal prince Stilgar takes in the fugitives. Very soon the Fremen are convinced that Paul is their long-prophesied redeemer, and...

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Plot Keywords:

desert | baron | planet | emperor | duke | 

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Taglines:

Discover the greatest treasure in the universe.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

SCIFI.COM scifi.com

Country:

USA Canada Germany Italy

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

3 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frank Herbert's Dune

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Evision, New Amsterdam Entertainment, Tandem Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

265 min 292 min (3 parts) 277 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During production, Laura Burton grew so much that near the end of filming her custom-designed contact lenses (designed to help create the Fremen blue eyes effect) no longer fit her properly. They became extremely irritating in later scenes, and during the climactic deposition scene the director asked her to spare herself the discomfort and not wear them at all.

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Goofs

When Paul and his mother are stranded in the desert, Paul has several days' growth of beard. When he is rescued on board the 'thopter and is strapping in, he is clean-shaven. When he arrives at the caves, the beard is back, and when he leaves and is aboard the 'thopter, he is clean-shaven again.

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Quotes

[Repeated line, a prelude to duelling]
Paul Atreides: May your knife chip and shatter.

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #26.11 (2001)

User Reviews

Close, but not perfect

I've seen and own both this version and the original movie version. I have to say there are things I like better about each movie. The mini-series version has much more time in which to tell this very complicated story. However, the writers seem to have felt the need to invent story lines that do not exist in the Frank Herbert books (i.e. Irulan's affair with Feyd). I did enjoy that Irulan had more of a presence in this movie, and I prefer the overall look of this film (the ruddiness reminding more of an arid desert than the cold greyishness of the original movie). I much prefer the miniseries interpretation of what the 'Weirding Way' is, showing it as a technique rather than a device. However, I miss the 'though-overs' from the original movie, and I thought Sting played a much better Feyd. A true Dune fan will need to see both movies...