Dune 

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 7 wins & 9 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
Laura Burton	...	Alia / ... 3 episodes, 2000
Pavel Vokoun	...	Guard 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:

spice | desert planet | dune | giant worm | planetary romance | 

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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:

Not Rated

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:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Milk & Honey Pictures, Evision, New Amsterdam Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

292 min (3 parts) 277 min (Entire series) 272 min (Entire series) 90 min (3 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cinematographer used matte backgrounds for the "exterior" shots, painted on massive fabric sheets. This eliminated the need for location filming in an actual desert.

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Goofs

After the vehicles land at the harvester to pick up its crew, we see the crew run to the 'thopters. When Paul walks back in the 'thopter you see no prints going to the vehicle, only the prints from those who stood outside.

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Quotes

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen: [after Feyd's failed attempt on his life] Tell me, boy, why I shouldn't kill you right here?
[pause]
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen: My brother.

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Alternate Versions

DVD Director's Cut adds scenes to the US television release:

• Aboard the Heighliner, Hawat explains to Paul why he doesn't trust the Bene Gesserit
• Yueh talks to Jessica about his wife's disapperance, foreshadowing and explaining his betrayal.
• Paul finds Kynes in the arboretum, who suggests to Paul that Arrakis' ecology can be changed.
• Extended banquet scene: Paul storms off from the banquet table in a huff over something Irulan said, with additional creepy dialogue from the Guild representative.
• Just before the Harkonnen/Sardaukar raid, Jessica and Leto have a conversation in his office
• Harkonnen gloats to Jessica about his plans for her and Paul.
• Extended scene of Harkonnen gloating over Leto: Leto mumbles "the tooth" before using the poison gas cap.
• Harkonnen has a nightmare about Paul before Feyd wakes him up and informs him about Kynes' survival.
• During Harkonnen's gloating over Kynes, Feyd spits some water.
• Irulan orders Farrah to Giedi Prime to soften up Feyd so she can find out what really happened to Paul.
• Additional Fremen nudity in the Cave of Riches when they're stripping their stillsuits; Chani feels self-conscious when Paul is staring at her and covers her bare breasts
• Farrah is on Feyd's arm when he goes to see Harkonnen about Rabban's senseless slaughtering of Fremen
• Fenring has to convince Shaddam that it's a good idea for Irulan to go to Giedi Prime
• Chani and Jessica have a conversation before Ramallo arrives.
• Fenring and Harkonnen talk about Kynes' whereabouts and Harkonnen architecture after watching Feyd practice for his 100th gladiator bout.
• Additional nudity for Feyd's post-bout bath; after Irulan gets Feyd to talk about Paul and Jessica, she lets Farrah step in to continue the seduction, but Fenring notices Irulan after she slips out.
• Some nudity from the dancing Fremen woman during the sietch tau orgy sequence
• Chani's arrival at Cave of Riches, with Jessica and Leto II waving from a balcony
• After Paul orders Chani to go off to safety with Leto II, he watches them depart and puts on her sayyadina necklace
• Irulan and an Imperial functionary talk about who Muad'dib really is
• The arrival of Harkonnen and Feyd at the Imperial Palace
• The Fedaykin bring Paul to a building filled with Harkonnen prisoners and a Guild representative
• Stilgar explains proper wormriding technique to Paul.
• Exterior shot of two starfighters swooping through the Heighliner fleet over Arrakis to give an idea of the ships' immense size
• Paul sees Leto's ghost after putting his skull in its shrine.

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Connections

Featured in Frank Herbert's Dune: The Lure of Spice (2000)

User Reviews

Almost there...

I've read the Dune books about a dozen times and I have also watched the 1984 movie a few times, and, while it had good ideas, it didn't thrill me. So I decided to give this mini series a try.

The first time I watched it I switched off after hearing Lady Jessica use the Voice for the first time. I disliked the 'spatializer' effects in the movie, and I didn't like them in the series. Months later I decided to give it another try.

I was quite astonished. The series has lots of very strong points.

The Fremen sietches have a very arabian feel to them, just the way they were intended in the books. Having lots of foreign actors added to the overall feel of a universe populated by a race that has split out into different planets. Of course, everyone would speak Galach with their own accent.

The passage to Arrakis is very unique in its approach to the navigators and their skills and I really liked the idea.

Unfortunately it had a few downright flops.

Paul should have been replaced. He is too old, he is too plain and he is way too 2 dimensional. The dream sequences are too unconvincing.

The Voice. It hardly appears in the series, and it's badly done. Trying to copy from the movie as a poor idea. I would have preferred a normal tone of voice, maybe some underlying sound effects and extremely voice trained actors who can snap out harsh commands unexpectedly and at will. The complete denaturalisation the spatializer gives the voice just makes me cringe.

What spoilt it even more was knowing the movie and then watching the series. You find yourself longing for the original Gurney, Leto, Feyd and Paul. Fortunately, you also adore the new Dr Kynes, Chani and Baron Harkonnen.

Finally, as was expected in any adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel that is shorter than 12 hours, I found myself explaining parts of what was going on to my friend, who hadn't read the book.

Overall, it is an excellent series, one to watch and one to buy. It is not perfect, but it is almost there.

Hints for future producers: Skip the spatializer, exploit the arabian and islamic Fremen theme, less technology, Harkonnens are evil, 6 hours are not enough.