Children of Dune 

The twins of Paul "Muad'dib" Atreides become embroiled in the political landscape of Arrakis ("Dune") and the rest of the universe.

Stars:

Alec Newman, Julie Cox, Ian McNeice

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 8 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Alec Newman	...	Muad'Dib / ... 3 episodes, 2003
Julie Cox	...	Irulan Corrino-Atreides 3 episodes, 2003
Ian McNeice	...	Baron Vladimir Harkonnen 3 episodes, 2003
Steven Berkoff	...	Stilgar 3 episodes, 2003
Daniela Amavia	...	Alia Atreides 3 episodes, 2003
James McAvoy	...	Leto Atreides II 3 episodes, 2003
Susan Sarandon	...	Princess Wensicia Corrino 3 episodes, 2003
Edward Atterton	...	Duncan Idaho 3 episodes, 2003
P.H. Moriarty	...	Guerney Halleck / ... 3 episodes, 2003
Alice Krige	...	Lady Jessica Atreides 3 episodes, 2003
Jessica Brooks	...	Ghanima Atreides 2 episodes, 2003
Rik Young	...	Javid 2 episodes, 2003
Jonathan Bruun	...	Farad'n Corrino 2 episodes, 2003
Karel Dobrý	...	Korba 2 episodes, 2003

Storyline

The twins of Paul "Muad'dib" Atreides become embroiled in the political landscape of Arrakis ("Dune") and the rest of the universe.

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Plot Keywords:

planetary romance | dune | space opera | tv mini series | made for cable tv | 

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Taglines:

The saga of Dune is far from over...

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

16 March 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Milk & Honey Pictures, Blixa Film Produktion GmbH & Co. KG, Hallmark Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

235 min (3 parts) 182 min (2004) (cut) 90 min (3 episodes) 250 min (Entire series)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James McAvoy would later star in another screen adaptation of a fantasy novel. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", which is based on the book by C.S. Lewis. "Children of Dune" is adapted from the novel by Frank Herbert.

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Goofs

Stilgar supposedly slashes Mohiam's throat, but not only does he clearly not touch her at all, his knife is positioned closer to her chest.

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Quotes

Gurney Halleck: My loyalty is to House Atreides.
Leto: Well, I am House Atreides.
Gurney Halleck: And what of your Aunt?
Leto: My Aunt is lost; lost to forces she could not control. Forces that wish to destroy House Atreides.
Gurney Halleck: What have you done to yourself?
Leto: I have made a choice, accepted a destiny, nothing more.
Gurney Halleck: My eyes can see it; but my mind refuses to believe.
Leto: Believe it Gurney. Remember the words of my father and my grandfather, your Duke. They spoke to you of Desert Power. Well, I AM Desert Power, and nothing can stop what is going ...

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #33.11 (2005)

User Reviews

Magnificent Production

Personally I really enjoyed *Children of Dune*. First the major issue about the faithfulness to the books. To quote director Greg Yaitanes; "Try not to get hung up on such details as whether the twins are too old or too young, the eyes are too blue or not blue enough, or that the book says this and we did that. You'll end up robbing yourself of a great experience. The Dune universe is so wonderful because of how human and real its characters are. To not respect that would be the worst offense any of us could make." He's got that straight. This is an adaptation not a re-creation. The screenplay by John Harrison managed to fit in enough of Frank Herbert's vision to remain true to the spirit of the epic Dune saga.

The entire cast, Alec Newman [Paul Muad'Dib], Daniela Amavia [Alia Atreides], Julie Cox [Princess Irulan], Barbaroa Kodetova [Chani], James McAvoy [Leto II], Jessica Brooks [Ghanima], Susan Sarandon [Wensicia Corrino], Alice Krige [Reverend Mother Jessica Atreides], Edward Atterton [Duncan Idaho], Ian McNeice [Baron Harkonnen], Steven Berkoff [Stilgar], P.H. Moriarty [Gurney] and Johathan Bruun [Farad'n Corrino] gave me characters I could relate to as well as care about over the course of the miniseries. I especially enjoyed watching Alice Krige because her ability to convey depth of emotion with facial expressions is a well developed art.

The CGI effects were fantastic. Sharp & crisp. The best I've seen done on television and the use of computer generated 3-D backgrounds added so much stature to the sets. CoD was far superior to *Dune* which used mat backgrounds in terms of it's visuals. The movement of CGI objects like Thopters around CG backgrounds and the use of shadow rendering to add realism were absolutely first rate. As an example the shots of the Thopter landing at the Royal Palace in Arrakeem where the ships shadow moves across buildings then follows it down to the landing pad brought a big smile and a sigh...wow! CoD won an Emmy Award in 2003 (Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or Special).

The costumes by Academy Award winner Theodor Pistek and his son Jan were outstanding. A visual feast for the eyes & the heart. The wedding scene at the Royal Palace was as worthy as any major motion picture costume drama and should have earned another Emmy in the costuming category.

The cinematography by Arthur Reinhart was stunning. The use of High Definition digital cameras instead of standard 35mm film and being shot in 16:9 true LBX format also made it look like a feature film rather that a TV miniseries (the DVD looks great as well). The use of lighting during camera pans over actors faces or on shots as characters moved across sets was again vary well used.

The music score by Brian Tyler was at times dark and moody, then majestic, adding to the grandeur of many of the key scenes where the score helped lift one's feelings to the level of emotion being presented by the actors as the story unfolded on the screen. The background soundtrack as the camera followed characters though the zocalo's of Arrakeem or the desert sietche's added a mystical quality where one could almost smell the food cooking or the incense like fragrance of the Spice Melange.

Overall *Children of Dune* has to rate with the best mini-series' that have ever been produced over the years and may even set a new standard for work being done for television with it's quality production. A 9 out of 10.