Children Of Dune (EP) (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)The toughest thing about 'Frank Herbert's Dune', presented on the SciFi Channel in 2000, was that all Dune fans knew, just KNEW, there'd be comparisons made between it and David Lynch's theatrical release. Although the strong casting, new-found special effects and costumes made Lynch's version a film to be reckoned with, it still felt unbalanced and lost amidst the deeply textured background world that Frank Herbert created.
The 2000 miniseries gave us more of the actually pages of Dune translated to the screen, but it's acting, costumes and special effects were lacking.
So, to my surprise, what should appear but a new miniseries with reprising roles and some new cast members for Frank Herbert's Children of Dune on the SciFi Channel. Goodbye comparisons. We entered new screenplay territory since no theatrical version of any other Herbert novels has ever made it out to the public.
A wonderful presentation, Frank Herbert's Children of Dune combines the Dune Messiah and Children of Dune novels into this new miniseries and does so with one graceful motion. Well, almost graceful.
I don't know WHY the SciFi Channel feels the need to keep a "big name" in these films. William Hurt didn't aid the first miniseries with his 'Hurtful' acting. Likewise, I felt Mrs. Sarandon did nothing to aid in the release of this film/mini. Her character was cardboardish and dull. No action involving her at all. Nothing that seemed to help move the storyline along.
Uncharacteristically (and thankfully) Alec Newman reprises his role as Paul (and the new Preacher) and does so with powerfully strong acting (the exact opposite of what I saw from him in the original miniseries). Julie Cox was wonderful as Irulan, Jessica Krige excellently portrayed an aging Lady Jessica, and James McAvoy WAS Leto II. Jessica Brooks balanced the role of Ghanima perfectly by playing Leto's twin sister. And Daniela Amavia was P-E-R-F-E-C-T as the possessed and tortured Alia (preborn sister of Paul). She's also quite an atractive lady.
The costumes (thankfully) were also 'toned-down' a bit, so the large head-dresses and triangular suit attachments are gone. The budget for the special effects were increased (to great advantage). Loved the worms, the thopters, Alia's temple. Wonderful cinematography utilizing blue screens.
And the BIG shocker: the musical score! Brian Tyler! You the man! A true triumph as far as scores go, the music presented in this miniseries is sure to make the soul soar, or plummet into the Great Erg as appropriately presented by Mr. Tyler's score.
This miniseries is the new 5 star TV production for the SciFi Channel, and rightfully so. A presentation worth owning...on DVD.

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Frank Herbert's Dune (TV Miniseries) (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)After seeing this miniseries and the original David Lynch theatrical release, I felt compelled to read the book and settle some plot inconsistencies (i.e. where did the weirding weapons go and where the heck was Duncan Idaho really supposed to die? In the Atreides compound during the initial Harkonnen attack or blown to bits by Harkonnen patrols in the desert spiriting Paul and his mother to safety?). The Sci-Fi series got it right.
I did not find Allec Newman annoying as some people did. Sure, he was wooden, but Paul was schooled in the controlling of his own emotions by his mother so that they did not betray him. After the Harkonnen attack his ruthless, unemotional behavior became more pronounced as he was immersed in the grim Fremen culture.
In terms of following the original story, the Sci-Fi Channel series is superior to Lynch's version. Sure, nobody seems to be able to get the fact that Paul Atreides is supposed to be 14-15 when the story starts and that he is described as being much darker complected than either actor who has played him in the past, but things actually happened in the sequence they were supposed to in the miniseries. People die where they are supposed to and events take place in the proper sequence.
Another nice element of the miniseries was the use of knives. Everybody has knives in the miniseries, just like in the book, where knives play an important part of Fremen culture. In the miniseries, characters are more likely to duke it out up close with knives than shoot blasts from weirding modules (which aren't even in the book).
Karel Dobry's Dr. Kynes and P.H. Moriarty's Gurney Halleck (characters who, despite their importance to Herbert's original story, were glossed over in Lynch's version of "Dune") are both given the attention they deserve in the miniseries. I thought both actors did well, as did the actor who played Stilgar (Uwe Ochsenknecht). I liked both Ochsenknecht and Dobry's quiet, understated menace. Despite their lack of emotion and stoic demeanor, you could instantly recognize them as the most dangerous men in the room. In the miniseries Gurney Halleck looks and feels like the battle-hardened ex-slave who would die for his Duke. If anything, Patrick Stewart's portrayal in the movie (when his character was on screen) was too "clean" to be Gurney Halleck.
Hey, Raban even had some dialogue in the miniseries (like he did in the book) instead of wandering around and giggling perversely while eating some indescribable meat product like he did in Lynch's movie. Feyd even gets to do things in the miniseries besides offering Sting's characteristic leer of the Lynch interpretation. Sure, his clothes stunk in the miniseries, but he was shown as being much more dangerous (both physically and mentally) in the miniseries than Sting was in the movie version. Stepping out of a steam-bath and cocking on eyebrow on cue don't concern me as much as the man who looks harmless and has terrible fashion sense, but is a cold-blooded killer. Ian McNiece surprised me as Baron Harknonnen, since I'm used to him in more effeminate, comedic roles. I thought he did a fine job as the Baron, mixing the vicious with the pathetic (now if only I hadn't seen quite so much of him wearing nothing but his suspensor harness...).
The miniseries does have its weaknesses. Once again, the actor who played Yueh fell short. I never once saw the tattoo Yueh had on his forehead that signified his imperial conditioning. How many times is this blasted tattoo mentioned in the book? William Hurt has as much intensity as a corpse. I do think that Lynch's movie made the Bene Gesserit more menacing with their bald heads and black gowns. The Bene Gesserit attire of the miniseries was laughable. In fact, hats were pretty terrible throughout the series. I also like Lynch's interpretation of guild navigators and Harkonnen "garbage bags with green eyeholes" shock troops. However, other visual elements, like the stillsuits (the primary wardrobe of the second half of the story) and vehicles, are more accurate in the Sci-Fi miniseries.
Is it perfect? No. Was it enough to cause me to buy a copy of the book to find out if they did a better/worse job? Yes. Is it more faithful to the original story? Yes.

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