Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

WakenPayne After reading the Frank Herbert novel I watched both versions you can get of the David Lynch movie and the Theatrical cut was horrible, the extended cut was a guilty pleasure of mine. So I also decided to watch the Dune mini series as well because I think that 4½ hours could have actually told the story better then the Lynch movie and suffice to say, it did but there are still some problems.The plot is that Duke Leto Atreides and his son Paul are on a desert planet called Arrakis to sort out the production of a spice which is also the most valuable resource in the universe. But it's a plot by the Emperor of the known universe to have the rivals to the Atreides, the Harkonnens to attack and kill them because the Emperor felt Leto was getting more popular then him. This causes Paul and his mother to go on the run into the Desert where the natives of Arrakis are in order to rise up against the unfair rule the Harkonnens are enforcing.While this does tell the story better then the David Lynch movie there are still some things that aren't explained. It isn't enough to throw you off guard for the entire movie like Lynch's movie but there are still some things that aren't explained. I would say that and some of the acting and special effects get hokey at times, some of the costume design is just ridiculous to the point of never being able to take them seriously for the entire time they're wearing it.Aside from that this is better then the David Lynch movie in almost every regard. While there are still some problems with the narrative at least enough was told so there is some semblance of character development in there and while I did say the acting was hokey at times for the most part it holds up and in some cases the choices here were better then the ones in the David Lynch movie.All in all while it isn't a perfect adaptation this is actually worthwhile. This has some problems, I'll admit that but it's probably the best adaptation of the original Dune novel out there.

meritcoba "So that was Dune." Henry said with a wry smile. Halfway through the movie they had started a game of backgammon and followed the series in a half hearted way. Then they had enjoyed a Chinese- Indonesian take out diner. Kristl had suggested to order it as it was her time to cook and she had given up on cooking some years ago because she her interpretation of a meal seemed to differ from the tastes of others. Kristl nodded. "It was funny. I mean it almost looked like the movie of Lynch, but with lesser actors, lame dialog and fake landscapes. It was funny but because there is already a movie the series seems a bit superfluous.""Yes.. it is." Kristl said."But we watched it." Henry said."Some movies are very nice as background imagery. You just can follow the whole thing even if you fail to see parts of it. Dune is like that." Kristl nodded."So what is this?" Henry pointed at a white plastic container."It is called babi pangang. Just eat it. I'll mention what was in it after wards.""Not something like monkey flesh or insect bodies?" Henry shuddered."No, it's mundane." Kristl shook her head."Anyway, what was your favorite scene?" Henry asked."Not so much a scene.. more I found the clothes the princess was dressed in pretty. She had the proper figure for these fashion dresses. Same with the emperor. So it's not a particular scene, but more how they were dressed.""Strange to hear that from you. I would not have figured looks were something that interested you." Henry looked Kristl up and down. What he saw was a woman in her mid forties wearing fade jeans trouser, heavy combat boots and a leather jacket that resembled one of those that were the fashion in the eights. Kristl, so Henry thought, has never gone beyond the punk of the eighties.. Fashion wise she was frozen or retro, because everything became retro after a while."The fact I look like left over punker from the eighties, does not mean I have no eye for beauty and fashion. I can not wear it, but I can enjoy looking at it." Kristl laughed, "But what was your memorable scene?""The moment the Harkonnen baron was poisoned by that little girl. It was funny to see the surprised look on his face." Henry laughed and then made gargled sounds. "It is interesting you mention a girl doing that. Because I was not really impressed with the story and specifically with the role of women in the movie.""Ah. Not impressed means usually that you were offended.""That is a good description. The women in the movie have about two roles. Women either are helpless creatures good for breeding or they are backstabbing schemers not above sleeping with someone just to gain an advancement.""Ah.""So, no I was not impressed by the whole. But how did you like the story, Henry?" Kristl said "It was okay, nothing remarkable. I liked the idea of the spice. If I am correct that spice is important because space travel over vast distances at great speed can only be accomplished by using spice because it allows you to see into the future. That is something I remember. It is actually not really mentioned in that series, only that without it you can't travel in space. What do you think?""I think that if the story of the books resembles that of the movie in general outlook then it is a tacky badly written story. Let's take the overall idea: there is an emperor that for reasons unknown puts the noble house Atreides in charge of the single most important planet in the universe, yet he fears the growing influence of those same Atreides to the point that he helps the Harkonnen in regaining the planet through bloody murder and open warfare. What is even more surprising is that the influence and respect that the Atreides have among the houses seems not to translate itself into any noticeable form of power. And then this whole Harkonnen plot is visibly condoned by the emperor and secretly supported by him, but that does not seem to have any repercussion for him or for the Harkonnen. Everything is contrived and would not work in reality. And while I can accept a certainly liberty for a story, it remains reality that determines what is likely to work or not. Fantasy, however pushed it its limits, is limited by reality.""But everything is just unbelievable. The good guys are very good and the bad guys are very bad. And then these fremen are so nonsensical with their system of killing each other of to establish a ruler. It is utter nonsense because no system like that can work. There has never been a society like that because such a society would rip itself apart and the fact that someone is good in fighting does not mean that he(it is always a he) is also good in making decisions or in any other skill that you require to lead a community. Therefore it is overall a badly written nonsensical story.""Hmm.. Lucky it is just a story." Henry said"Yes, it is.""And this series is just superfluous?""Yes, you can watch the movie instead.. it is a lot shorter and better acted and so on and as nonsensical as this series. ""Hah"

ebiros2 This is an incredibly well made mini series. Perhaps the best made miniseries of all time.Dune is obviously about Mars. There are even photos of sand worms like the ones shown on this series taken on Mars. How did Frank Herbert knew all this is the biggest mystery, but there seems to be an underground knowledge about Mars that's been passed down from eons ago as Swift's Gulliver's Travel mentions about the "Two moons of Mars" in his novel that was written hundreds of years ago.But back to Dune, for the budget, the series has incredible special effects, and acting is first class.You really feel that this is happening in Mars, uh sorry, Dune.If you haven't seen it yet, it's really worth your time to look for it, and spend time watching it.

amesmonde After the Harkonnen's processes are no longer deemed satisfactory the Atreides family is requested by the Emperor of planets to oversee the extraction of a precious commodity known as Spice on Arrakis. However, an ongoing feud between Harkonnen and Atreides leads to treachery and double cross. A gifted young adult of the Atreides family after being exiled and thought dead turns to the denizens to restore order, not knowing that he maybe the prophesied messiah.It's not often that a miniseries limitations can be critically overlooked; however, Dune is the exception due to its intriguing multi-layered, character loaded presentation. Should Dune have been made recently with a filmatic look and budget of recent TV series' it may have become an archetype version of Dune.John Harrison's screenplay and direction is at times cleverly subtle, however, on occasion it is bland and clichéd. Notwithstanding much of the scripts highs and lows maybe be courteous of Frank Herbert's inspiring, influential novel source material as it's been around since 1965.The cast donning elaborate costumes are on fine form and wrestle well with Harrison's and Herbert's dialogue. The ensemble include the likes of Giancarlo Giannini, Saskia Reeves and Zuzana Geislerová who plays the creepy Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. Julie Cox is captivating as Princess Irulan Corrino and William Hurt is perfectly cast as the heavy burdened, ill-fated Duke Leto Atreides. Notable is Karel Dobrý who gives a memorable and resonating performance as Dr. Pardot Kynes. Lead Alec Newman as Paul/Muad'Dib carries the story arch and weight of the series successfully.The effects and backdrops vary in quality and execution, some are wonderfully realised and ingeniously produced while others take you out of the moment, comparable in distraction to Ian McNeice's Baron Harkonnen breaking the fourth wall with theatrics to the camera.You can take or leave the actors, special effects, action scenes and sets the real star of the show is the story which can be revisited, dissected or just taken at face value. As with all grand sagas there's a lot going on, with an array of characters to keep track of. Perhaps it may be disappointing to those wanting to see a straightforward space adventure.Nevertheless, through all its short comings it's an epic story on a sweeping scale only hampered by its budget restrictions and occasional delivery.