Dune [miniseries on DVD]

Dune
[DVD Dune]

I was very pleased to see that the library had purchased this DVD edition of the 2000 television miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic novel Dune. Although the 1984 feature film version of Dune, directed by David Lynch, and starring Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, had its good points, it was a flawed production overall. This 2000 version, done as a 4-hour mini-series for the SciFi Channel, features a cast of lesser-known actors (with the exceptions of William Hurt as Duke Leto Atreides and Giancarlo Giannini as the Emperor Shaddam), but the production values were excellent and Alec Newman turns in a powerful performance as Paul Atreides, the man destined to become Muad'dib. The four-hour length gives the story plenty of room to stretch and be more fully fleshed-out than the 1984 version. The special effects, costumes and soundtrack are all exceptional. I highly recommend this both for long-time sci-fi fans, and also for those just wanting to see what a good science fiction adaptation film can be. This miniseries was followed up with a second, which adapted the 2nd and 3rd Dune books into a single production -- some fans consider that to be superior even to this Dune, however I had problems with it. However, I don't have any problems with Dune -- definitely worth your time! [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to compare this to the highly-stylized 1984 film, linked above. I think this is an improvement.] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [Subscribe to Scott's monthly booklist newsletter It's All Geek to Me! - on the Books, Movies & More newsletter sign-up page].

 [Also available, obviously, are the classic novels by Frank Herbert upon which this mini-series and film are based.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ]
 
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