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Title: Frank Herbert’s DUNE Part 1 Reviewed By: Rebecka Goad Writer: John Harrison Director: John Harrison Producer: David Kappes Staring
Actors: William Hurt (Duke
Leto Atreides)
Year Produced: 2000 Length (approx): 2 hours with commercials Rating 1-10: 9 Synopsis: Frank Herbert’s tale of murder, intrigue and political stratagems is set on a rich and varied landscape of Imperial galactic Houses, and the power struggles they take part in. The story begins with Paul Atreides and his mother, the Bene Gesserit “witch”, Jessica, discussing the recent assignment of his father, Duke Leto Atreides to the planet Arrakis. Arrakis, poor desert planet, has only one commodity, that of “spice”. Spice is central to the economy and shipping of the entire Imperium, however, and as such, holds even the Emperor in a stranglehold. When spice production is threatened by the iron-fisted rule of the House Harkonnen, House Atreides is sent in to straighten the mess out, and resume spice production. Paul and his mother must travel to Arrakis, but first the Bené Gesserit priestess tests him to determine whether this man-child is a worthy heir, worthy recipient of his mother’s teachings. When he survives the test, the true test begins: that of surviving the intrigue that House Harkonnen plots against both his father and himself, and the downfall of House Atreides. Arriving on the desert planet, Paul must learn that there is much worth saving in both the Fremen, and their world. Betrayal strikes at the Duke and his son from within their own House, culminating in the attack of the Baron Harkonnen’s men and the death of Duke Leto Atreides. Jessica and Paul find themselves stranded in the desert, only to be rescued by a group of Fremen and Paul’s old friend, Duncan, whose been living among them. Review:
Oh, what can you say about this wonderful movie? The opening CGI
was astounding, and so far, throughout this first installment of the three-part
miniseries, the production values have remained consistently high, much as one
would expect from the Sci-Fi Channel. Having seen this first installment, having
seen it’s predecessor (Dune, 1984, starring Kyle MacLachlan and Virginia Madsen), and having read the book, I must
say that so far, I am impressed with how very closely they are adhering to the
words and intent of Frank Herbert. Sure, there are a few differences, but with a
book as in-depth as Herbert’s, it only stands to reason that some items might
need moderate re-arranging, or paring down, to make it fit into three two-hour
slots. Alec Newman does a wonderful job of capturing the spoiled, oracular Paul Atreides, who does not relish his power of prophetic dreaming, and in fact will not be able to use it to save his father, the Duke (William Hurt). Ian McNeice makes a profoundly evil Baron Harkonnen, and his nephews are two scheming, plotting little clones of himself, making the tension nearly unbearable. Overall, this is a DEFINATE must see. And when it comes out on DVD, I’ll be first in line to buy a copy.
Title: Frank Herbert’s DUNE part 2 Reviewed By: Rebecka Goad Writer: John Harrison Director: John Harrison Producer: David Kappes Staring
Actors:
William Hurt (Duke Leto Atreides)
Year Produced: 2000 Length (approx): 2 hours with commercials Rating 1-10: 8 Synopsis: Both Paul and Jessica survive when the flier their in crashes in a desert storm while evading the Baron’s men, and so begins a long, arduous trek across the dunes in search of more of the Fremen. Paul decides he needs their help to overthrow the Harkonnen regime, and retake the planet. His prophetic dreams are growing in strength and intensity as well, coming now even while he’s awake. It is during one such dream he discovers his mother is pregnant with his unborn sister. After nearly being killed by one of the giant sandworms, they arrive finally at yet another Fremen stronghold, meeting up with Stilgar and the literal woman of Paul’s dreams, Chani. Here Paul is given his first true taste of mortal combat, slaying a belligerent young Fremen, and becoming the “keeper of his body’s water”. Also, this is where he takes the name Maud’ dib, named for a good-sized desert mouse that he first spots there. Jessica and her son introduce the tribe to the “wyrding ways” of hand to hand combat, and Paul begins training his army. He learns of the ultimate plan of the Fremen, to use their hoarded underground cisterns of water to remake the desert into a paradise, which he embraces whole-heartedly. Jessica meets with an old Bene Gesserit missionary, who is the spiritual leader of the people, and drinks the Water of Life, which enables her to see a vision of her own, and to assume the mantle of leadership in the old woman’s place. It is at this critical juncture that Jessica becomes aware of her inadvertent damage to her unborn daughter, and that the Water of Life will alter the child, in much the same way she herself is being changed. Review: In this second installment, I was most impressed with the way they portrayed the hand-to-hand battle to the death, as well as the growing influence Paul garnered with Stilgar and the other tribe leaders. He led their fighters on guerilla strikes, time and again, proving to be quite a thorn in the Harkonnens’ side. Irulan also made another appearance, this time seducing Feyd Harkonnen, the Baron’s nephew, into telling her of the plot to remove the House Atreides line, as well as the fact that neither Jessica’s nor Paul’s body was ever found in the desert. The House Harkonnen becomes strained as Paul interrupts the spice flow, and this only serves to add to his growing renown amongst the Fremen. The scene toward the end, where Jessica (and her unborn daughter) ingests the Water of Life and begin their vision, is quite simply one of the most beautifully done pieces of CGI that I have seen in a dramatic work in some time. Brava, Sci-Fi Channel. Brava.
Title: Frank Herbert’s DUNE part 3 Writer: John Harrison Director: John Harrison Producer: David Kappes Staring
Actors:
William Hurt (Duke
Leto Atreides)
Year Produced: 2000 Length (approx): 2 hours with commercials Rating 1-10: 8 Synopsis:
Paul realizes his destiny, becoming at last the Messianic leader of the
Fremen, as well as a father. His mother now holding the title of Reverend Mother
to the tribes, his younger sister an abomination of great power herself, the
family holds great sway over the people, and growing power in the Imperium as
well from their stranglehold on the "spice", Melange. The Spacing
Guild is in an uproar as Maud 'dib and his people determine, for the first time
in their history, their own destiny and that of their planet. The war heats up between the Fremen and Harkonnen, with the Emperor's men fighting as well on the Harkonnen's side. Paul must lead his desert forces to victory.. and beyond.
Review: I enjoyed the pulse-pounding, edge-of-my-seat drama of the growing war, and the way that it was treated by the producers was a real treat, too: No excessive bloodshed, no rampant gore to detract from what was a beautifully shot sequence. The child Alia (Laura Burton III) was underplayed, perhaps, her full range of wyrding skills not fully evident. Jessica had to take a bit of a back seat, as well, while they concentrated on bringing out the desperation of the final battles, until once again, Arrakis was free.
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