Dune (TV miniseries)

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Frank Herbert's Dune

Directed by	John Harrison
Produced by	Richard P. Rubinstein Mitchell Galin
Written by	Frank Herbert (novel) John Harrison
Starring	William Hurt Alec Newman Saskia Reeves Ian McNeice Julie Cox Giancarlo Giannini
Release date(s)	December 3, 2000
Running time	265 min.
Language	English
Followed by	Children of Dune
IMDb profile

Frank Herbert's Dune was a three-part miniseries based on the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. It was produced by New Amsterdam Entertainment in association with Blixa Film Productktion and Hallmark Entertainment Distribution, and broadcast by the Sci Fi Channel. Written and directed by John Harrison, the series was first broadcast in the USA on December 3, 2000.

1 Adaptation
2 Main Cast
3 Departures from the novel
4 Sequel
5 Awards
6 Trivia
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Adaptation

While many book fans consider the 1984 David Lynch film an unfaithful adaptation, fans have heatedly debated whether the miniseries more truly reflects the philosophical and thematic point of view of the original. Those who consider it to be a more accurate adaptation of the saga than the 1984 film are probably in the majority^{[citation needed]}; however, dissenters contend that the miniseries' deviations from the book are at least as major as those of Lynch's film, and that the latter better conveys the subtleties and nuances of Herbert's novel. Harrison himself has referred to it as a 'faithful interpretation', in which any changes he made served to suggest what Herbert had explained subtly or not at all.

[edit] Main Cast

Actor	Role
William Hurt	Duke Leto Atreides I
Alec Newman	Paul Atreides/Muad'Dib
Saskia Reeves	Lady Jessica Atreides
Ian McNeice	Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
Julie Cox	Princess Irulan Corrino
Giancarlo Giannini	Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV
Barbora Kodetová	Chani (credited as Barbara Kodetová)
Zuzana Geislerová	Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
Jan Vlasák	Thufir Hawat
P.H. Moriarty	Gurney Halleck
Robert Russell	Dr. Yueh
Matt Keeslar	Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen
László I. Kish	Glossu Rabban (credited as Laszlo Imre Kish)
James Watson	Duncan Idaho
Uwe Ochsenknecht	Stilgar
Jan Unger	Piter De Vries
Laura Burton	Alia Atreides
Miroslav Táborský	Count Hasimir Fenring

[edit] Departures from the novel

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Some have taken issue with Alec Newman's portrayal of the Paul Atreides character (particularly in the first part of the film), as an angst-filled, rebellious, petulant teenager, which they consider a contradiction with his portrayal as a mature-beyond-his-years protagonist in Herbert's novel. However, others believe that in the miniseries, Newman's conflicted portrayal is more realistic. Though in the book Paul was 15 to 18 years old, Harrison aged the character to 18 to 22 to increase the quality of the acting for this crucial role [1].

The miniseries also invented an extensive subplot for Princess Irulan, a character who played little part in the plot of the first novel. Harrison felt the need to expand Irulan's role because she played such an important part in later books, and epigraphs from her later writings opened each chapter of Dune. Additionally, the character gave him a window into House Corrino. [2] Besides the aforementioned final scene, the only one of Irulan's appearances based on an actual excerpt from the novel is her visit to Feyd-Rautha. However, in the book it is a different Bene Gesserit, Margot Fenring, who visits the Harkonnen heir, on assignment from the Bene Gesserit to "preserve the bloodline" by retrieving his genetic material (through conception) for their breeding program. The miniseries does not suggest this as Irulan's motive.

The miniseries also boasted some stylistic changes. For example, whereas Herbert's ornithopters were described as truly birdlike in their flight, the miniseries' ornithopters more closely resembled insects. Contention surrounding the 'correct' pronunciation of Herbert's "Fedaykin" aside, the miniseries opted for a Western pronunciation ("Fed-die-kin") as opposed to the Arabic-sounding one used in Lynch's film (which would seem appropriate given the extensive, Arabic-themed terminology in the novel). Some fans were upset by the look of the spice-addicted characters' eyes, believing that the phosphorescent light blue coloring was not consistent with Herbert's description, "blue within blue".

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Sequel

A follow-up miniseries called Frank Herbert's Children of Dune continued the story in 2003, adapting the second and third novels in the series (Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.)

A Director's Cut edition of the mini-series is available on DVD, which contains many additional scenes not in the original televised version. The original televised version is also available.

[edit] Awards

The miniseries won two Emmy Awards in 2001 for Cinematography and Visual effects in a miniseries/movie, as well as being nominated for a third for Sound editing.

[edit] Trivia

Harrison has stated in interviews that actress Alice Krige was his first choice to play Jessica, but she was unavailable and Reeves won the role. Krige would later play the role in the sequel miniseries when Reeves was unavailable.
The miniseries and its sequel were two of the three highest-rated programs ever to be broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel [3].
Julie Cox's narration at the beginning and end of the miniseries reflects Irulan's later role as historian of the Atreides empire.
The miniseries was shot in Univisium (2:1) aspect ratio, although it was broadcast in 16:9.