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

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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Strengths of Harrison's TV miniseries interpretation:

* Better character development: especially Duke Leto Atreides (William Hurt), Princess Irulan Corrino (Julie Cox), Padishah-Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (Giancarlo Giannini) and Stilgar (Uwe Ochsenknecht).
* A more comprehensive telling of the story: including the Corrino family, the ordinary lives of the Fremen, the ties between the Harkonnen and Atreides families, and the influence of the Bene Gesserit. Strangely, Paul is never called Usul.
* Better special effects and panoramic views, except for the often-used surrealistic lighting.
* Little use of stock footage scenes, which was often used by Lynch.

Strengths of Lynch's feature film interpretation:
* Better costumes overall, especially the all of the uniforms and Fremen stillsuits, which, unlike the TV miniseries, looked as if they would actually work.
* Better portrayal of the Mentat.
* Hearing the thoughts of the characters added an extra element.
* Better acting overall: especially Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis), Baron Harkonnen's doctor (Leonardo Cimino), Shadout Mapes (Linda Hunt), Paul 'Muad'Dib' Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan), Baron Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan), Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow) and Gurney Halleck (Patrick Stewart).

Someone who hasn't read Herbert's novel and only sees Lynch's feature film may not understand the story, but someone who hasn't read the novel but only sees Harrison's TV miniseries will probably understand the story without difficulty. Anyone who has read the novel and sees either live-action interpretation will probably be disappointed to some degree by both, but each one can be appreciated for what each brings to the screen. The acting from Alec Newman as Paul 'Muad'Dib' Atreides was by no means perfect in the TV miniseries, but did shed a different light on the character from Kyle MacLachlan.

Overall, I give Harrison's TV miniseries version of "Dune" a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. It is interesting to speculate how David Lynch would have added more to his film if he had been able to create a more comprehensive piece like the TV miniseries, as well as use CGI special effects and the best actors from both. Clearly, each screen interpretation shows what each director was able to accomplish with his available resources and artistic license.

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The costumes: Well they
tried. The head-dresses were a little over the top for my taste
(especially for Helen Gauis Mohiam) who looked like a giant butterfly
had landed on her head. The Lynch version showed the Aba robes of the
Bene Geserit sisterhood in a dark-light, indicating backroom deals but
incredible elegance (note in the Lynch version how the robe of the
Emperor's truthsayer flows magically as she is asked to leave the
thrown room in the beginning when the Guild Navigator arrives). I
didn't mind the stillsuits in either version and thought that both did
a good job on different aspects (the Lynch version looking like a
'pumping-type' suit in Herbert's vision versus the face flap in the
Harrison version that was lacking in the Lynch movie).

For purity,
I think that this Harrison miniseries blows the Lynch version out of
the water, however. Harrison seemed almost anal in his 'sticking true
to the book' version. There were no 'weirding modules' like in the
Lynch version (where the heck did he come up with that anyway?).
Harrison showed us the vision of Frank Herbert, but if you hadn't read
the book I feel that much might have been lost (for instance when
Dr. Kynes asks Paul about who helped him on with his stillsuit for the
first time and Dr. Kynes just stares at Paul for a while...there's a
lot going on there that's not being said).

The Guild Heighliners
in both versions held up well in my opinion. Both seemed futuristic
and real. The Guild Navigator in Lynch's version looked more
worm-like however, versus Harrison's version that looked more like a
giant bat. But the bluer eyes of the Harrison navigator held truer to
Herbert's vision.

The worms in the Harrison version were better,
hands down. When I first saw the worm taking down the spice harvester
in Harrison's version I was highly impressed. And the 'thopters' in
the Harrison version seemed to hold truer to Herbert's version as
well, versus the flying machines in Lynch's version.

And the ending
of Harrison's version held to the book precisely versus the Lynch
version ...

Good and bad from both versions I guess is what I'm
trying to say. Neither got it perfectly, but if you are a Dune
'purist' I think you'll like the Harrison miniseries better. If
you're a movie buff, the Lynch version will probably standout for you

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