Rating: 
Summary: Good effort, could have been better.
Review: It had been years since I last read the excellent first book of the Dune Chronicles, so I was a little rusty when I watched the new 4-hour mini-series. All my memories of Dune had been colored by David Lynch's excellent 1984 movie version. Sadly, that may have been why I enjoyed Frank Herbert's Dune much less than I should have.David Lynch injected so many visions of grandeur and mysticism in his 1984 movie that this new version seemed lacking in comparison. For example, the Bene Gesserit "voice" was done to much better effect in the 1984 version - here, it lacked convincing power. The scene of a Guild Navigator "folding space" was also much more mystical and awe-inspiring in the 1984 version. The computer generated effects such as those of space-ships and ornithopters looked, well, too much like scenes from a computer game. It's sad when the special effects of a 2000 production cannot hold up to one made in 1984. However, I'll admit that the sandworms looked as awe-inspiring as ever. Kyle MacLachlan portrayed a wonderful Paul Atreides in 1984 - young and inexperienced, but calm and in control of his own destiny - but Alec Newman's Paul Atreides came across almost as whiny as Luke Skywalker was in Star Wars: A New Hope, in some of the earlier scenes. The Baron looked and acted much less menacing and degenerate than he did in the 1984 version, though Feyd did have a bigger role here than Sting's "stand around looking pretty and menacing" role in 1984. All the above does not mean that I did not enjoy "Frank Herbert's Dune". I did, and I also liked the fact that it followed the novel much more closely than David Lynch's version. The sets and costumes (especially Princess Irulan's gowns) were wonderful. However, its weaknesses precluded a five-star rating from me. Still, it's worth watching, especially for fans of the Dune Chronicles, and I will be waiting eagerly for the next installment currently rumored to be in production.
Rating: 
Summary: Money wasted
Review: I hadn't seen the series, but bought the DVD because I love sci-fi. Not only was it a waste of my money, but it was a waste of my time. Some of the characters are so dull that I just fast forward their scenes and didn't miss a thing. Many of the actors seem mis-cast and just don't come across in their roles. Instead of a tough, capable super commando Duncan Idaho, we get someone who looks like they couldn't get past boot camp. William Hurt was a tremendous disappointment. Nothing inspirational, thoughtful, or energetic in his portrayal. The Bene Gesserit witches were incredibly laughable. Their costumes and others are down right ludicrous. For the Sadaukar, why would they go into battle wearing a hat that blocks half their peripherial vision? Nor it seems, could the designers decide if the various household troops should wear samurai style armour, or medieval Italian clothing. Nor do I understand why in the age of guns, would anyone want to fight it out with a knife. I know some of this was in Herbert's book, but how about adding some realistic thinking and limit when you fight with a knife? What we got was some pretty good special effects to accompany bad casting and poor acting. Pay attention to the other reviewers who write about the negatives. As bad as Starship Troopers was in abusing one of the greatest sci-fi books of all time, I enjoyed that more than this garbage. Rent it - don't buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Superior to David Lynch Fiasco
Review: Hmmm... I got to be one of the two or three people among 500+ who wrote reviews for either Sci-Fi Channel or David Lynch versions of DUNE who is NOT a fan of Frank Herbert's original novel. I concede that it is a well-crafted science fiction which broke new grounds in imagining politico-social conditions of extreme future but I hesitate to give it a "visionary" status, unless one is ready to accept the novel's Messiah complex couched in the form of an interstellar Bildungsroman (a progenitor of STAR WARS and MATRIX, among other examples) at face value. Granted, Herbert is sophisticated enough to outline the conflicts that arise from Paul Atreides' apparent attainment of Godhood and his human interiority, but so what? Paul is still a boy-Messiah who is Simply Destined to be Great. I suppose things would have been a tad more interesting if consuming spice melange turned, say, one's skin into a darker color, rather than giving him/her blue-on-blue eyes. (An image of expanded consciousness, indeed!) The schematic, quasi-"mythical" presentation of characters carried over from the original novel still mars the more faithful and ultimately more intelligent miniseries adaptation, but the filmmakers have obviously made an effort to flesh out characters and bring an intertwining web of subplots into some form of resolution. I appreciate that Duke Leto, Jessica and Stilgar are all fully developed characters, who are capable of functional speeches, instead of mouthing mytho-poetic epigrams ("It is your destiny, Luke!") although there inevitably will be complaints about miscasting and wrong interpretation. The nakedly feudalistic political intrigue also gets its due, although curiously enough the filmmakers do not update the almost archaic "eugenics" premise in the novel that underlies the conflicts among Bene Gesserit, Harkonnen and Atreides. The only area that I found truly disappointing was the presentation of visual and technological aspects of the Dune universe. The Guild Navigators are visually not impressive at all, for instance. Okay, so there were budgetary considerations, obviously, but still. Overall, my vote rests with the miniseries version. In fact, it is not THAT difficult to knock over the David Lynch version, a train wreck of a movie.
Rating:
Summary: I like this miniseries
Review: I watched it before I read the book--in fact, it was what inspired me to read the book. I quite liked the miniseries. It has its flaws, certainly; William Hurt is badly miscast and turns in an astonishingly poor performance as Duke Leto; Paul has noticeably more chemistry with Princess Irulan (the bewitching Julie Cox), destined to become his platonic spouse, than he does with Chani (the pretty but dull Barbara Kodetova), his "soul mate." Yes, Paul (Alec Newman) is rather whiny and bratty, but then, he was that way in the book too. So despite its flaws, I enjoyed this miniseries quite a lot. So lighten up, folks.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the Lynch Movie...but then again what wasn't?
Review: Yes, I'm a hardcore fan. Yes, I've read all of the FH books several times. Yes, I own the Dune Encyclopedia. And yes, I've read the BH/KA books. In the year 10,191 AG (After the Guild), the Universe is ruled by the Emperor Shaddam IV. The Imperium is a triumverate made up of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, Emperor Corrino, and the Guild (the only source of interstellar travel). The most prescious substance in the universe is the Spice Melange, which allows the Guild to "fold space" and navigate their ships, the Bene Gesserit to create Reverand Mothers, and for the people of the Imperium to live to a ripe old age (as Spice has geriatric properties). This movie is visually stunning. The look and feel are supurb, from the special effects to the costumes. The actor who played the Baron was dead on, but I'm disappointed that the Mentats were so downplayed. Understanding that a movie adaptation requires changes to fit things in, I was also discouarged at the way Princess Irulan, the daughter of Emperor Corrino, was written. The greatest tragedy of this adaptation was clearly Paul. His character is supposed to come of age on Dune and discover himself, leaving his mousey shell to become not only a man, but Messiah to millions. Hurt decided that this society was to be like a stereotypical feudalism, and Paul should be a brat. The actor who played Paul is obviously talented, but I'm afraid he was given bad direction. Paul's arrogance throughout the miniseries ruins it since he is the central character. Overall, it was fun to watch, but I feel it was no truer to the book than that travesty David Lynch put out.
Rating:
Summary: Non-Dune fan's view
Review: I haven't read Dune. I started to, but I got interrupted and never finished it (which may indicate how much of an impression the first few chapters made on me). However, I have read a lot of science fiction. I liked this series. I thought the graphics were spectacular. The acting wasn't always that good, but I was so involved in the story that I didn't really notice. As a general sci-fi fan, I agree that this went leaps and bounds past the movie. Maybe if you've read Dune, you're at a disadvantage in appreciating this work. Perhaps a fan of lighter science fiction will enjoy it more. I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome.
Review: As you may have discovered from reading the reviews here, we have established that a DVD is, infact, not a book. This has the flavor of Dune. This is not a *perfect* translation of the book. That isn't possible. If you want to see a perfect book translation then this isn't it. I don't think SciFi actually wanted to copy the book into movie form. This is, however, extremely good. The special effects, the costuming, the FEEL of the movie is awesome. The DVD incurs such wrath by die hard fans of the book because there are little "flaws". If you haven't read the book, you'll love it. If you've read the book, and understand that book -> movie conversions are far from perfect, then you'll love it. If you expect a perfect translation from book to movie, then you might do better with the 80's movie.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but I didn't read the Dune books yet..
Review: ...I can see that the movie was missing a heck of a lot more than I was already aware of. Yes, they skim a lot out of it. Strip. Eviscerate. Mangle. But you are still left with an epic movie, deep, indeed complex, thrilling, and enjoyable. I watched the whole thing from beginning to end in one sitting, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Based on the reputation of the book as a very complex tale of intrigue and struggle, I knew a four-hour movie just wasn't going to do the book justice. But the trade off is that most of the scenes are rich with story info just asking for analysis and synthesis. They left stuff out because if they packed any more in, the audience might get lost. Maybe. But there are many details and studying them is interesting, it's just not as deep as the book. Well, if you want to read the book, you shouldn't be buying the movie, right? I know, I know.. Actually it sounds like the book and the movie conflict, so if you read the book you won't like the movie. As would be expected of a pan-galactic human civilization, there is an abundance of cultures. The nuances that you encounter in the movie fit in perfectly. Many of the characters and personalities have strange accents and place emphasis on odd syllables. Not only do they do this well and believably, but it adds a lot of realism to the whole production. I really enjoyed the facet that toyed with speech. All in all, Dune is visually spellbinding. But, sometimes you can see that they are filming on a cheesy pile of sand set with a backdrop. What can you expect from a four hour movie that is supposed to look like it was all shot in a desert? But for the scenes that count, the special effects are breathtaking. Towards the end of the series the story kind of breaks down. Too much is going on, and much of it is mystical, having to do with the effects of "the Spice" on a few of the main characters. But overall it is still an excellent movie. I think I'll go rent it again.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Expecations
Review: I am not a huge fan of sci-fi but Dune has always been something that I have loved over the years. Like many, I started with the books and was caught up with every word written by the great Frank Herbert. I think that the Dune mini-series was one of television's finest moments. Anyone who takes sci-fi/fantasy so seriously as to give a heavy handed critique to this mini-series might want to learn how to just enjoy what was given to them with this Dune epic. These are the type of people who get angry when their favorite comic book is made into a motion picture and then cry when the transformation is not to their liking. Some unhappy fans have said they could do a better job of their own... I say go ahead. Every reader of Dune has their own vision of how it should be brought to life, and with that I say keep that image and use it. Don't let the ones who hold their imaginations to comic books and novels keep you from enoying this fantastic version of Dune. Expand. If you can't understand why a movie is not like the book then you really need to grow up and put away the comic books.
Rating:
Summary: A study of messiah-figures
Review: The Lynch adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic was my first encounter with the mystical world of DUNE. I was only in my mid-teens then and you can imagine how shocked I was after watching the movie: it was VERY WEIRD! Now in my thirties, I see the whole Dune series so differently, all thanks to the TV series. In fact, after watching the TV series, I scoured book stores to buy another copy of DUNE (which I threw away after reading it in my teens!)! I gave up my search and finally ordered them from Amazon! In a weird and inexplicable way, I could never forget, till today the strange icons of DUNE: the god-like Navigators and their mysterious spacing-guild agents (one wonders why the Navigators, who can traverse the universe without moving, need to be 'chaperoned' around by humanoid guild agents!?), the mystical Bene Gessirit witchdom and its antithetical Mentat counterparts (who worships "...Logic & Statistics."), the CHOAGM commerce system not unlike our terra equivalent WTO, the WORMS, the SPICE MELANGE (so rich in imagination and detailed description by Herbert that you could almost be deceived into thinking that it actually exists in the universe!) the systematic breeding program to cultivate a KWISATZ HADERACH - a messiah figure...the central theme running through all the DUNE books. (sorry folks, DUNE is about messiah-figures, NOT about SPICE or Space-travel.) Herbert was a genius in creating all these idioms of a highly provocative and complex yet so intriguingly and enticingly real world (and thereby human). Yet, when he created the world-view in DUNE, he had intended it to be a series of studies on messiah-figures. In other words, he attempted to humanise something which is divine and immortal. He played God and tried to think like God when constructing the Mahdi/KWISATZ HADERACH/messiah Paul Muab'dib Atreides. Personally, the whole DUNE series of books is Herbert's personal search for God, whether futile or otherwise, nobody knows. But thanks to him, I get to write this review and enjoy his story! On the above basis, I think the DUNE TV series outperforms the Lynch adaptation. The messiah psyche was explored in much greater depth and with greater sensitivity as well, pay close attention to the private conservations between Jessica and Paul...when Jessica had intrigued, whether she believed or not, to perpetuate the godliness of her son amongst the Fremen just to preserve their lives. It makes you wonder whether gods are incidental, self-made or truly divine. See also how frustrated Paul was when he couldn't see the future and was driven to risk his life by taking the poisonous Water of Life. Is this how a messiah becomes created? Read the next book DUNE:MESSIAH to see how Paul's life ended... Other nuggets in the TV series provide compelling comparison with the movie version, e.g. a blue-eyed (caused by consuming spice) Navigator who looks more humanoid than the orange (spice color) gas spewing bug-like Lynch version. MUCH, MUCH better WORMS in the TV series, and a better depiction, i.e. explanation of the Water of Life from Shai-hulud. With the exception of Paul & Chani, everyone on the TV series looked better. Special mention must go to Emperor Shaddam IV, the Italian actor who also acted in Hannibal and Jessica, Saskia Reeves, who added that all important touch of human vulnerability into her character. I give 5 stars to the TV series because despite all its short-comings (e.g. too short, awful costumes, sets that were less opulent and grand than the Lynch sets), it fleshed out the critical details of a great story and more importantly, it was just long enough to provide a more satisfying characterisation of the protagonists, thereby adding depth to the story where the Lynch version failed. In summary, get the TV series if you are NEW to DUNE and can't be bothered to read the book...and chances are that after watching the TV series, you will still find too many questions unanswered and end up buying the books! The curiosity will drive you to buy the books, IF you like sci-fi and opulent epics.
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