Sci-Fi Channel Dune (2000) and Children of Dune (2003)

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Dune (2000) and Children of Dune (2003) are 2 of the greatest TV sci-fi mini series that have ever been on TV. Brian Herbert was part of the production of both series. The music by Graeme Revell, snd Brian Tyler perfectly matches the theme, the costuming by Jan Pistek, and Theodor Pistek is reminiscent of 1930's Buck Rogers, "Crash" Corrigan, and Flash Gordon serials except on wonderful colors. The Fremen which Frank Herbert modeled after the Touareg nomads of Algeria are spot on. Spacing Guild is believable, The Navigators don’t look like a floating pinched loaf with eyeballs. The Sardaukar looked like evil storm troopers, The 2 series do not strictly follow the books, it would be just about impossible to do, but to a Frank Herbert fan they got it right.



 
I own the first on DVD, have not seen the second. I agree on the adaptation, it is so much better than the 1984 rendition however..... that version is a beautiful wreck.

/can't take eyes away
 
The 1984 Dune was visually great but characters where underdeveloped or a insult to the character as Frank Herbert envisioned them. The Sardaukar were dressed up in used body bags found in storage at a 1920's fire station. I always wondered about Feyd Rautha (Sting) stepping out or the steam bath with the grill from 1939 Ford hiding his "juicy bit's" it turned out he was going to step out of the steam bath naked but the studio panicked and told the costume designers they had to do something, at the time an "R" rating would have been poison, so literally at the last second this car grill was strapped on. I have the vision of a naked Sting waiting for his big scene and the costume people rushing onto the set to strap on the Art Deco figleaf. Sorry the whole scene was so bizarre. In an effort to make the Harkonnen's evil they instead made the characters into something out of a low budget Italian horror movie. The Character Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis) always bothered me. If she was a Bene Gesserit with supreme mental discipline, why was she screaming, and crying. Than there was the Weirding Module, David Lynch said he didn't want a Kung Fu in the desert movie so The Weirding Way was out.

The area where the desert scenes for Dune were filmed in Mexico, at the same time was being used to film Conan The Barbarian, with Arnold. I'll bet I know which group was having more fun.

What we need is a hashtag #abusedfan I am thinking of the recent turkey Ghost in A Shell, and Batman vs Superman.


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I loved the Sci-Fi Dune remakes. I own both of them on DVD. I was a fan of of original movie as well. It was good for its time. I've never read the books though and do agree that the movie left too much out but honestly it was suited better to the mini-series format for that very reason.
 
For those interested in screen adaptation's of Dune, I'd recommend the 2014 documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune". The film never happened, but I thought this doc was worthy of note. I was able to get the blu-ray edition from the local library.
 
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I remember seeing the 1984 Dune in the theater. I walked away sadly disappointed. By then I had read the books numerous times. The first movie was like a cartoon. The TV Dunes are a vast improvement. I own both DVD TV versions. They got the actors, the special effects and most of the story correct.
 
I read the books years ago tho I ran out of steam by book 4 or 5 & did not get far with his kid's books ...
Herbert was an amazing writer, much like Cordwainer Smith - many influences in the mix for a rich cultural tapestry.
I own the original film as well as the 2 SciFi channel TV films - I like them all in different ways.
There is something about the excesses of the original film that make it steampunk/retro somehow - even with Sting (!)
 
I like the Lynch movie very much; it’s quite odd. I don’t compare it to the book but take it as a movie, on its own.

This is pretty much where I come in and I enjoy it somewhat guiltily. Sort of like eating the whole quart of ice cream. I shouldn't but I do it anyway.
 
The 1984 Dune was visually great but characters where underdeveloped or a insult to the character as Frank Herbert envisioned them. The Sardaukar were dressed up in used body bags found in storage at a 1920's fire station. I always wondered about Feyd Rautha (Sting) stepping out or the steam bath with the grill from 1939 Ford hiding his "juicy bit's" it turned out he was going to step out of the steam bath naked but the studio panicked and told the costume designers they had to do something, at the time an "R" rating would have been poison, so literally at the last second this car grill was strapped on. I have the vision of a naked Sting waiting for his big scene and the costume people rushing onto the set to strap on the Art Deco figleaf. Sorry the whole scene was so bizarre. In an effort to make the Harkonnen's evil they instead made the characters into something out of a low budget Italian horror movie. The Character Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis) always bothered me. If she was a Bene Gesserit with supreme mental discipline, why was she screaming, and crying. Than there was the Weirding Module, David Lynch said he didn't want a Kung Fu in the desert movie so The Weirding Way was out.

Stylistically the film reminds me of The Chronicles of Riddick (which is a way better bad film). I don't really have any issues with the casting choices except Stockwell. For me, the failure of the film is it's virtually untethered take from the book and then rushing it to conclusion. At the minimum it should have been in 2 installments. I saw the film on release with my wife back when we were dating. She'd read the book series as well and we both went off the rails with the weirding modules. Until then I was pretty much OK with the liberties Lynch had taken.
 
Dune (2000) and Children of Dune (2003) are 2 of the greatest TV sci-fi mini series that have ever been on TV. Brian Herbert was part of the production of both series. The music by Graeme Revell, snd Brian Tyler perfectly matches the theme, the costuming by Jan Pistek, and Theodor Pistek is reminiscent of 1930's Buck Rogers, "Crash" Corrigan, and Flash Gordon serials except on wonderful colors. The Fremen which Frank Herbert modeled after the Touareg nomads of Algeria are spot on. Spacing Guild is believable, The Navigators don’t look like a floating pinched loaf with eyeballs. The Sardaukar looked like evil storm troopers, The 2 series do not strictly follow the books, it would be just about impossible to do, but to a Frank Herbert fan they got it right.


Agreed. =Never saw Children, but the Sci-Fi Dune mini-series outpaced the theatrical Dune by light years (so to speak)!
 
One of the things that I like about the Sci-Fi Channel Dune is how they did the Weirding Way. It was indeed a fighting technique not a technology, and the way we witnessed it was not Kung Fu in the desert. What would a fighting style look like 8,000 years in the future?

In the books the Imperial palace, in the city of Arrakeen, is described as having a great hall that the entire city of Manhattan could have fitted into skyscrapers and all.

Children of Dune (2003)
 
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For those interested in screen adaptation's of Dune, I'd recommend the 2016 documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune". The film never happened, but I thought this doc was worthy of note. I was able to get the blu-ray edition from the local library.

Just watched it. I am very familiar with the cartoonist Moebius.(Jean Giraud 1938-2012). With the technology that was available at the time there is no way it could have been done would have been better off being and animated feature like Heavy Metal (1981) The producers of the 1981 HM wanted Moebius to contribute a segment for this anthology but he didn't have the time. However his influence on this animated anthology is striking.

Here is what Jodorowsky had to say about the 1984 Dune.

Yes, I’ve seen it. I was very scared when I saw it, because Dune was for me very important in my life. I was very sad I could not do it. When I saw that David Lynch would do it, I was very scared, because I admire him as a moviemaker, and I thought he would do well. But when I see the picture, I realize he never understood this picture. It’s not a David Lynch picture. It’s the producer who made that picture, no? Who made this horror. For David Lynch, it was a job. A commercial job. It never was that for me.
 
Looks like I'm stopping in at the library Sunday, as that Sci-Fi Channel production is on the shelf. Read the books many years ago, but have not seen this series, sounds good based on cast and the comments here.
 
The Sci Fi channel was light years better than the original, perhaos because they weren't constrained to a tight time frame but the wierding modules were what really turned me off from the '84 movie. Absolutely no parallel in the books. But, it is fun camp ("I WILL kill him!!!") and I always put it in the same category as the Flash Gordon movie of that era.

Speaking of that era, I picked this up a few years ago for about $10 - $15 or so. Price has gone up but it's still a bargain for this much 80's sci fi kitsch in one box. Plus, it's got "The Last Starfighter", a classic in it's own right.
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https://www.amazon.com/Gordon-Starf...15933745&sr=1-3&keywords=the+last+starfighter
 
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All you have to do to see the difference is in Siridar-Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. The Davis Lynch Baron Harkonnen was a travesty.

1984
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2000
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He was pretty disgusting in the book.
Speaking of that era, I picked this up a few years ago for about $10 - $15 or so.

:thumbsup:

I make no bones about my yard sale addiction during the season. 50% of the ones I hit have DVDs out. I've found so many 90s & back sci-fi in the $1 range it's crazy. Cheaper than Redbox, I don't have to wait for it to pop up on Netflix or AP, and I donate most to the town library when I finish with them. I am even considering doing something I would not have believed a few years ago, getting a VCR back up. Watching some films on VHS is like going to a 3rd run theater, experiential and fun; about 250P worth.
 
Indeed he was but the character in the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries was more of what Frank Herbert had in mind according to his son Brian Herbert.

Although he may be correct on Harkonnen, Brian Herbert is an idiot. Read this (if you can bear it) and you'll agree -


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