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Expanding the audience of Frank Herbert´s novel "Dune" beyond the literary has become a story in itself. The first attempt to do so was David Lynch´s cinematic attempt that defines the "you either love it or hate it" film. I have known many people who consider that film an all-time classic and I have known others that are quick to place it on all-time worst lists. Herbert´s novel is quite lengthy and the two-hour running time of Lynch´s film considerably altered parts of the story to meet the short running time necessary for commercial success. A longer version of the film was eventually released for European audiences, but Lynch even removed himself from that version and attached the pseudo-name of Alan Smithee as the director of the longer version. The three-hour Smithee directed film has yet to appear in the domestic video market.
More recently, the Sci-Fi Channel teamed up with director John Harrison and produced a sprawling five-hour miniseries that finally brings Herbert´s epic tale of politics and the Messiah to a visual media. Fans of the book will certainly rejoice and embrace this new telling, one that finally delves into the meat of the classic novel and delivers aspects of the brilliant storytelling that were left out of the previous incarnation of "Dune." Both films are stylistically different from the other and neither is a technical marvel and each should be given credit for even attempting to visually tackle the world penned by Herbert. This miniseries is now in its second coming on DVD and this version features an additional thirty minutes of footage that was not included in the domestically televised version.
The story of "Dune" is complex and cannot be done justice with a quick summary or overview. If my words would sound dull or uninteresting, it is because of the great difficulty of describing the sprawling epic that unfolds over three years in fictional time and covers numerous worlds and civilizations. The primary focus of the story is on young Paul Atreides (Alec Newman), his arrival on the planet Arrakkis and the events that take place after House Harkonnen reclaims control of the planet from his father, Duke Leto (William Hurt) and House Atreides. Arrakis is an important planet because of its production of an extremely important resource, Spice. The Harkonnen Empire is the perfect representation of evil and Atreides is the antithesis to everything Harkonnen represents.
Leto and his family are initially brought in to rule Arrakkis and return the planet to profitability when Harkonnen leaves. Their departure is questioned, but Leto realizes the value of his new assignment given by the Emperor (Giancarlo Giannini). Politics and economics quickly come into play and the evil ruler of the Harkonnen, Baron Harkonnen (Ian McNeice) is poised to retake Arrakkis and murder the royal Atreides family. Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Saskia Reeves) find safety in the desert and are quickly taken in by the desert dwelling Sietch. Paul quickly rises through the ranks of the Sietch and becomes their leader, Muad´dib. He becomes their Messiah and the one who will lead them against the Harkonnen and bring prosperity to their world.
Praise must be given for director John Harrison and his international collection of actors. Everybody involved has done quite a job. Aside from William Hurt, who only needs to explain his involvement with "Lost in Space," the cast was a complete band of unknowns. Each brought life to their characters and when you are going to spend five hours with a character, this is important. Harrison must be given some credit for his direction of the actors, but a lot of credit should be given to him for his ability to keep this sprawling saga and oversized production together and coherent. The final product is something he and his actors should be quite proud of.
"Dune" is a lengthy and epic undertaking that did not hold my interest during the David Lynch version. I have never found the time to read Frank Herbert´s masterpiece, but have the fortunate associations with many who have. Their comments are very positive on the attempt made by John Harrison in bringing the story to film. The miniseries moved me and held my interest. The five hours that it took to watch this version of "Dune" passed easily and the story started to make a great deal of sense to me, something that never completely happened with a couple of viewings of Lynch´s version. This is a story with an incredible amount of plot and the five-hour miniseries certainly does a better job of tackling what Frank Herbert laid down in quite a few words. I can finally say that "Dune" is entertaining and the critical acclaim received by the novel is understood and for the first time I have some interest in reading Herbert´s classic.
Video:
Watching this miniseries, it was quickly apparent that the filmmakers made many stylistic changes. This new version is bright and colorful, and completely opposite of the murky and dingy world filmed by Lynch. It was also quickly apparent that many decisions were made for budgetary reasons and the miniseries never stops looking like something that was made for television. The special effects and CGI are not horrendous, but there are times when they are less spectacular than some computer game cut scenes and they never come close to what Hollywood has to offer in summer movie houses. Every scene was also filmed on soundstages and it is quite noticeable. There is something to be said about location shooting, but the staged look of "Dune" gives it a look and feel that grows on you after the first hour or two and once interest is held, the look of the miniseries is easily digested.
The first DVD presentation of John Harrison´s "Dune" featured a 1.77:1 non-anamorphic widescreen transfer. Amends were made the second time around and this disc now features a gorgeous 1.77:1 anamorphic print that will look splendid for years to come. The vibrant colors used are all conveyed masterfully and show no signs of color bleeding or ill contrasting. Black levels are good, and film grain nicely held in check. Detail is also very good, but the level of detail brings about edge-enhancement halos that border on becoming distracting. This is the only complaint against what is otherwise a top-notch transfer with no digital artificing or other compression related issues. If you were ever turned away from "Dune" only because of the gritty looking DVD and world of Lynch´s film, then you no longer have anything to fear with Artisan´s latest offering.
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